Columbus, Ohio - There was a real worry about how the team would respond after losing 5-1 to Nashville on Monday. Couple that with four days off for the Christmas holiday and one was left to wonder which team would take the ice.
That fear was assuaged at 8:11 of the first period as Scott Hartnell, in his first game back from Injured Reserve, got the Blue Jackets on the board. He ended the night with two goals on two shots and four hits.
While they would go on to beat the visiting Boston Bruins 6-2 and earn a very valuable two points in the standings, it was the way they played the game that mattered.
With goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky scratched due to stomach issues, Curtis McElhinney got the start. They have not played well in front of him very much this season and that was addressed prior to the game by the guys in the room.
"We owed Mac a big effort," Hartnell said after the win. "We were brutal at the beginning of the year and left him out to dry a bunch of times. Dubi (Brandon Dubinsky) brought that up before the game."
Against the Bruins, they cleared traffic in front of McElhinney throughout the game and many time limited Boston to 'one-and-done' shots. Being able to see the shots allowed him to make timely saves when they were needed. His rebound control was much better against the Bruins than at other times this season.
"The forwards and the defense boxing out players did a tremendous job," said McElhinney. "If there were any rebounds, they were all over the guys. It was great to see."
With the team stepping up with collective resolve to be better in front of him, it was a good time for McElhinney to have arguably his best game of the season. At times, he made it look like he was having an easy time in goal.
"It certainly makes my life much more enjoyable," he said, "that's for sure. Any time that you get the goal support that we did tonight, it helps. It takes a little bit of pressure off the goalie."
In addition to Hartnell having a two-goal night, Kevin Connauton (1-2-3), Nick Foligno (1-0-1), Matt Calvert (1-1-2) and Jeremy Morin (1-0-1) all scored. For Foligno, it was his 17th goal of the season in just 33 games, one goal shy of tying his career best set last year in 70 games. Morin, playing in just his fifth game since being traded from Chicago, scored his first goal as a Blue Jacket.
"It was a better game," said head coach Todd Richards. "I think, as a coach, you sit back and you see the things that you have to fix. But, obviously scoring six goals against a very good hockey team... it says a lot about the group coming together and finding a way to win this game."
Cam Atkinson, after just two shifts in the first period and a hit by Matt Bartkowski, left the ice and did not return. Richards said after the game that he has an upper-body injury and ruled him out for the game on Wednesday versus Minnesota.
Jack Skille was also lost to an upper-body injury in the second period after catching a dump-in attempt from Dubinsky in the side of the head. He'll be re-evaluated Sunday. The team played the remainder of the game with just 10 forwards.
The end result was a team that doesn't know the word 'quit' and came out playing with desperation. From the goalie on out to the forwards, they played one of their most complete, team games of the season.
They are 9-1-1 in the month of December with one game remaining on Wednesday night to close out the month. They are truly making this a memorable month. Then again, they had to in order to rejoin the playoff conversation. They are sitting one game below .500 at 15-16-3 and the only easy day was yesterday.
