Columbus Blue Jackets Hold Off Sabres in 3-1 Victory
By Grant Miller
The Columbus Blue Jackets beat The Buffalo Sabres Tuesday night. The win helps the Jackets keep pace in the chase for the President’s trophy. The win was the second in a row for the Jackets, and the 7th game they have earned points in the last eight.
The Columbus Blue Jackets survived and onslaught from the Buffalo Sabres last night to earn two points in a hard-earned victory in front of a packed Nationwide crowd. Sergei Bobrovsky saved 41 of 42 shots to further cement himself as the top goalie in the league and the front-runner for the Vezina Trophy.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Kyle Quincey earned his first goal in Blue Jackets sweater and his fifth on the season. Cam Atkinson slotted his 34th goal on the season. Seth Jones dangled his way into the offensive zone and fed Cam who point away the saucy second goal of the night. Buffalo got one back in the second period. The league’s best power play took advantage of a Josh Anderson hook. Evan Rodrigues scored on the power play to pull Buffalo within one goal. From there, Bob stood tall and kept the Sabres at bay. Brandon Saad added an empty netter, his 50th point on the year.
Power Play Woes Continue
The days of a dominate Blue Jackets power play seem like a distant memory now. A unit that was once tops in the league is now barely cracking the top 10 in efficiency. Last night, Columbus had three opportunities with the man advantage. On two of those man advantages, Buffalo held the Jackets to zero shots.
The power play was a key factor in the Jackets success earlier in the season. Unfortunately, those days have passed. The Columbus Blue Jackets have not registered a power play goal since March 13th. During Monday’s practice, head coach John Tortorella said the boys hit the power play hard in hopes that re-focusing would reap some benefits. The playoffs don’t start for another two weeks, but if the Jackets want to seriously contend for the East the power play unit has to get back to being one of the most efficient in the league.
Related Story: Area Jackets need to improve on
Bob Continues to Dominate
Name a goalie hotter than Bob right now. You can’t. Bobrovsky stopped 41 of 42 shots. He seems to be on a level we have never seen before. Goalies are fickle, delicate creatures. If Bob is his normal cheerful self turning away 41 shots, then so be it.
Some may say the boys are leaning a bit too heavy on him, and that might be true to an extent. I say if he can shoulder the burden and the offense is giving him some sort of cushion on most nights, it will all be okay. Bob is going to have to be the guy to carry us if we are going to make a serious playoff run. We all better get use to him standing on his head all spring.
Related Story: Bobrovsky is the real MVP
Keeping Pace
The win Tuesday night moved the Columbus Jackets into sole position of second place in the Metropolitan Division. The Pittsburgh Penguins were off last night but face the West leading Chicago Blackhawks tonight. The Washington Capitals beat the number two team in the West, the Minnesota Wild, last night to stay three points ahead of the Blue Jackets. Washington has won five straight games. The two teams will play each other on last time this Sunday at Nationwide. If the Jackets want to have any real shot at winning the president’s trophy winning that game will almost certainty be necessary.