Once the Blue Jackets found their footing in tonight’s game, they certainly made it interesting – and they nearly left Brooklyn with two points.
They were guilty of a slow start (okay, a very slow start) and registered only two shots on goal in the opening period. Thomas Greiss, assuming the No. 1 role for the Islanders with Jaroslav Halak injured, wasn’t tested until the third period, and that’s when it got a little crazy.
Down 3-1 after 20 minutes, the Blue Jackets gathered themselves and tied the game in the third period, but a power play goal from Anders Lee gave the Islanders a much-needed 4-3 win at Barclays Center as their playoff push rolled along.
And during a stretch in which goals and scoring chances have been hard to come by, the Blue Jackets saw the dam break a little bit, but it wasn’t enough.
“We need to be better,” captain Nick Foligno said. “You’re not going to win a lot of games if you’re scoring one or two. We had chances to get the fourth one.”
Brandon Dubinsky scored the opening goal 4:14 into the first period, capitalizing on a heads-up play and sacrifice from line mate Boone Jenner, who blocked a shot in his own zone that sprung an odd-man rush for Columbus.
With Cam Atkinson on the other wing, Dubinsky fired a low shot to beat Greiss on the glove side and give the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead on their first shot of the game.
The Islanders answered in a big way, scoring three unanswered goals to put a strangle hold on the game late in the first period. John Tavares tied it at 7:25 after burying a great pass from Ryan Strome, then it was Thomas Hickey beating Sergei Bobrovsky with a long-range slap shot at 17:51 to give New York its first lead.
And with 1:28 remaining in the first, Tavares scored his second of the game on a bang-bang play around the net. Those late two goals – 41 seconds apart – gave the Islanders a huge life going into the second period.
But the Blue Jackets bounced back.
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