Columbus Blue Jackets take down Chicago Blackhawks 5-2 with solid road victory
CHICAGO ― After playing two of the NHL’s best teams in their previous three games, the Blue Jackets got a different kind of test Saturday night.
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Facing the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center, one of the Jackets’ peers among the league’s “rebuilders” group, the challenge was to treat it like a primetime matchup against another elite team like the New York Rangers or Carolina Hurricanes.
“I think you see the maturity of your team growing when you face a team like the New York Rangers ... but I want to see the maturity in our team,” Blue Jackets coach Pascal Vincent said at the Jackets’ morning skate. “I really liked the way we prepared against the Rangers, how they were ready to play those games, and I want to see the same thing (against the Blackhawks).”
Vincent got exactly what he wanted through most of the first two periods in the Jackets’ 5-2 victory, including a 4-1 lead starting the third period.
All were deserving, but only one can wear it!
Tonight’s kepi is passed onto Tex 🤠 pic.twitter.com/TKvHCxl5iD— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) March 3, 2024
“It’s a good win for us on the road, a good start,” Vincent said. “I thought we got better in the second period. We were a little bit more physical. It’s a good game for us.”
It wasn’t flawless though.
The Jackets’ intensity in puck battles noticeably waned late in the second period and carried into the start of the third — possibly due in part to playing their third of five games in a seven-day span. Crisp passes that went tape-to-tape in the game’s first 30-plus minutes were bobbled or off target for long stretches of the third. Possession time dropped, especially in the offensive zone.
It began to look how it had when the Blue Jackets (20-30-10) coughed up 13 leads in third periods of 12 previous losses. A big difference this time was the opposition.
Outside of rookie phenom Connor Bedard and a couple of seasoned veterans – including former Blue Jackets stalwarts Nick Foligno and Seth Jones — the Blackhawks (15-41-5) are significantly overmatched nearly every time they step on the ice. That was also the case against Columbus, but the Jackets have improved at protecting leads too.
Chicago cut it to 4-2 on a goal by Ryan Donato at 6:18 of the third, but that was as close as the Blackhawks got to tying it. Elvis Merzlikins made several key stops in the third among his 26 in the game, and Johnny Gaudreau scored into an empty net with 2:25 left to seal the victory.
Alexandre Texier, Boone Jenner, Mathieu Olivier and Cole Sillinger scored the first four goals for the Blue Jackets, who go back to facing playoff caliber competition next week.
“They made a push in the third, which is to be expected being down a couple goals,” Werenski said. “But coming on the road in a tough stretch for us, five in seven, I actually liked our game tonight. It wasn’t perfect by any means, but I think our whole team played well.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets sweep season series against Blackhawks
