Another win, another big injury: Columbus Blue Jackets down Buffalo Sabres: 4 takeaways
The Blue Jackets’ injury luck continues to skew heavily toward bad over good.
Despite rattling off a six-goal performance in a 6-4 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday at Nationwide Arena, the Blue Jackets’ celebration was muted by another key player lost to injury. This time, forward Kent Johnson went down with an upper-body injury that “didn’t look good,” according to coach Dean Evason. That could mean Johnson will land on injured reserve along with captain Boone Jenner (shoulder surgery), defenseman Erik Gudbranson (upper body) and Dmitry Voronkov (upper body).
The game turned in the Sabres’ favor after Johnson’s injury, but not enough to stem the Blue Jackets’ offense on another impressive night where six different players scored goals and multiple defensemen got into the offensive gameplan — including Damon Severson scoring a goal.
Here are four takeaways:
Columbus Blue Jackets need luck to change with injuries
Voronkov and Jenner went down late in the preseason, both with shoulder injuries. Jenner’s happened near the end of a practice session for players who weren’t going to play in that day’s road game in Pittsburgh to end the exhibition slate.
Gudbranson’s injury, which had his right arm in a sling Thursday night, was also a fluke occurrence. He and Sean Monahan collided behind the play in the neutral zone, not far from where Johnson fell over van Riemsdyk two days later.
It’s enough to make you wonder whether the Blue Jackets need to drop four-leaf clovers from the rafters or bring a team of various religious leaders into the building for a wholescale cleansing of bad mojo. This is the third straight season the Blue Jackets have dealt with a spate of key injuries after piling up a combined 890 man-games lost the previous two years.
Enough is enough.
Sean Monahan’s line continues to shine for Columbus Blue Jackets
The Blue Jackets’ first forward line is developing into a formidable force with veteran Sean Monahan in the middle and wingers Yegor Chinakhov and Kirill Marchenko on the flanks.
Chinakhov’s second goal of the season opened the scoring on a power play at 5:12 of the first period, while Marchenko added two points on a goal and assist. Chinakhov and Marchenko are tied for the team’s scoring lead with two goals, four assists and six points apiece, while Monahan has 2-2-4 in the season’s first four games.
After signing with the Blue Jackets on July 1 as a free agent, the veteran pivot is quickly developing chemistry with his new Russian linemates. They’re only filling those roles out of necessity following Johnny Gaudreau’s tragic death and Jenner’s shoulder surgery, but all three are clicking to start the season.
“We call him ‘Monahanov,’” Marchenko said, smirking. “It’s like a Russian last name. He’s good, too. He’ll start to speak Russian, I think, after a couple months. I’m joking, but he’s good. He’s every time, in good position, and can make a pass every time. He wins battles, he has big experience in the NHL and he’s really a help for us, for me and (Chinakhov).”
According to Natural Stat Trick, the Blue Jackets thrived in 13:25 of 5-on-5 with their top line on the ice, posting large advantages in attempted shots (19-5, 79.2%), unblocked attempts (13-4, 76.5%), shots on goal (9-3, 75%), scoring chances (8-3, 72.7%) and expected goals (0.70-0.25).
Columbus Blue Jackets’ fourth line capitalizes against Buffalo Sabres
They didn’t get a lot of ice time, as usual, but the Blue Jackets’ fourth line of Sean Kuraly, Zach Aston-Reese and Mathieu Olivier made the best of their 5-on-5 time (4:22).
Aston-Reese scored his first goal since joining the Blue Jackets as a waiver claim late in the preseason, pushing their lead to 5-3 just 15 seconds into the third period. Olivier scored his first goal of the season to make it 4-2 late in the second and Kuraly played a solid two-way game to finish with a +1 plus/minus rating while winning three of his five faceoffs (60%).
Olivier and Aston-Reese also spent time playing with Adam Fantilli after Johnson left the game early in the second period. Olivier played 14:34 and finished with two points on a goal and assist – just the third multi-point game of his NHL career (172 games).
Adam Fantilli impresses for Columbus Blue Jackets in win over Buffalo Sabres
Assuming Johnson is out longer than a few games, the Blue Jackets will need somebody else to account for his lost offense. Fantilli got a great start in that process against the Sabres, scoring his second goal of the season and skating a strong 17:49 on 24 shifts.
Fantilli and defenseman Ivan Provorov each had four shots to tie for the team high, and the Jackets’ second year center won eight of 13 draws for a 62% success rate at the dots. Fantilli also centered a rotation of wingers following Johnson’s injury and could see his usage increase going forward.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 4 takeaways from Columbus Blue Jackets' win over Buffalo Sabres
