One night in Dallas, special teams click and the Blue Jackets win big

The Blue Jackets won their second game in a row last night, beating the Stars 5-1 in Dallas. It was easily their most impressive performance of the season, and a lot of the credit goes to their special teams.

How many times have we been able to say that in this team's entire history?

Despite entering last night's game with a 2-3-0 record, the Jackets have been pretty solid at 5 on 5 this season. What has killed them on many nights has been both special teams units.

They started the evening ranked last in both categories, having scored just one power-play goal in 13 attempts (7.6%), and allowing 8 goals in 18 shorthanded opportunities (44.4%).

Last night, both units were perfect. They killed off both Dallas power-plays, and capitalized on both of their extra man opportunities.

As a result, we wake up this morning to them owning the 18th best power-play in the NHL (3/15, 20%). They also surpassed Ottawa and now own the 31st place penalty kill. Small victory, but a victory nonetheless.

Building on this success is going to be very important for this team, because if they can improve in this department, they are as good as any team in the league. Let's dive into why they were successful.

On the power-play...

Last night, I thought the Blue Jackets played more direct with the extra man. It did not start that way, however.

With their first power-play, late in the first period, we saw the telltale signs that have made this unit wholly ineffective for the past few years. Guys were standing still, and throwing passes around the boards. That doesn't work.

Instead of the skill guys using their best attributes to make a nice play, it was the second unit that found a way to get the team on the board. It was a greasy goal, one that could have easily been called back due to a kicking motion. But in the end, it counted.

You can catch a longer look at the play here. It's really simple. They win the faceoff, get a body to the net, make two direct passes and then get it down to that net-front man.

Each player who had the puck drew in a defender and opened up space for someone else. Then they fed the puck to that open man, and worked it through until it became a high danger chance. Charlie Coyle made a nice play with the shot-pass, and Boone Jenner just has to tap (or kick) it into the net.

The second unit made things look really easy by just being direct and making quick decisions with the puck. They challenged the Stars' PK and were rewarded for it. That's how this thing should work.

Not wanting to be outdone, the first unit was very hungry when the team got another opportunity on the power-play, late in the third. Again, quick decisions with the puck combined with direct passes to create a scoring chance. Dmitri Voronkov made no mistake:

It was a similar play to the first power-play goal, if you think about it. Though this one started from their own end, it's the smart passing that stands out. Kirill Marchenko gains the line and finds Sean Monahan with a direct pass, rather than dumping it around the boards.

Monahan buys an extra half second, drawing in a defender; then finds Voronkov filling the space that Marchenko just opened up. The result is one of those tic-tac-toe goals that we are always longing for.

On the penalty kill...

The Jackets shut down the Stars' power-play, which is one of the best in the entire NHL. They entered last night clicking at a 33.3% rate, but went 0-2 against what was the worst PK in the league.

I'll be completely honest with this assessment: I don't think the Blue Jackets did anything special on the penalty kill last night. They blocked some shots, and cleared the puck a few times.

But, Dallas still generated some very good chances with the extra man. The difference last night was Elvis Merzlikins, who stopped all 5 shots he faced while shorthanded, and allowed his team to keep their heads above water.

There is still a lot of work to be done on both units, but it was good to see them have some success last night. It paid off in a big way, with a big road win against one of the NHL's best teams.

On a lot of nights, this could have been a 2 or 3 goal swing the other way. That's what we've seen from the Jackets so far this season. But, we just learned that when special teams click, this team is good. Really good.

How good? This was the largest margin of victory the Blue Jackets have ever had against the Stars. Hopefully, they can use this win as momentum against two Metropolitan Division foes this weekend.