“He missed three games, man. It’s crazy,” Fantilli said. “I felt so bad when that puck went off my stick right into his jaw, and I was like, 'Oh my God, I just took out our best forward right now.'"
Three weeks later, it's fair to say all is forgiven.
2. Shots from the blue line gave the Blue Jackets four goals.
Just as the old hockey saying goes, the Blue Jackets put “pucks on net” and came away with four goals that originated from the point.
With the addition of Boone Jenner to the Blue Jackets’ lineup, their netfront presence is better than ever with 6-foot-5 Dmitri Voronkov, the 6-foot-2 Jenner and 6-foot-3 James van Riemsdyk all able to create some crease chaos. It was a clear emphasis in their win Tuesday night.
“I mean, obviously goalies are pretty good in this league, so you got to create chaos,” said Provorov, whose shot from the point tipped off the stick of Dallas' Jason Robertson and gave the Jackets a 4-1 lead. “You have to create traffic. Anytime you're in front of the net and you can take the goalies' eyes away, it always helps. They can't stop what they can’t see.”
The Blue Jackets' captain has given them a boost in many ways, and head coach Dean Evason couldn't help but notice.
“I have a tremendous grasp of the obvious,” Evason said. “After the game, I said, it's really nice to have Boone Jenner on our team, because it's obvious. His blocked shots, his leadership, his professionalis, and then combine that with how he plays the game, he always, always does the right things.”
3. All four forward lines were on the ice for a CBJ goal.
Depth scoring has been a question for this Blue Jackets team at points in this season. However, recently all those questions have been answered. They have been getting contributions from all four lines, especially in their win against the Stars, which saw all four forward units get on the scoresheet.
“We've felt very comfortable with all four lines here the last couple (games),” Evason said.
The depth scoring recently has been highlighted by three main contributors in Provorov, who now has six points in his last six games played, including four goals; van Riemsdyk, who has eight goals and 17 points in his last 20; and Mathieu Olivier, who now has 11 goals on the season, just two shy of his career total coming into this season.
“For all of our team, everybody is trying to give their best shots, effort and battles on a huge level right now,” Marchenko said. “I want to keep that for everybody.”
