Blue Jackets Split Preseason Home and Home Series With Penguins

The preseason got under way this weekend, with the Jackets playing a split squat home-and-home series with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday.

First, the Jackets sent a team to Pittsburgh to face the Penguins in the afternoon. It wasn’t a strong group, but it was still full of NHLers such as Jack Roslovic, Cole Sillinger, Adam Boqvist, Andrew Peeke, Justin Danforth, and Eric Robinson. The Penguins iced mostly replacement level players as well; with a few NHLers sprinkled in.

The home squad jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first period, off of an ugly turnover by Tim Berni. They took a 2-0 lead late in the first, a score that held up until the third period, with Roslovic knotting the game off of a rebound from Emil Bemstrom. Owen Sillinger tied things up late, and the clubs would go scoreless through overtime before the Penguins took a win (2-0) via the shootout.

The evening matchup was a lot more favorable for the Jackets. With the game at Nationwide Arena, we were treated to a star-studded lineup that included what may be the team’s top two lines this season. They were supported by a mostly NHL defense corps, with Elvis Merzlikins starting in goal.

It wasn’t a perfect game, but they got the job done on the back of two goals by Carson Meyer. Adam Fantilli stood out in a big way, while Alexandre Texier scored in his preseason debut; and Jordan Dumais got the winner in overtime, sniping a beautiful goal home to seal the victory.

Takeaways

I thought the team in the first game looked sluggish, which isn’t entirely surprising. It was the first game of the preseason, and it was on the road. There isn’t much incentive for these guys to put on a show, unless they’re fighting for their jobs. Which might explain why Eric Robinson and Justin Danforth stood out – I thought they were solid when they were on the ice. David Jiricek started to show flashes of that elite two-way capability we’re waiting for, including setting up the game tying goal. Also, James Malatesta is a player. We’re going to love that guy for a long time.

Aaron Dell was very good in goal, not surrendering anything until the shootout. I do think he’ll earn a contract out of training camp, unless a better option comes along before the season starts. I thought a lot of guys struggled in this one; maybe most notably, Dmitri Voronkov. He shows glimpses of being a strong power forward, but he looks lost in the defensive zone at times, too far above the play and confused on who to cover. A start in the AHL seems to be in his future, and that’s fine.

The second game featured an obviously better team, and it showed. Adam Fantilli was the most noticeable player on the ice for both teams. He was flying around on both sides of the puck, bringing a ton of energy in his own end and making plays in the offensive zone. He and Patrik Laine have obvious chemistry, and I thought Alexandre Texier was a nice compliment to that line. Early indications are that this will be our second line to start the season.

The top line of Johnny Gaudreau, Boone Jenner, and Kent Johnson; were less noticeable, but we saw this trio work last season so I think they will be fine. Call it rust or whatever you’d like, but if this is our top line to start the season, it should work. Other positive standouts: Carson Meyer brought energy, physicality, and two goals. He’s going to be a hard cut. Damon Severson looked solid alongside Zach Werenski, and I can see that being our #1 defense pair to start the year.

On the other side of things, I thought Elvis Merzlikins struggled a little bit. He fought the puck a couple of times, and none of the three goals the Penguins scored were pretty by any stretch of the imagination. Hopefully it’s just rust, but it is very concerning considering the level of competition we were up against yesterday. Still, the team was able to pull off an exciting 4-3 overtime win, which is encouraging.

The Jackets play again tomorrow, a road start in St Louis. There will be plenty to watch for, with 62 players still remaining in camp. As the list narrows down, we’ll get more of an idea where guys will fit into the lineup come October 12th.