Columbus Blue Jackets Massive Win Streak Ends with Blues Loss
All good things must come to an end, even the Columbus Blue Jackets winning streak.
A tough home loss to the St. Louis Blues has ended the Columbus Blue Jackets 10 game winning streak. A 2-1 loss to the surging Blues brings the CBJ to 10-1-0 in their last 11 games. Still not too bad for a team that looked lost in the woods before the trade deadline.
The loss was the first one in 22 days for the CBJ. In that time they were able to go from out of the playoffs to tied for second in the Metropolitan division. The loss and other results now have them just outside of home ice position as they are the #3 seed in the metro currently.
The Blues opened up the goal with a sloppy goal that Sergei Bobrovsky usually stops. He hasn’t let an easy one slip by him in almost two months so I think he deserves a pass on this one. The Blues goal from Alex Steen came just three minutes into the game.
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Right after that goal the Jackets seemed to have tied it up on a Cam Atkinson goal that came off a scramble in front of netminder Jake Allen. After a quick review though it was deemed that Cam kicked the puck in and the goal was taken off the board.
The NHL deserves some credit for this as they have been absolutely roasted on video reviews of all kinds this season. This review was very quick and led to the correct call.
Vladimir Tarasenko scored a beautiful goal midway through the second period that no one could have stopped. Tarasenko in my opinion is the most underrated player in the NHL with Artemi Panarin right behind him. The goal was a thing of beauty and extended the St. Louis lead to an insurmountable 2-0 margin.
The Jackets all night just couldn’t find any openings on Jake Allen. It was one of those games where the goalie steals it for the team. The CBJ had long periods of sustained pressure and solid shot opportunities but could only beat Allen once. That came off of an unassisted Cam Atkinson goal in the second.
deficit cut to one pic.twitter.com/tQ0rULzIqf
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) March 25, 2018
Time to start a new Streak
The streak is gone but the opportunity to start a new streak has arrived. Losing is never ideal but this was a game where the Jackets played hard but were just out dueled in the crease. That rarely happens with Bob in your cage but it is bound to happen a few times over 82 games.
The Jackets now travel to Western Canada for their last major road trip of the season. On Tuesday they will match up against the Edmonton Oilers who have been eliminated from the playoffs for about a week. They then will play the Calgary Flames whose season is spiraling out of control and then finish up with the Vancouver Canucks.
There are never guaranteed points in the NHL but these games are as close as it gets this time of year to easy games. The Jackets sit at 89 points right now and all signs point to 95 getting you into the playoffs for sure. That magic number could be hit by next Saturday with some good performances in Canada.