First Period

The Blue Jackets came into Friday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens looking to extend their four-game win-streak. After a stunning opening ceremony on Military Appreciation Night, the puck dropped. The Canadiens jumped on the board first after a misplay from goaltender Joonas Korpisalo. The newly named “starting” goalie couldn’t contain a rebound that led to an ugly sequence from the defense. As is customary recently, the Jackets gave up a weak back-side goal because Markus Nutivaara (but really, insert any defender here) decided not to stay home and defend his side of the ice. After the goal, however, the Jackets pushed back. Columbus outshot Montreal 11-1 after the goal to close out the final 13 minutes of the period. A brief, non-threatening penalty kill, though, interrupted their momentum and they failed to get on the board. The Jackets closed out the period with recent call-up Kevin Stenlund taking a hooking penalty. With Montreal’s power play ranking dead last in the NHL, perhaps the Jackets took two penalties to show the fans at Nationwide Arena that their poor display with the extra attacker could be worse (yes, it’s possible).

Second Period

The second period was a continuation of the first. The Blue Jackets killed off the opening penalty and then pushed back trying to gain some sort of traction. Though Columbus controlled much of the play, they were unable to get on the board early in the period. During their four-game streak, the Jackets focused on limiting odd-man rushes. Montreal, however, cracked the code and Tomas Tatar picked up his second of the night on a breakaway with a nice move to freeze Korpisalo. As the Jackets tried to claw back into the game, the referee halted them and forced the team to a power play. They didn’t score. Again, the Jackets out-gunned Montreal in the period, 10-7, but just couldn’t solve the Carey Price puzzle.

Third Period

As the puck dropped to start the third period, the sellout crowd seemed to sense that it was only a matter of time until the Jackets finally connected. Their feelings were validated when Oliver Bjorkstrand, after a hustle play, banged home a loose puck in front of the net to finally get the Jackets on the board. The energy in the building picked up as the fans tried to will their team to tie the game. The Jackets displayed their ability to find the narrow passing lane, but seemed to miss their connections by mere inches, turning the puck over and ending their threats. Tortorella pulled Korpisalo with about two minutes left. The Jackets lost possession of the puck almost simultaneously which led to a helpless Korpisalo watching as Joel Armia scored an empty-netter to make it 3-1. Armia scored another empty-net goal a little later in the period to put the nail in the coffin.

Final Thoughts

Though the Jackets had their opportunities (35 shots) they just couldn’t finish when necessary. To help Ohioans better understand: it was like watching Top Thrill Dragster misfire over and over – they just couldn’t get over the hump. Close, but not quite enough. Columbus goes through stretches of having to do so many things perfectly to get a result. This is only magnified when they play good teams adept at shutting down “puck luck.” The Blue Jackets have just one game left before their week-long break. The team will be in Minnesota Saturday night to try and head into the break on the right foot.

Avid watcher of the Blue Jackets, Browns, Indians, and Buckeyes. Be sure to follow me on Twitter @jacksonsjackets for CBJ news, updates, and articles.