As the Blue Jackets organization celebrated its inaugural team during the pregame, the current iteration of the CBJ prepared for a tough matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Tonight, the Jackets came out flying. The energy was definitely better at the start of this one than it was at any point against Colorado on Thursday.
The energy was nearly sucked out of them, as they found themselves shorthanded early due to a scrum in front of the benches. We'll just call it a questionable series of decisions by the referees, with two Blue Jackets being taken to the box as opposed to one member of the Lightning.
Fortunately, the good guys got the kill, and were able to build some momentum from that and another Mathieu Olivier fighting win. On this night, they channeled that momentum into a quick strike, with Kent Johnson scoring a nifty goal on Tampa Bay goaltender Jonas Johansson 4:58 into the game.
It seems that putting Johnson back on a line with Adam Fantilli and Boone Jenner was the correct decision. They showed obvious chemistry and scored on their second shift of the game.
Just under 90 seconds later, the Lightning gave the Jackets a power-play with a too many men on the ice penalty. The Jackets found themselves with a prime chance to take this game over early.
It did not work out that way. Again, special teams would hurt them on this night. Another brutal power-play led to a momentum shift, and the Lightning took over the pace for much of the rest of the first period.
They scored twice in the final 8 minutes of the period. First, veteran defenseman Ryan McDonagh fired a long shot that crossed up CBJ goaltender Jet Greaves, bouncing off of his glove, then the crossbar, and into the net at 12:42.
Then, a Cole Sillinger hooking penalty gave the Bolts their second power-play chance of the night. They wasted little time on this one, with Anthony Cirelli scoring just 16 seconds into the man advantage, making it a 2-1 game at 16:22.
The period would end with that score, despite the Jackets playing a relatively good period. They held the shots advantage at 11-6, but that did not include the posts they hit behind Johansson. There were at least two or three of those.
Just as we hoped they might, they dug a lot deeper in the second period. Even though they played a competitive first, it was far from good enough, and they had to dig out of a hole.
The second period tonight was as dominant a performance as we've seen from this team in a long time. They appeared to tie the game early on a Dmitri Voronkov goal, but it was called back due to an offsides challenge.
That was the fourth goal the Blue Jackets have had taken off of the board, in just their fifth game. Get them all out of the way early, I guess?
Instead of letting that offsides play steal their thunder, the Jackets kept their foot on the gas. They were dangerous all period, but could not find the equalizer until Damon Severson would finally tie the game up at 13:59, with a one-timed shot past Johansson.
The Jackets out-shot the Lightning 14-3 in the period, and held a 25-9 advantage in that category going into the third. They seemed to be doing everything they could in this one, but they would need at least one more goal.
We didn't have to wait long. With Kirill Marchenko skating through center ice, Voronkov drew in a defender and made a nice pass to him in space. Marchy made no mistake, with a quick backhand-forehand deke before he fired a shot past Johansson to make it 3-2 Jackets, just 1:15 into the third.
The rest of the third period was very tightly contested, with both teams generating chances at either end. Credit to the Jackets, they hung in there against one of the NHL's best teams. Even without Nikita Kucherov in the lineup, they are still a dangerous club.
The Lightning put up a strong effort with the net empty late, getting several very good looks on Jet Greaves, but he was able to make some big saves and help earn the Jackets a 3-2 win.
Three standouts:
1. Kirill Marchenko. What more can we say about Marchy? The team needed a goal in the third period, and their best offensive player delivered with an absolute beauty.
2. Mathieu Olivier. After the team was called out in the last game for playing too soft, their enforcer took it as a personal challenge. He slayed Tampa Bay's 6'9" giant in an early fight, assisted on Severson's game tying goal, and put a headlock on Brandon Hagel after the final horn.
3. Denton Mateychuk. Tasked with playing on the top pairing alongside Zach Werenski, Mateychuk quietly had a very strong game. He played 21:24, and had very positive metrics - especially considering the fact that he was playing on his off side.
Conclusion
The Jackets needed to win this one, probably more than they have needed to win any game in the last few seasons. They couldn't afford to lose their first three home games this year, regardless the opposition.
There is still a lot for them to work on. Most notably, their special teams. The power-play was again held scoreless, and they surrendered another power-play goal against.
But, the end result is a win. They got some secondary scoring tonight, and Jet Greaves bounced back from an early softie to have a strong finish. On to the next one, which comes Tuesday night in Dallas.