This one left a mark.
This NHL season is in its infancy, but the Blue Jackets (3-2-1) left a point behind in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night at Nationwide Arena . The sting was palpable in the locker room, but it was a different feeling than what the Jackets felt last season.
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They're mostly healthy now. They're winning puck battles after first-year head coach Pascal Vincent made that a point of emphasis. They've owned the puck in the past three games , collecting five of six available points. There's a lot to like about these Jackets after six games, which makes these close losses hurt again, especially against peers from the bottom of last season's NHL standings.
"We had our chances," coach Pascal Vincent said. "(17) shots in the third period, 28 (scoring) chances for (us) total … these are the games we usually win."
Here are four more observations from the Blue Jackets' OT loss:
After pregame warmups, Vincent chose his starters against the Ducks. He picked his second line to go out first, which meant that Adam Fantilli, 19, was tabbed for the game's first draw.
It was a fun matchup of third overall picks ― Fantilli (2023) against Anaheim's Mason McTavish (2021) — and the Jackets' rookie won it. Fantilli took 12 draws, including another against McTavish to start overtime, and won that one too. He went 6 of 12 on faceoffs and registered hia first multi-point game in the NHL with a goal and assist.
There will be a lot more nights like that for Fantilli, who's gaining trust from his coached and teammates.
"You want to put him into more of those situations where you want to see his character," Vincent said. "We know he's got quite a bit … but that (OT) faceoff? There's no chance he was going to lose it and he didn't. So, he's building trust with the coaches."
Fantilli was a coveted draft prospect because he was a ready-made NHL center, which he's now showing with the Blue Jackets.
He's fast, nimble and strong on his skates. There's a 6-foot-3 frame that already has enough bulk to physically win NHL battles. Fantilli's wrist shot is heavy, his one-timers are quick and precise, and his "Hockey IQ" is elite.
He needed almost all those traits to give the Blue Jackets a 2-1 lead near the midway point of the third period against Anaheim. After collecting a loose puck in the Ducks' zone, Fantilli carried up ice with a burst of speed, realized an Anaheim defenseman played the situation well.
"I was pretty far out, and he had a pretty good gap," Fantilli said. "I knew I wasn't going to be able to beat him 1-on-1, so I tried to use him as a screen and shoot through him."
It worked to perfection.
Fantilli's shot got by the defender and beat goalie Lukas Dostal under the crossbar on the goalie's glove side shoulder. The goal broke a 1-1 tie in the third and showed off almost all of his skills on one jaw-dropping play.
"He's an NHL player," Vincent said. "I've said it multiple times. I don't care about age of the players, whether you're 35-years old or 18-19 years old. If you're a player, you're a player and he deserved to play the minutes he played, start the overtime, because he was a force for us tonight."
One of the biggest reasons the Blue Jackets lost to Anaheim was what didn't happen enough on seven power plays. The Jackets couldn't beat goalie Dostal outside of Emil Bemstrom 's one-time rocket from the left faceoff circle in the first.
"I thought our puck movement on power plays was really good," Werenski said. "We had a lot of shots, I think we hit a few posts and had a few pucks that almost went in the net, so it's something to build on. I thought we moved the puck well on the power play."
According to Natural Stat Trick , the Blue Jackets created 22 scoring chances against the Ducks, including seven high-danger chances. Bemstrom's goal was their only one in 15 shots during power plays, which is getting to be more of a frustration point than a lift.
Finishing chances needs to become a focal point.
"The power play is there to make a difference at times," Vincent said. "The puck speed (on passes) was right. We had our chances. As the game went on, I thought the power play was better and better … but seven chances on the power play, you want to score at least two."
Going 1 for 7 dropped the Blue Jackets to 3 for 21 through their first six games. That's a success rate of 14.3% that has them ranked 20thin the league. Patrik Laine missed his second game with an upper-body injury, which must be noted because of his importance to the Jackets' man-advantage looks.
Laine is day-to-day while on injured reserve, so there's no timetable for a return. The Blue Jackets need to find better ways to finish scoring opportunities without him.
"We're really working on a few things on the power play, and they tried to execute it," Vincent said. "We had some chances (but) again, it's one of those games."
While Fantilli impressed on the ice, skating 19:15 in ice time on 25 shifts, Leo Carlsson watched the game as a healthy scratch.
Carlsson, selected second overall in June, was held out by Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek as part of a development plan intended to ease him into the NHL's grinding 82-schedule. Carlsson sustained an ankle injury in the preseason, but Verbeek didn't mention that while talking about his Swedish center prospect.
It was a disappointment not seeing Carlsson and Fantilli, picked back-to-back in the draft, matching wits in the earliest stage of their NHL careers. The opening faceoff alone, had both taken part, could've been a keepsake photo for each team.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets fall to Anaheim Ducks: 5 observations
