Everyone knew there would be games where goaltending would have to steal a win. Thursday evening in Sunrise, Florida was such a night.
It was Grand Larceny at its finest as Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky faced 55 shots on goal on a total of 99 attempts by the Florida Panthers. Through the final 40 minutes of regulation and five minutes of overtime, he had basically no help from his teammates.
"He stole this one," said Blue Jackets head coach Todd Richards about Bobrovsky, "without question. He was tremendous in the game and the only that we got two points."
Most teams are good enough to take a three-goal lead and not worry too much about the outcome. Not so with the Blue Jackets. They proved, once again, that no lead is safe with them.
After stringing together some decent team play over the previous two games, they checked out after going up 3-0 just 51 seconds into the second period. They stopped skating and started losing board battles.
The Panthers scored three quick goals in the second over a span of 4:37 to knot the game at three. They were back on their heels as Florida just kept coming at them in waves.
"We did nothing to get it into their zone and play in their zone," said Richards, "because we spent the whole period in our own zone. It was tough to get it out of our zone, with possession, so we could get it in and even forecheck. We had to get it out just so we could change (lines)."
There was a real sense of impending collapse that manifested itself through their play. They became reactive to everything Florida was doing, after dictating the pace in the first period of play. Their cohesion evaporated as quickly as their three-goal lead did.
"In the first period, I thought we played pretty decent," Richards said. "We got up 3-0 and it all unraveled from there. We were on our heels just trying to defend. Our goalie was great and really covered a lot of mistakes."
Bobrovsky saw a career high 55 shots on goal while making 52 saves, which set a franchise record. He made some spectacular saves to keep it a 3-3 game through overtime. One would think that he won't have to buy any meals on the road for quite some time after that performance.
"It was really important for us to get the points," Bobrovsky said after the game. "I was focused on helping my teammates. I can't remember most of the shots. I'm happy, way happy, to get the two points."
While this was the epitome of an ugly win, they proved that there's more than one way to skin a cat. The real danger for them is that they might start to think that their goaltender will be able to bail them out on a regular basis. Thinking this way would obviously be a grave mistake on their part.
Focusing on playing their team game, which they have shown they can do, is what will aid them in climbing from the depths of the standings. Although, there is a silver lining that goes with this win - they play in the Metropolitan Division.
With a record of 8-15-2 after 25 games, they are still dead last in the division. But, they are merely 8 points out of a guaranteed playoff position. The New York Rangers are currently third in the division with 26 points. That has to be the focus for the Blue Jackets. They are 11 points out of the second wild card spot currently occupied by the Boston Bruins.
They travel from the sunny locale of south Florida to the Gulf Coast to take on the NHL's best Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday. They had better put this game behind them and get their minds focused on playing a full 60-minute game and being disciplined.
The time for wake-up calls is past, as the margin of error is razor thin for them getting back into the hunt for a return trip to the playoffs. Don't count them down and out just yet, but you might want to hedge your bets.
