Sidney Crosby sinks Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets and Pittsburgh Penguins played a fairly even game on Tuesday night, or at least that's what the stats will tell you. But on the ice, it felt like a completely different story. It seemed like the Pens controlled this game in every aspect.
The Jackets did take a first-period lead with 32 seconds left when Yegor Chinakhov wristed one past Jarry. The goal was assisted by Erik Gudbranson and Zach Werenski. Kirill Marchenko scored earlier in the first to tie it.
After Jake Guentzel tied the game in the second period, the third was all Penguins, because that's when the big guns showed up. Erik Karlsson scored the go-ahead goal 8:40 into the third. The Jackets would then tie it at 3 when Alex Texier scored a few minutes after the Pens took the lead. But then Sidney Crosby, who already had a goal in the game, scored on a beautiful tip-in to take the lead. And then with under a minute left, he would send a puck into the empty net for the hat trick. The Jackets would fall 5-3.
Final Stats
Courtesy of CBJ appThree Observations
- They weren't physical enough. Not enough bodies were getting thrown around in this game. Sean Kuraly only had 1 hit against the Pens. Kuraly plays better when he's throwing his body around and on Tuesday, it was non-existent. Six different players had 2 hits each, but none of them were memorable.
- Johnny Gaudreau seems hesitant to shoot the puck. Several times on Tuesday he seemed timid when he had the puck. He only had 1 shot on the night, and quite frankly, I was shocked to see he had even the one. Gaudreau is a superstar, and no one needs to tell him he's in a slump, but he needs to end that slump as soon as possible.
- The PK is great, and if you watch it in action, those guys make quick decisions. They get the puck and clear it. Or they get it, make a quick pass, and clear it. It seems to be a very simple process while on the PK. Maybe that's what the PP needs to do. Just keep it simple. Shoot more and pass less.
Player Notes
- Zach Werenski now sits atop the all-time CBJ assists by a defenseman category. With his assist on the Chinakhov goal, he has now surpassed Seth Jones with 174 assists.
- Erik Gudbranson now has 7 points in his last seven games.
- Kirill Marchenko now has 9 points in 14 games this season. He is now the 4th player in Jackets history to score 25 goals in 73 or fewer games. He joins Geoff Sanderson, Scott Hartnell, and Brandon Saad.
The Blue Jackets will be back home tomorrow to play Logan Cooley and the Arizona Coyotes at 7 p.m.
Join Jason Newland's Columbus Blue Jacket page on Bunches, a new app that connects sports fans. Also, you can watch a new YouTube game show about the Blue Jackets, Around the Fifth Line.