1 Columbus Blue Jackets News Clips February 12, 2020 Columbus Blue
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Columbus Blue Jackets News Clips February 12, 2020 Columbus Blue Jackets PAGE 02 The Columbus Dispatch: Lightning 2, Blue Jackets 1, OT | 3-2-1 Breakdown PAGE 06 The Columbus Dispatch: Seth Jones out 8 to 10 weeks for Blue Jackets PAGE 07 The Athletic: Seth Jones’ injury provides Zach Werenski with a big test PAGE 10 NHL.com: Jones surprises youth hockey player before Blue Jackets game PAGE 12 ESPN.com: NHL Trendspotting : How do the Columbus Blue Jackets just keep winning games Cleveland Monsters/Prospects NHL/Websites PAGE 15 The Athletic: ‘They firmly see me as one of the best 26 broadcasters in the league’: ECHL play-by-play voice only wants to be heard PAGE 20 The Athletic: NHL Trade Big Board 2.0: 23 players who could move before the deadline 1 The Columbus Dispatch: Lightning 2, Blue Jackets 1, OT | 3-2-1 Breakdown By Brian Hedger – February 11, 2020 There were positives for the Blue Jackets to take away from their 2-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night at Nationwide Arena, but one big concern too. The positives? Well, those included another solid game for rookie goalie Elvis Merzlikins (28 saves) and another disciplined defensive effort against one of the NHL’s most dangerous teams. Another rookie, Liam Foudy, made his NHL debut in a game the Jackets played seven rookies, and at the end Columbus earned another point to pull even at 70 with the third-place New York Islanders in the Metropolitan Division. That was all good, especially the point earned – which was the 25th time the Jackets have done that in the past 28 games (20-3-5). The concern, other than Cam Atkinson and Seth Jones both out with injuries, was again in the offensive zone. The Jackets only got one puck past the opposing goalie again, which was the second straight game that’s happened and fourth time in six games since returning from their nine-day break in January. In fact, had it not been for an empty-net goal in a 2-0 victory Friday against Detroit, the Jackets would have scored just one goal in five of those six games. It’s getting to be a problem and only 25 games remain to fix it. “Obviously, we need to be able to put the puck into the net a little bit more,” said Oliver Bjorkstrand, who scored the Jackets’ lone goal to tie it 1-1 early in the second period. “It’s kind of been a theme the last few games. We’ve got to help Elvis out a little bit and score a few more goals ... I thought we played a good game. Just got to score a little bit more.” Lately, that’s been easier said than done – and it’s probably not a simple fix with defenses becoming stingier the deeper into a season you get. Along with Atkinson and Jones, who is out indefinitely and needs ankle surgery, the Jackets are also missing Josh Anderson, Alexander Wennberg, Ryan Murray and rookie Alexandre Texier – all of whom contribute to offensive production in separate ways. Getting one of more of them back, healthy, could be part of the solution – but getting more goals from their current lineup is the other. It didn’t happen Saturday night in a 2-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche and was a problem again Monday. “I thought we showed them way too much respect in the first period, way too much,” coach John Tortorella said of the Lightning, who outshot the Blue Jackets 15-8 and took a 1-0 lead in the first 20 minutes. “ We caught ahold of ourselves (in the second) and then I thought we played a really good hockey game.” They just didn’t score enough. Again. Here’s the 3-2-1 breakdown of it … three takeaways, two questions and one more thing: 2 Three Takeaways 1) Magnified mistake Nothing exposes mistakes in this game like the open ice of 3-on-3 overtime, which we’ve seen quite a bit in the past couple seasons for the Jackets. The past two years, the Jackets were the team that often pounced on mistakes or forced them with great plays that led to winning goals. Those teams started most overtimes with Artemi Panarin, Pierre- Luc Dubois and Seth Jones, then rolled out Cam Atkinson, Zach Werenski and offensive-minded forward. Panarin is a New York Ranger now, replaced in OT by Gustav Nyquist, and that’s been another good mix with Dubois and Jones. Losing Jones is noticeable in all facets, but it’s really going to sting in these OT games. Jones’ calmness and strength carrying the puck, combined with his vision and elite