ELMONT, N.Y. — This time, the Blue Jackets were bitten by a blown lead in the second period instead of the third.
Despite getting two goals and an assist from rookie Adam Fantilli in a career-best effort for the third overall pick in last summer's draft , the Jackets lost 7-3 to the New York Islanders on Thursday night at UBS Arena for their third straight defeat.
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Fantilli netted his first two-goal game and first three-point effort in the NHL to give the Blue Jackets (8-15-5) a 2-1 lead in the second period with his first goal and pull them within 4-3 in the third on his second of the game. That was as close as the Jackets would get before the Islanders slammed the door with three straight goals in the third to turn a close game into a rout.
Led by Mathew Barzal 's four-point night (two goals, two assists), the Islanders (11-7-7) cruised to victory.
Fantilli's wingers, Emil Bemstrom (goal, assist)) and Kent Johnson (two assists), each contributed two points in the loss. Goalie Spencer Martin allowed seven goals on 35 shots.
"I thought we played well," Fantilli said. "We were creating quite a bit. (We had) a couple turnovers that we've just got to clean up, but for the most part I loved the way we were playing. We connected pretty well, pretty quick, for 'Bemmer' just getting here and me and 'KJ' just having a couple games together to figure it out. I thought we were building some quick chemistry, so that was fun."
Here are five takeaways:
Patrik Laine , Erik Gudbranson and goalie Elvis Merzlikins were still dealing with an illness sweeping through the Jackets' roster and didn't make the trip to New York.
Laine and Gudbranson have missed the past two games plus a practice Thursday in Columbus. Merzlikins was placed on injured reserve Thursday with an illness and is expected to miss a week, which is why Martin is now the Jackets' top backstop.
Others are playing through symptoms, which Vincent suspected as a factor on some of his team's breakdowns against the Islanders. The situation also turned scheduled practices Wednesday and Thursday into skills oriented optional skates.
"Puck management, some battles lost, energy level a bit low," he said. "We have a bunch of guys that are fighting a virus right now."
It's unknown how many more might have to leave the lineup Friday against the St. Louis Blues at Nationwide Arena or which ones maymay return.
Fantilli is developing the way most star rookies do in the NHL and it's not a linear progression.
The 19-year old center's elite skill emerges in drips and drabs, fits and starts. Good plays are followed by "teachable moments," and Thursday night against the Islanders was the latest example. Fantilli earned his first two-goal, three-point NHL game, including a jaw-dropping move while breaking the puck out of his own zone before scoring his first goal, but Fantilli's line also contributed to three Islanders goals.
That included a goal by veteran fourth-liner Cal Clutterbuck that tied it 2-2 less than five minutes after Fantilli gave the Jackets a 2-1 lead in the second. Seconds after Fantilli's stick snapped in the defensive zone, the Islanders quickly re-entered and caught the other four Columbus players on the ice chasing the puck along the left wing. Nobody accounted for Clutterbuck, who got a pass from Hudson Fasching in the slot and beat Martin.
Fantilli's line was also in the game 4:21 later, when the Islanders retook the lead 3-2. After turning the puck over outside the Columbus blue line, the Blue Jackets' forwards weren't able to regain possession before Barzal beat Martin to the short side.
Fantilli and Johnson were also on for Horvat's first of two goals in the third to put the Islanders up 5-3 on Barzal's second of the game. Fantilli logged 14:51 after playing a season-low 10:11 on Tuesday in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings .
His line was the Jackets' best scoring option in New York and Fantilli's tantalizing upside was obvious. His first goal was set up by a great move to get around defenseman Mike Reilly coming out of the Blue Jackets' zone followed a "between the legs" pass to Johnson for a rush into the Islanders' zone. It was a play that few in the NHL could even dream up, let alone pull off with precision.
Fantilli now has seven goals, eight assists and 15 points in 27 games, tied for second in the league's rookie scoring race with Minnesota 's Marco Rossi and New Jersey 's Luke Hughes .
