Three positives and three negatives from last night's Blue Jackets loss in Nashville

The Blue Jackets got their regular season underway last night in Nashville, ultimately dropping a tight 2-1 game to the Predators.

Despite the outcome, I thought the team played very well, but they could not solve goaltender Juuse Saros more than once on the night. If you missed it, you can catch our full recap of the game here.

There are definitely a lot of feelings with the team losing their first game of the season. But, it's important to remember that it was just one game. And, winning in Nashville is never easy.

So, after a night's sleep, let's dive in and take a deeper look at where the team was good - and, where they were not. We'll get the bad out of the way first.

Three negatives:

1. Three keys went out the window. In our game preview yesterday, the three keys to success were pretty basic. Last night, the Jackets failed on the first two. They gave up a goal within the first 10 minutes, and lost the special teams battle.

Though, to their credit, they did impose their physical will against the Predators. I guess, one out of three ain't bad? Were they not listening to me?

2. About those special teams. Let's be real here: you aren't going to win many games when you lose the special teams battle. The Jackets lost that battle decisively last night. Part of that was due to the officiating, which we questioned on more than a few occasions.

The Predators were handed four extra man opportunities, while the Blue Jackets only got one. But, the one chance they got looked completely out of sync, while Nashville found a way to score a power-play goal that ultimately decided the game.

Biggest takeaway here, they have to control what they can control. The Jackets have to find a way to be better with both special teams units this year.

3. That goaltender interference call. What is goaltender interference? Does anyone even know? This one was almost as bad as the one the Jackets benefitted from at the end of last season. Karma, I suppose.

Three positives:

1. Jet Greaves. It certainly wasn't a perfect night for Jet Greaves, but for a guy making his first opening night start in a tough road environment, he was outstanding.

He picked up right where he left off last season, stopping 29 of 31 shots, including a few absolute beauties. He gave the Jackets a chance to win this game, which is all you can ask from your goaltender.

2. Damon Severson's best game in Columbus? Just when everyone was writing him off, Damon Severson showed up and showed out last night.

With #78 on the ice, the Jackets out-chanced the Predators 18-4 per NaturalStatTrick. He posted a 72.3% CORSI and picked up a primary assist on the lone CBJ goal. If he can play anywhere near this level for the full season, this is a massive boost to this team's chances.

3. The Blue Jackets dominated the game at even strength. For long stretches of this one, it felt like the Jackets controlled the pace. They had the puck a lot, and out-shot the Predators 38-24 at even strength.

The best part about that is, it was the right guys who were getting chances. Kirill Marchenko had 8 shots on goal. Zach Werenski had 5. Kent Johnson had 3. The big guns mostly showed up, they just couldn't find the back of the net.

Final thoughts:

The Jackets were the better team last night. They deserved a better outcome, but they ran into a hot goaltender and some unfortunate officiating.

If they bring that kind of effort throughout this season, they are going to be just fine. There are 81 games to go, so the best thing to do is take the positives and move on to the next one.