Columbus Blue Jackets rebound from Sabres embarrassment to beat Calgary Flames 3-1
Forty-eight hours made a world of difference.
Wednesday night, the Blue Jackets were embarrassed in a five-goal loss to Buffalo. Coach Brad Larsen said Friday morning that he broke down the video from the game immediately after, as he sought answers to the many problems that plagued his team in the loss.
Two days later, hosting the Calgary Flames in front of a crowd of 16,902 at Nationwide Arena, the Blue Jackets were able to put together a complete effort for the first time in a week and broke a three-game losing streak with a 3-1 win.
"They had good energy," Larsen said. "This was a heck of a game by a lot of guys tonight. I thought it was a real good effort, solid all the way through."
From the beginning, Friday's game was the opposite of what happened Wednesday. Against the Sabres, the Blue Jackets took an early penalty and were in a 1-0 hole less than four minutes into the first period. But Friday, Patrik Laine got behind the Flames' defense less than a minute into the game and buried a shot from the slot to put his team up 1-0.
Unlike Tuesday's game in Pittsburgh, when Johnny Gaudreau put the Blue Jackets ahead a minute into the game but they lost 4-1, they were able to hang onto the lead this time. Eric Robinson scored on a breakaway of his own 2:52 into the second period.
The Flames pushed back in the third, and there were nervy moments as the Blue Jackets scrambled to keep the puck out of their net. Calgary broke up the shutout with 2:34 left to play, on a goal from Michael Stone with a six-on-five advantage, but Sean Kuraly scored an empty-net goal with just 23 seconds left to ice the win.
Here are three takeaways from the game.
Chemistry between Patrik Laine, Jack Roslovic helps Blue Jackets to win
Laine's early goal set a tone for the Blue Jackets in more ways than one. It primarily helped the team shake off the bad memories from Wednesday's first-period collapse, but it also was the first sign that Laine, Jack Roslovic and Yegor Chinakhov could be in for a good night as a line.
"We know how last game went, and especially the first period," Larsen said. "That 16-minute stretch pretty much sunk us. To get one early, I think it helped them, helped settle in. That was a solid game."
Larsen first combined Laine, Roslovic and Chinakhov midway through Wednesday's game, and Laine went on to score two goals. The trio stayed together Friday and saw the heaviest usage of any of the Blue Jackets' lines — per Natural Stat Trick, they played 10:01 together at five-on-five.
In those minutes, they outshot the Flames 6-3 and generated three high danger scoring chances while allowing zero to Calgary. Laine's goal was their only contribution on the score sheet, but they created several two-on-one rushes and were threatening throughout the night.
"Felt pretty good last game," Laine said. "Obviously, scored a couple goals last game even though it didn’t really matter. Could’ve had four or five tonight, easily. I feel really happy with the way the offense was going for us. All four lines played good offense and defense."
Larsen has toyed with separating Laine and Gaudreau on several occasions this season, but Friday was the first time they've played on separate lines for the entire game. He was quick to clarify that it isn't a demotion for Laine, but an attempt to bring parity to the Blue Jackets' offense.
"If we can balance out scoring, more than loading up one line, it really helps us," Larsen said. "It’s not a punishment. It’s going, ‘OK, can we balance this out a bit?’ ... You see those three guys skating, they all can move really well. You kind of cross your fingers that maybe you’ve got something there. We’ll see. Things change, but I really like what that line brought us tonight."
Elvis Merzlikins replaces Joonas Korpisalo in goal for second straight Blue Jackets game
Wednesday, Joonas Korpisalo was lifted after allowing three goals on the first five shots he faced. His performance wasn't an issue Friday, as he stopped all 12 shots he saw in the first period, but Merzlikins still entered the game to begin the second period.
Larsen said Korpisalo was feeling some lower body discomfort at the first intermission, which led to the decision to pull him from the game. Korpisalo had hip surgery in March and has only been back in games for just over a month. There's no confirmation that Friday's discomfort was related to the surgery, but it makes sense for the Blue Jackets to be cautious with Korpisalo.
That meant Merzlikins had about five minutes' notice before he entered the game, an uncomfortable setting for a goaltender.
"It’s not what you want because you don’t feel good," Merzlikins said. "Especially in warmups, Korpi takes always everything, so I had no shots. It’s hard to get in. My team did a really good job. They helped me out tonight. They let me get in the game."
The Blue Jackets held the Flames to just six shots in the second period, which helped Merzlikins settle in for the push that came in the third period. He allowed one goal on 14 shots in the final 20 minutes, and the goal came after the Flames pulled Jacob Markstrom for an extra attacker.
Merzlikins missed three weeks with a hip injury and made his first start back from the injury Tuesday in Pittsburgh, where both he and Larsen were fairly pleased with his performance despite the loss. Wednesday was another story, and Merzlikins said he "deleted" that game from his mind before Friday.
It wasn't the ideal way he would've wanted to get back on the ice, with essentially no time to prepare, but he settled into the game quickly and was important for the Blue Jackets in stopping their losing streak.
"Elvis was good in Pittsburgh," Larsen said. "Elvis had a good game there too. It didn’t go well last game. But that’s the frustrating part for him, because I thought even in (Pittsburgh), he was pretty good for us. When he came in, I thought we played a real good period in front of him. That was important."
Johnny Gaudreau plays first game against Calgary Flames since signing with Columbus in free agency
Friday's game carried extra meaning for Gaudreau, and his teammates knew it. Facing the Flames for the first time, the organization he spent 11 years with after being drafted in 2011 and where he played his first eight NHL seasons, was bound to be emotional.
Gaudreau acknowledged as much before Friday's game.
"It brings back so many memories," Gaudreau said. "I was part of the organization for 11 years and played with a few of those guys over there for a really long time. It’s great to see them, spend some time with them. But a big game for us and we want to get back on the right track here for ourselves."
The Blue Jackets honored Gaudreau's wish with the win. Though he admitted he didn't play his best game — his six-game point streak came to an end — it was evident that getting the win meant more to Gaudreau than his individual performance.
"It was special," Gaudreau said. "I’m glad we got the win tonight. All the guys knew how important or how special this game was to me. I didn’t even have the best game that I’m capable of. A lot of guys stepped up tonight and helped us get a win. Very thankful. It was a fun game to be a part of tonight."
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets bounce back in 3-1 win over Calgary Flames