Fantilli spoke after the game and said his grandmother had "just passed," and that it's been a tough week for him and his family.
"The last couple games, I've been going extra hard with the tough news going on at home," he said. "I played a little bit extra harder for her the last couple games, I'd say, but it felt good tonight. It felt good to get those goals and get the guys going."
Fantilli's comes from a tight-knit family structure and his grandmother, Mariola Andrusky, was a central figure as he grew up in Nobleton, Ontario. Despite battling pancreatic cancer, she made it to Columbus for her grandson's NHL debut Oct. 12 in the Jackets' season-opener at Nationwide Arena.
Fantilli turned 19 that same day.
Bemstrom's success with Fantilli and Johnson wasn't a surprise to those who've watched his career path since he arrived as a 19-year old in 2019 from the Swedish Hockey League.
He's had moments in the NHL when his offensive prowess has shown and plenty of games when it hasn't, which is what led to Bemstrom getting a seat on the Jackets' proverbial "shuttle" between Columbus and the Cleveland Monsters. Bemstrom thrives every time he's in Cleveland, including his latest stint with 14 points on 10 goals and four assists, but that's not where he wants to play.
Recalled Wednesday from the Monsters, Bemstrom is getting a new NHL look after a representative of the agency who represents him attended the Blue Jackets' loss Tuesday to the Kings. A "change of scenery" trade wouldn't be surprising, but Bemstrom, who's in the final year of a two-year contract, is only focused on getting off the AHL shuttle.
Asked if he's frustrated by his up-and-down status, Bemstrom took a moment before answering at the Jackets' morning skate Thursday in New York.
"I don't know," he said. "I wouldn't say that. I mean, I've got a new opportunity (now) and I've just got to keep going. (A trade) is nothing I think about right now. I'm just trying to take it a day at a time and see where I'm heading."
Vincent, who coached the AHL's Manitoba Moose for five seasons, realizes that shuttling Bemstrom isn't great for his development curve. At the same time, the enigmatic forward played his 1865hNHL game in the loss to the Islanders and has a career scoring line of 30-34-64 with a -26 plus/minus rating.
"This is not ideal, to be honest with you," Vincent said. "You want to have players in the American league and let them grow. Then, when they're ready to come back, they stay. You don't want to have that up and down. But everybody has a different path, and there's no perfect plan in that regard. It's always adjusting to what the player does and how he adjusts."
Standing 5-foot-9, 177 pounds, Blue Jackets defenseman Nick Blankenburg has needed to scrap for practically every shift he's gotten since high school.
That's especially been true since shifting from forward to defenseman as a walk-on player for the University of Michigan, where he eventually became the Wolverines' captain his senior season before signing with the Blue Jackets in April 2022 as a collegiate free agent.
A backlog of NHL defensemen in Columbus combined with Blankenburg logging just 43 NHL games prior to suiting up Thursday in New York landed him in the AHL to start the season. Despite earning a regular NHL lineup role as a rookie last season, Blankenburg didn't have a spot reserved in Columbus — despite getting his own residence.
Living out of a hotel in Cleveland was less than ideal, but he approached it the same way he's tackled challenges at other career stops along the way to the NHL.
"The biggest thing is knowing what kind of hockey player I am and what kind of person I am too," Blankenburg said. "There's certain things that are out of your control, so at the end of the day, if you can't control it ... just continue to work hard and keep your nose to the grindstone. I feel like that's what I've done over the last few months here. I'm just excited for the opportunity to be back here."
Blankenburg, a pending free agent in the offseason, excelled for the Monsters with 3-8-11 in 18 games while playing on the top defense pairing most games. He was recalled on emergency loan Wednesday after Adam Boqvist was placed on injured reserve with his latest injury, a shoulder strain, and logged a solid 17 minutes against the Islanders in his NHL season debut.
Blankenburg played most of the game with Zach Werenski in Boqvist's spot on the Jackets' top pairing, but he also spent shifts skating with Jake Bean on the third pairing.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Islanders hand Blue Jackets third straight defeat: 5 takeaways
