Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

A Disappointing Loss By The Columbus Blue Jackets

02/19/2018 at 8:25am EST

from Michael Arace of the Columbus Dispatch,

The Pittsburgh Penguins have Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel, which is like having Batman, Superman and a rotund Robin. Give them a coach who knows what he’s doing, and they’re going to contend for the Stanley Cup on an annual basis. In fact, they do just that.

The Blue Jackets have one elite offensive player in Artemi Panarin. They have two terrific, young defensemen in Seth Jones and Zach Werenski, and they have a world-class goaltender in Sergei Bobrovsky. They can be a playoff team if they score enough — and to score enough, they need contributions from up and down their lineup.

Sunday evening, the Penguins beat the Blue Jackets 5-2 in front of a sellout crowd of 19,100 in Nationwide Arena. The Pens were playing the second night of a back-to-back, on the road, and Crosby, Malkin and Kessel combined for one assist. They still enjoyed themselves immensely.

The Penguins got five points from their third line, and another six from their defensive corps. They won with depth, which isn’t supposed to be one of their strengths. They won with emotion and determination, which are supposed to be hallmarks of the Blue Jackets. They made Bobrovsky look shaky, and it was like the playoffs all over again.

continued

Game highlights are below...

Create an Account

In order to leave a comment, please create an account.

About Kukla's Korner Hockey

Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

Email Paul anytime at [email protected]

Most Recent Posts

Most Recent Comments

Comment by nctheo in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Patrick Kane On His Future - 1 hour ago