skating, are all irreplaceable tools – at least the combination of them in one player, that is. Werenski has a lot of those same tools at his disposal, but he’s now stepping into Jones’ role as the quarterback of the Jackets’ top 3-on-3 unit. Those are big skates to fill, literally and figuratively, and his first crack at it didn’t turn out well. Brayden Point’s swipe of the puck behind the net – in which he muscled it away from Werenski – led directly to the tic-tac-toe play that Kucherov finished for the winner, which Werenski owned up to it afterward. “Yeah, I (screwed) that one up,” Werenski said. “It’s about it pretty much.” 2) Bjorkstrand’s latest It was the only goal the Blue Jackets scored, but that was the only negative about Bjorkstrand’s 18th goal of the season. Otherwise, it was a beauty. Taking advantage of Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak’s stick breaking in the neutral zone, Bjorkstrand sped toward the Tampa Bay blue line to receive a pass from Dubois that sprung him in alone against goalie Curtis McElhinney. A slick forehand-backhand move later, the puck was in the net and the game was knotted at 1. The arena was also energized, coming back to life after the Lightning controlled most of the action in the first period. The Blue Jackets need more than Bjorkstrand scoring goals, but him continuing to score them is also important. After scoring five in a three-game goal streak in his return from a 13-game injury absence, Bjorkstrand had been held without a goal in the previous four games. Barring another injury, he’s on pace to finish with 28 goals – which would surpass his current career-high of 23 by five. 3) Foudy’s debut 3 It was an odd move to pull a player out of a junior season, using an emergency recall to bring Liam Foudy up for his first NHL taste. It was even more curious that he made his debut Monday night against the Lightning – one of the NHL’s best teams. It doesn’t usually happen that way, but it will definitely be a 24-hour period Foudy will remember. He went from getting some rest in London on Sunday straight to Columbus after a conversation with Dale Hunter – a former NHL player, coach and the Knights’ owner/coach. Foudy, who turned 20 last week, skated at left wing on the second line and put a couple shots on net. He nearly scored his first NHL goal in the second period, but didn’t get on the scoresheet – playing 10:23 on 13 shifts. The Jackets’ first-round pick in 2018 (No. 18) also showed a couple impressive speed bursts. “Right away, it was one of the fastest games I’ve ever played in my life,” Foudy said. “They were right on us, right away, and I think after the first couple shifts and halfway through the first period, I got adjusted to the speed – and just tried to settle down and use my speed the best way I could, as well.” Following the game, Foudy was returned to the Knights – who have a game Tuesday – and defenseman Gabriel Carlsson was returned to the Cleveland Monsters. “Showed really good poise,” Tortorella said of Foudy. “I don’t think (he) was tentative at all and his skating sticks out. He is a fast player and I liked his game. Watching it from the bench without doing video, I liked a lot of things about his game.” Two Questions 1) Why was Foudy recalled? Tortorella was asked during the morning skate Monday why Foudy was tabbed for his NHL debut rather than recalling one of the Jackets’ forward prospects in Cleveland. It came down to Atkinson and other offensive contributors sitting out with injuries plus Foudy’s combination of speed and skill. Foudy has 20 goals, 23 assists and 43 points in just 32 games for London and helped Canada win the gold medal with three goals and four points at the world junior championship in January. “Cam goes down, it’s another offensive guy,” Tortorella said. “With (Alexander) Wennberg out, (Josh) Anderson out, Cam out and so many offensive people out, why not look at an offensive guy and give him a chance? He’s played very well in the reports that we’ve got from the Hunter brothers (in London).” Tortorella made sure to mention rookie center Ryan MacInnis and forward Jakob Lijla, who’ve each played fourth-line roles for the Jackets. Both are with Cleveland now after MacInnis was reassigned there Saturday night. The Monsters also have forward prospects Kole Sherwood and Trey Fix-Wolansky they could tap. “I don’t want to downplay Mac and Lils or other people in Cleveland,” Tortorella said of the decision to go with Foudy.