Blue Jackets 7,
Islanders 3
Individual wins and losses are
often obscured by the bigger picture of an 82-game season. Saturday night was
the exception.
The
entertainment factor was high even if the game’s implications were not. From
Rick Nash’s pregame introduction to Sean Hunwick’s two-minutes of stardom, the
Blue Jackets recovered the attention they jettisoned earlier in the year.
Still,
through the first portion of the game it appeared Nationwide Arena would host
another unpleasant spectacle.
Missed
passes and poor skating marred the opening period. Steve Mason was to handle
the majority of the breakdowns with a few acrobatic saves. Columbus rarely
advanced into its own offensive zone, and when it did, the ensuing shots posed
little threat.
Then, a
stroke of good fortune overcame the Blue Jackets. Amid a pile of sticks and
bodies, Rick Nash sneaked the puck over the goal line in the final minute of
the period to give the team a much-needed but undeserved spark.
Cam
Atkinson made it 2-0 in the second period when his wrist shot from the left
faceoff circle beat Al Montoya.
The Islanders
recorded their first goal of the night three minutes later. New York then
struck again following a tally from R.J. Umberger to make it 3-2 late in the
period.
It was at
this point that the momentum shifted completely. The Islanders took a pair of
overlapping penalties and Columbus scored twice on the power play.
The Blue
Jackets continued to dominate in the third period with two more goals to New
York’s lone tally. Hunwick then replaced Mason in the final two minutes in a
decision coach Todd Richards accredited to his players.
As Hunwick
stood idle on one end of the ice, Columbus worked diligently on the other end
to feed Atkinson who was one goal away from his second-consecutive hat trick
game. The minor league call-up finished with two goals and one assist.
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