It has been said many times throughout the season, but the Blue Jackets could ill afford a slow start Saturday night against a rested and confident New York Islanders team.
And what they could ill afford turned out to the reality only eight minutes into the game, when Columbus found itself down 2-0 on two goals from Josh Bailey.
Digging deep and finding a couple of clutch goals allowed the Blue Jackets to hang around, tying the game twice and finding themselves in a 3-3 game headed to the third period. But the Islanders kicked it into high gear for the third period, scoring three times en route to a 6-3 victory — their fourth in a row.
The first goal came 67 seconds into the first period, as captain John Tavares won a battle behind the net and tossed the puck into the crease. Bailey scooped up the puck and fired an off-balance wrist shot through Anton Forsberg, the Jackets’ rookie goaltender who was making his fourth career start tonight.
Bailey got his second on another set up from Tavares, but this was far more crafty than the first. Tavares circled the Columbus net and appeared as though he would hang on to the puck, but instead, found Bailey low in the right circle for a tight-angle roof job that gave the Islanders a 2-0 lead amidst a wave of momentum.
But just when it looked like it would get out of hand, the Blue Jackets settled in and turned the tables late in the first period.
Brandon Dubinsky scored on a 2-on-1 rush and Cam Atkinson scored on a fast break chance to turn that two-goal deficit into a 2-2 after 20 minutes, quieting the Nassau Coliseum crowd and salvaging what had been a disastrous start for the Jackets. The Islanders forged ahead once again in the second period thanks to a goal from Ryan Strome, but the Jackets again had answer — this time in the final minute of the second.
Nick Foligno got his team-leading 22nd goal of the season by capping off a terrific passing play between he, Scott Hartnell and James Wisniewski. It looked as though the Jackets were in a good spot despite being out-shot, with a chance to play a tight third period and hopefully steal a win on the road, but the Islanders weren’t into that.
Frans Nielsen and John Tavares scored in the first seven minutes of the third period to open it up, and Tavares’ second of the night put the game on ice with 8:15 to go.
“We didn’t do a real good job of shutting them down,” Hartnell said. “They play a real fast game. I think we looked a little slow to start, and they were really buzzing there early. We fought back…but every chance they earned it seemed like it went in the net. It’s tough on a young goalie when you’re giving up that many opportunities.”
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