It's a good thing Daniil Tarasov showed up ready for work Saturday at Nationwide Arena.
The rest of the Blue Jackets were late to the party for Kids Takeover Day and weren't able to fully overcome it in a 2-1 loss to the Nashville Predators that could've been a blowout without Tarasov's career-high tying 47 saves.
"With our start, if it wasn't for 'Tarry,' it could've been a lot worse," Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner said. "We come in after the first period only down one, that's because of him, because we weren't good in front of him for the first 15 minutes of that game. He kept us in it and kept us in it the whole night."
New Albany's Kiefer Sherwood and Luke Evangelista scored goals for the Predators (37-25-3), including the latter's early in the third for the eventual winner. Kevin Lankinen made 33 saves for Nashville, including a sprawling stop with his glove to preserve a 2-1 lead on a shot by Johnny Gaudreau from the slot with the Jackets using a 6-on-5 advantage with their net empty.
Alexandre Texier scored the lone goal for the Blue Jackets (22-32-10), who had what appeared to be a go-ahead goal by Jenner waved off for a high stick in the second.
Nashville owned the puck through the game's first 15-plus minutes, building an 18-0 edge in shots and a 1-0 lead on Sherwood's goal before the Blue Jackets finally fought their way off the ropes. The Jackets didn't get a shot on net until Gaudreau's 94-foot wrist shot with 4:48 left in the first, but that was the start of an impressive response.
The Blue Jackets outshot the Predators 8-4 in the remainder of the first and 17-12 in the second while tying it 1-1 on Texier's 10thgoal of the season ― scored off Ivan Provorov 's rebound. Tarasov, meanwhile, stayed sharp while not allowing a goal in the second. That included stopping Colton Sissons on a breakaway.
"For Daniil, we know he has great potential," Blue Jackets coach Pascal Vincent said. "Now, he's showing it more consistently."
It took a laser from Evangelista at 4:16 of the third for the Predators to get another one past the Jackets' 6-foot-5 backstop, putting Nashville up 2-1 on a wrist shot that zipped over Tarasov's left shoulder and under the crossbar on the short side. It was the start of an impressive finish for the Predators, who dominated the early stages of the third similar to how they controlled the first.
Tarasov wasn't happy with allowing Evalngelista's goal or Sherwood's in the first.
"Both of these goals, it was kind of, like, easy," he said. "It's all on me. They were pretty clear shots. It was pretty close to me, like middle range, and I should get better on that."
It would help to not face 49 shots, though.
That kind of pressure from the Predators wasn't surprising. They're in a playoff spot, unlike the Blue Jackets. Tarasov, however, is becoming a nice surprise for the upstart Jackets.
Since allowing five goals on 29 shots in a Feb. 13 loss to the Ottawa Senators in Ottawa, the Jackets' backup has gone 3-3-0 and hasn't allowed more than three goals in his past six outings ― starting three of the past four games. He was the biggest reason the Blue Jackets were in the game to the end Saturday.
"I'm just trying to play and enjoy the game, and I'm trying to make saves," he said. "When I've got this kind of workload ... it just keeps your focus in the game."
Here are three takeaways:
Justin Danforth woke up Saturday with an illness that prevented him from playing with a 12:30 p.m. start time.
That wouldn't normally be an issue, but the Blue Jackets were short two extra players after dealing Jack Roslovic to the New York Rangers and Andrew Peeke to the Boston Bruins before the NHL's trade deadline Friday afternoon.
Trey Fix-Wolansky was recalled from the Cleveland Monsters on Friday and went right into the lineup against the Predators, but no other AHL recalls joined him. That left the Jackets short a player when Danforth couldn't go – forcing them to use 11 forwards and the usual six defensemen.
That quickly became 11 forwards and five defensemen after Jake Bean blocked a shot early in the first period, but he eventually returned to finish the game. Vincent said an additional forward will be recalled from the Monsters, who are playing this weekend in the Montreal suburb of Laval, Quebec.
Tarasov's play in the first was remarkable, but the reason for that was the Blue Jackets' start. It was arguably their worst this season, which likely coincided with the early start time. It was also the reason for the Jackets clawing back into the game.
"That's on us," Jenner said. "We just weren't ready to go. Sloppy puck decisions and we weren't able to establish our game at all, and that's on us. It's preparation, getting ready to go. I know it's an early game, but let's get ourselves into it early."
Jenner appeared to put the Blue Jackets up 2-1 in the second, but his goal off the rebound of a shot by Yegor Chinakhov wasn't credited because officials Frederick L'Ecuyer and Trevor Hanson ruled he touched it with a high stick. The play was reviewed and upheld, but a couple angles made it look extremely close to counting. Jenner didn't object to the call, citing the Jackets' inconsistent play as the primary reason for losing.
"The shots were (18-0), and then we got eight or nine when we started playing, getting (the puck) behind them," he said. "We did more of that in the second. We just weren't able to do enough of it in the third and create enough to get that second one for us."
Gaudreau might see Lankinen's goaltending gear in his sleep for a while.
The Blue Jackets' leading scorer finished with four shots on six attempts, but two were tougher to swallow than the others. Gaudreau was denied a tying goal late in the first by Lankinen's outstretched blocker, after redirecting a pass from Chinakhov, and the Predators' goalie pulled off the same trick with his glove to deny a tying goal with 18 seconds left in the third.
Gaudreau had a good look at that one, standing in the low slot, but his wrist shot just didn't get over the top of Lankinen's glove, which deflected the puck over the crossbar into the safety netting.
Gaudreau's luck was just one part of the Blue Jackets' misfortunes on attempted shots, though. They also hit goalposts three times, the crossbar once and Jenner missed the net entirely with a shorthanded breakaway attempt late in the second.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Tarasov's 47 saves not enough in tough loss to Predators: 3 takeaways
