The Blue Jackets looked down and out for an entire week, but bounced back and found a way to earn two points in Utah last night. While the game wasn't always pretty, they got the job done. Today, we're going to talk about the formula they need to use to win games.
Saturday's game in Colorado was never going to be easy. As expected, the Blue Jackets were clobbered by the Avalanche in a 4-0 game that could have honestly been a lot worse.
That's what makes the other losses during the week so painful. They needed to find points in those games. After having the Pittsburgh Penguins on the ropes last Sunday, the Jackets blew yet another multi goal lead en-route to an overtime loss.
That game seemed to break something within this group. There's just no other way to put it. They slept through their next three games, losing on the road to San Jose, Vegas, and then Colorado.
But last night, they bounced back. They downed the Utah Mammoth 3-2 in overtime, despite losing defenseman Denton Mateychuk just one shift into the game.
It wasn't under fluky circumstances. The Jackets were right in the thick of this game from the opening faceoff, playing a pretty darn good road hockey game. What changed?
They kept things simple.
Simple: they kept the game simple. They got pucks into the Utah end when they had the chance. They cleared pucks out of their own end when they had the chance.
They bent in the defensive zone, but did not break. In fact, both of Utah's goals could be classified as fluky. The first one went off of a helmet and in. The second one found its way through a big crowd and beat Jet Greaves because he couldn't see it.
But instead of stretching themselves thin and trying to turn this game into a track meet, the Blue Jackets stuck to their system. They didn't panic and start making bad reads or poorly timed pinches.
They protected their goaltender, and in return got the saves when they needed them. They went to work in the corners, won puck battles, and peppered Utah goaltender Vitek Vanecek with 36 shots. Their hard work paid off, earning them three power-plays on the night.
When they got those extra man chances, they capitalized, finding both the tying goal and the OT winner while Utah was shorthanded.
It may not be exciting, but this is what this team has to do to win hockey games. They have to play low event, physical hockey, and try to take advantage of the other team's mistakes.
They have to be a little bit boring and not let the game open up. This team is big, heavy, and (let's be honest) slow. They aren't built for high scoring hockey.
They won last night because they stuck to the plan for 60 minutes, regardless the score, and kept doing the things that make them most successful.
Defense stepped up.
Without Mateychuk, the Blue Jackets had to lean on 5 defensemen for almost 60 full minutes. In return, they got arguably the best defensive effort from this team all season.
In particular, Ivan Provorov deserves mention here. He played more than 25 minutes while posting an almost-80% xGF% per MoneyPuck. Quietly, this was one of the best games Ivan has had in the Union Blue.
The other four guys were terrific as well. They worked as a unit despite mixed up pairings, and found a way to limit the Mammoth to mostly outside shots. That's all we can ask for from this group.
In conclusion: two points is two points.
I won't go as far as saying that this is a turning point for this team. They have a long, long way to go. But, it was a gutsy effort in a game where it would have been far easier for them to not compete.
This is what it's going to take to win hockey games down the stretch. A full 60(+) minute effort with everyone buying in and contributing.