Columbus Blue Jackets: 3 keys for victory in Game 2
The Columbus Blue Jackets lost Game 1 of their series to the Boston Bruins. It’s time for them to get back on the horse and head home with the series tied up.
The Columbus Blue Jackets pulled off one of the greatest upsets in NHL playoff history by sweeping the Tampa Bay Lightning, one of the best regular season teams we have ever seen. They are in the second round for the first time in their 18-year history and the city is buzzing with excitement.
Here are the three keys for the Blue Jackets if they want to go back to Columbus with the series tied up.
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3. Shake it off
It’s the Blue Jackets’ first ever second-round playoff berth and last night’s game was their first game since April 16th. Now the rust is gone and they know exactly what to expect.
The Blue Jackets have the scoring depth to match the Bruins and they can keep up both physically and scoring-wise. As long as they stick to their game, this series should be a war. Luckily, the Blue Jackets are built for that style of play and this will be a very tight series.
2. Stay Disciplined
Brad Marchand has mastered the art of being a pest and Atkinson experienced it first-hand last night when Marchand broke his stick as they lined up for a faceoff. The Blue Jackets have to make sure that they stay disciplined and do their best to stay in position and out of the penalty box.
The Bruins are borderline unstoppable off the rush and if a defenceman is caught pinching at the wrong time, they can turn the puck the other way with their speed for a very good chance.
Plus, the Bruins had a 43.8% powerplay success rate against the Maple Leafs and if the Blue Jackets are caught retaliating to the Bruins’ shenanigans, it can bite them in the long run. In round 1, Nazem Kadri got suspended for the rest of the series because he cross-checked Jake Debrusk in the head in retaliation to the hit on Patrick Marleau. Columbus has to stay disciplined and not fall for the Bruins’ bait.
1. Sergei Bobrovsky
The biggest reason why the Blue Jackets beat the Tampa Bay Lightning is because of the stellar play of Sergei Bobrovsky. After letting three goals in Game 1, he shut the door and in the four-game sweep, he let in a total of just 8 goals. In the regular season, he had a mediocre year, but he has shown up at the perfect time for the Blue Jackets and they need him to continue to be strong.
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Last night, he made some spectacular saves for Columbus to keep them in the game, especially on the penalty kill when he had to completely spread out to keep the puck out. The Bruins put 37 shots on net and Bobrovsky steered away 34 of them. If the Blue Jackets want to win, Bobrovsky will have to out-play Tuukka Rask.