Columbus Blue Jackets Outlast Avalanche, Win 5-2
The Columbus Blue Jackets stormed out to a strong start, faltered in the second, but finished strong to avoid an Avalanche of loses.
Captain Nick Foligno scored twice in the Columbus Blue Jackets victory against the young and pesky Colorado Avalanche.
The Jackets return to the victory column and once again have a winning record on the season heading down to Florida.
Score:
5. 113. Final. 2. 103
Stats:
Jackets Goals: Nick Foligno (2), Pierre-Luc Dubois, Artemi Panarin, Josh Anderson.
Jackets Assists: Nick Foligno, Cam Atkinson, Anthony Duclair, Alexander Wennberg (2), Markus Nutivaara, Ryan Murray.
Avalanche Goals: Nathan MacKinnon, Carl Soderberg.
Avalanche Assists: Erik Johnson, Mikko Rantanen, Samuel Girard, J.T. Compher.
More from Union and Blue
- Blaming Columbus Blue Jacket Players for Babcock Fallout is Unfair
- The Mike Babcock Experiment in Columbus Has Failed
- Blue Jacket Prospects Win Traverse City Tournament: Who Stood Out?
- Mike Babcock Resigns as CBJ Head Coach: Reaction
- New Claims Bring Higher Level of Concern to Babcock Situation
Overall Thoughts:
The Jackets come out strong every game, but fall flat in the second period and look very sluggish from there. Nutivaara and the young defensive core with Werenski looks phenomenal. The response by the team in the third period was a huge sigh of relief.
Nick Foligno looked solid out there and was a huge spark to start the game. Also had a great goal in the third period. Anderson is a workhorse and got rewarded with an empty net goal. Would’ve liked to have seen Atkinson bury the big chance he got, but no harm in missing it tonight.
Impressive Players:
Nick Foligno: Breakout night. That’s what you like to see from a captain.
Markus Nutivaara: GREAT PASS TO PANARIN.
Artemi Panarin: Expect anything different?
Anthony Duclair: That speed is godly.
Josh Anderson: He has unbelievable skill, and he gave 100% almost every shift.
Alexander Wennberg: Had some great passes tonight, improvement from the past two outings.
Disappointing Players:
Ryan Murray: Got spun in a spin cycle out there.
Next. Wennberg has to Step Up in Dubinsky’s Absence. dark
What to Look for Moving On:
The Jackets found their stride midway through the third period, after coming out strong out of the gate, they let the Avalanche crawl back into the game and fell apart in the second period. They responded strongly in the third which is a good sign of things to come if they continue to play solid late minutes in their future contests.
This rest of the week includes two tough games in Florida. The Jackets hope the offense continues to look strong at the end of this week.