Columbus Blue Jackets show resilience in Pittsburgh despite winless trip
Despite finishing winless on frustrating trip, Blue Jackets show resilience in latest loss to Penguins ColumbColumbus Blue Jackets have lost 15 consecutive regular season games at PPG Paints Arena, marking their sixth consecutive loss. The team's 3-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins was largely due to the contributions of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Despite a tough road trip, the team showed resilience and coach Pascal Vincent praised his team's performance. The Blue Jackets still have eight lineup regulars on the injury report. Goalie Daniil Tarasov made 33 saves to keep the team close, despite being outshot 36-19 by the Penguins.
Opublikowany : 4 tygodnie temu za pomocą Brian Hedger w Sports
PITTSBURGH ― A loss is a loss and the Blue Jackets have now done that in 15 straight regular season games at PPG Paints Arena dating back to Dec. 21, 2015.
That’s usually the overriding storyline for the Jackets while playing in what’s become their own personal house of horrors, but consecutive loss No. 15 here to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night had a different feel to it.
The Penguins eked out a 3-2 victory thanks mostly to the super duo of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, but the Blue Jackets were in it to the finish – including a 6-on-5 push with their net empty while seeking an equalizer that never materialized.
“They showed up,” Blue Jackets coach Pascal Vincent said of his team. “We played with pace, but most importantly, we talked about adversity this morning. We faced adversity the proper way and we tried to make the right plays. We tried to play the proper way, the right way, for three periods.”
That was the biggest takeaway for the Blue Jackets (23-38-12), who still have eight lineup regulars on the injury report. After having their doors blown off by the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights prior to the Arizona Coyotes surging past them, 6-2, on Tuesday night in Tempe, Arizona, the Blue Jackets needed to pick themselves up off the mat in Pittsburgh.
They did despite losing a sixth straight game and finishing a painful road trip without a win (0-4-1).
“It’s been a tough road trip, that’s for sure,” forward Mathieu Olivier said. “You want to end it on a good note. I thought we competed. They came at us hard in the second after we opened the scoring. (Goalie Daniil Tarasov) did an unbelievable job standing tall, and it’s disappointing. We really wanted to get a win here, but it just didn’t go our way.”
Olivier and Cole Sillinger scored the goals for the Blue Jackets, who needed Tarasov’s 33 saves to stay close while being outshot 36-19 by the Penguins (32-30-10).
Malkin scored two goals and Crosby added two assists, including the primary helper on Drew O’Connor’s winner scored early in the third period. Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 17 shots for the goaltending win.
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Tematy: Hockey, NHL, Columbus Blue Jackets