Columbus Blue Jackets: First Thoughts – Overtime Win in Raleigh
The Columbus Blue Jackets won 2-1 over the Carolina Hurricanes in overtime Tuesday evening. And we can thank Sonny Milano’s two goals for that.
Facing off Tuesday night in Raleigh, North Carolina, the Carolina Hurricanes hosted the Columbus Blue Jackets in a Metro Division matchup. Both teams are predicted to be very good this season and in a tough division, every point matters.
The Blue Jackets were able to come away with two points while the Canes got one in a 2-1 overtime finish in favor of the CBJ. Carolina now sits at three points through two games while the Jackets have four points through three contests.
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Three Stars
Sonny Milano
The Columbus Blue Jackets’ only two goals came off of the stick of Sonny Milano. Milano banked one in off the back of Scott Darling in the third to break the scoreless tie and he followed it up in overtime with a silky smooth forehand-to-backhand to finish a breakaway and the game.
Milano started the game on the fourth line, but as Coach Tortorella started to change up his lines, Milano gained more ice time. Sonny took advantage of the increase in ice time, and he cashed in big time. Sonny has four goals in the Jackets’ first three games and has looked like he earned his roster spot without a shadow of a doubt.
Sergei Bobrovsky
The man manning the crease for the Blue Jackets was lights out. Sergei Bobrovsky went nearly six periods without letting in anything to start the season, but he was finally beaten by Jeff Skinner with a little over a minute left in the game after an awful Markus Hannikainen turnover in the CBJ’s zone. Bobrovsky was superb against Carolina nonetheless, tallying 37 saves on 38 shots. Bob recorded his second win in as many starts.
Jeff Skinner
Carolina’s best offensive talent proved why people say that about him as Jeff Skinner scored the equalizer late in the third period to send the game into overtime. He went scoreless in the Canes’ 5-4 shootout win over the Minnesota Wild a few days ago, but his goal against Columbus livened the small home crowd up going into extra time.
Negatives
Markus Hannikainen’s turnover with over a little more than a minute left in the game led to the Hurricanes tying the game and sending it into overtime. Hannikainen recklessly floated the puck up the center of the ice in the CBJ zone, which set Jeff Skinner up for the wrist shot.
Faceoffs were anything but a strength for the Blue Jackets against the Hurricanes. Carolina won 61 percent of all faceoffs Tuesday night, destroying Lukas Sedlak and Nick Foligno in particular. Both Sedsy and Captain lost nearly 70 percent of their faceoffs. Surprisingly, Alexander Wennberg, a poor faceoff centerman, won over half of his battles.
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Wrap Up
The Columbus Blue Jackets may have let the game go to overtime, but Columbus getting the extra point against a Metro opponent on the road is huge. They are only three games in, but points will begin to add up.
While no defensemen were mentioned above, the Columbus Blue Jackets defense played very well. All of the defensemen played a hard-fought game and were not caught out of position like they were in their 5-1 loss to Chicago.
The Jackets had lights-out goaltending and good defensive play. The offense was not able to hit their stride, but Sonny Milano was able to pick up the slack. Along with Milano, Panarin was impressive with the puck and even hit the post on a shot, but was just unable to find the score sheet for the second-straight game.