There are positives and negatives to be taken from each and every game in the NHL. For instance, last night the Blue Jackets got the offense going scoring four goals and came out of the game against Dallas with a point. That’s the good news.

On the flip side Columbus allowed five goals, lost the game in OT and those four goals were scored on a mediocre goaltender. Richard Bachman might make a pretty good pseudonym for the world’s best known horror author but it isn’t the name of one of the league’s better goalies. Coming into the evening Bachman boasted a Save % of just 0.857 so getting a few pucks past him hasn’t proven to be too tough for anyone this season.

Also on the negative side of the ledger was last night’s injury to C Derick Brassard. Brassard left the game in period two and didn’t return with what was reported to be an “upper-body injury.”

Prior to the game word came out that James Wisniewski would be out due to a broken foot suffered early in the 1 – 0 loss to Chicago. He ended up playing more than 26 minutes; most of which was on the broken foot. That’s toughness. Nonetheless he’s expected out for 4 – 6 weeks.

Back to last night’s contest; if you were interested in seeing an exciting game with great passing and pretty goals hopefully you didn’t watch this one. If you appreciate dirty goals, redirections and deflections then this was the game for you. Of the nine goals tallied, just two came on bang-bang passing plays; the rest were the result of traffic in front of the net, rebounds and deflections.

Dallas entered play Tuesday fresh off the heels of a 5 – 4 OT loss to Nashville the night before. Columbus was returning home after a six-game road trip. I expected the Jackets to be energized playing in front of the home crowd and figured Dallas might be a little sluggish coming off their disappointing loss Monday night. Yet it was the Stars that were the faster team, the club that pressed the play and created the better scoring opportunities.

Despite that the Jackets still had a chance to steal the extra point when RJ Umberger scored with less than two minutes left to tie the game at four and sending the game to OT. Columbus then committed an inexcusable gaffe in their defensive zone leading to the winning goal by Loui Eriksson.

Derek Roy fired a shot on goal from along the RW boards that Bobrovsky kicked out. At this point Bobrovsky had a brief chance to move the puck out of danger but he hesitated. Eriksson was able to fight through a weak effort by Adrian Aucoin to hold him off and as he was falling to the ice the Stars winger slid the puck in behind Bobrovsky.

Aucoin has to do a better job of containing Eriksson there. Instead of moving his feet and using his size to shove Eriksson off the puck he tried to hold him up with his stick instead. Of course Bobrovsky could have jabbed the puck out of danger but he paused allowing Eriksson to get to the loose puck.

Losing a game that way after fighting back to tie four separate times is terribly disappointing. And had they completed the comeback and come away with two points instead of one could have done wonders for the team’s confidence. Instead it’s just another loss in what is looking more and more like a season full of them.

Impressions:

Jaromir Jagr – I still love watching him play. He’s 41 now and not the same player he was in his prime but he’s still impossible to push off the puck and he generates a lot of scoring chances for his line. I have a feeling Jagr could continue to contribute to an NHL team for another couple of seasons.

Alex Goligoski – I hate to sound critical of Goligoski but every time I heard his name last night the one inescapable thought that I had was, “the Stars traded James Neal for this guy?” Goligoski is an important player for Dallas. He sees the second most ice time per game and plays in all situations. Still, 40-goal scorers don’t grow on trees and I have to wonder if the Stars might regret having made that trade.

Offense – Yes, it was against a mediocre goalie but netting four last night had to feel good for a club that has had trouble scoring all season. The Jackets, taking a page out of the Stars playbook, simplified their attack focusing on getting pucks to the net and traffic in front of the goalie. It worked well in the third period as Columbus got goals from Cam Atkinson on a rebound and Umberger’s tying tally came when he converted a centering feed while stationed in the slot. Go to the net and get rewarded when your teammates can get the puck to the area.

Injury updates:

Brassard – A tweet to Rob Mixer of BlueJackets.com asking if there was an update on Brassard brought the following response: “Team didn’t skate today, so no update yet.” Wish I could give you more but that’s where it stands now.

Johnson and Dubi – During last night’s Fox Sports Ohio telecast, Jeff Rimer and Bill Davidge indicated both players could be back in about a week. That’s none too soon for a team that was missing their top two centers and top defense pair last night.

Anisimov – Artie is said to be feeling better but is only participating in light, off-ice workouts for now, according to Mixer. He was told by Todd Richards that the club will monitor his progress day-by-day.

Join the Discussion: » 4 Comments » Post New Comment

» Murray to Miss 4 - 6 Following Knee Surgery

» Columbus Deadline Rundown

» Blue Jackets Deadline Plans

» Tyutin to Miss Two to Three Weeks with Ankle Injury

» Blue Jackets Playing Contingent Out in Sochi