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New York Islanders impose their will against Columbus Blue Jackets: 3 takeaways
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- New York Islanders impose their will against Columbus Blue Jackets: 3 takeaways
If there was anything good for the Blue Jackets to take away from UBS Arena on Monday night, it was timing.
Their 3-1 loss to the New York Islanders , which ended a seven-game point streak, started about the same time as the Ohio State football team's national championship win over Notre Dame, so the number of those watching hockey was likely sparse.
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More: New York Islanders use stifling style to snuff Columbus Blue Jackets' point streak
Otherwise, the Jackets should move past the Islanders loss quickly and focus on another daunting back-to-back against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday and Thursday to close out a brutal road trip.
Here are three takeaways:
Islanders right wing Simon Holmstrom (10) is greeted by center Jean-Gabriel Pageau after Holmstrom scored a second-period goal against the Blue Jackets.
New York Islanders again too big, suffocating for Columbus Blue Jackets
The Islanders are not a good team, starting the game Monday ahead of only the massively disappointing Buffalo Sabres in the Eastern Conference. They don't look like a team capable of making a push for the playoffs, and they lack the kind of firepower to do anything in the postseason even if they do.
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The Isles, however, remain a nightmarish matchup for the maturing Blue Jackets, who are playing without injured centers Sean Monahan (wrist) and Boone Jenner (shoulder), and still lean too heavily on skill play over grit against brutish opponents.
The Jackets may eventually learn how to handle teams with clear advantages in size, strength and nastiness, but that time hasn't arrived yet. The good news is that imposing, muscle-bound teams are being fazed out in the NHL, as teams built like the Islanders are now rare.
Good thing, too, since the Islanders dominated nearly every way Monday .
Only one of their three goals in the second period was scored at 5-on-5, but the Isles exposed the Jackets' biggest weaknesses from the past three or four seasons in that frame. Columbus finished with one more shot on goal (26-25) but New York had massive 5-on-5 advantages in shot attempts (54-36, 60%), scoring chances (30-10, 75%) and high-danger scoring chances (12-2, 85.7%).
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"Teams are locking it down," forward Mathieu Olivier said on the FanDuel Sports Network postgame show. "In a playoff race, teams are going to tighten it up, so we can't have any lapses like we had in the second. We've got to be dialed in for a full 60 minutes, but I think every team's going to shut it down really well defensively. We're at that point of the season now, so it's going to be harder to generate (offense) in general."
Islanders center Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 11 of his 14 faceoffs against the Blue Jackets.
New York Islanders dominate draws against Columbus Blue Jackets
The Blue Jackets likely would've struggled on faceoffs anyway, but not having Monahan or Jenner against the league's best team at winning draws was too much to ask. The Islanders owned the majority of faceoffs, which contributed to their dominance in possession. They won 68% of the game's draws (34 for 50) with Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Bo Horvat each going 11 for 14 (79%) to lead the way at the dots.
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The Blue Jackets won just 32% of the game's faceoffs, as rookie Luca Del Bel Belluz (2 for 9), Cole Sillinger (3 for 13) and Adam Fantilli (7 for 20) all struggled mightily. Justin Danforth 's return to the lineup didn't factor into faceoffs because he didn't take a single one while playing right wing on Sean Kuraly 's fourth line.
The importance of faceoff percentage tends to be overstated in terms of possession numbers, but this wasn't one of those games. It mattered quite a bit Monday, like it often does for the Blue Jackets against the Islanders.
Columbus Blue Jackets get Justin Danforth back, lose Denton Mateychuk
It may take Danforth a game or two to get his timing and conditioning back in top form, but the Blue Jackets were happy to welcome him back to the lineup.
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Danforth, who missed 18 games with a lower-body injury, is a versatile forward who can play all three positions up front with any of the Jackets' four lines. He's also solid on faceoffs, especially those held on the right side of the ice, so his return could provide a boost going into a challenging part of the schedule.
The Blue Jackets also made rookie defenseman Denton Mateychuk a late scratch against the Islanders due to illness. Without him, Ivan Provorov flipped back to his usual spot at the left point on the second defensive pairing and he reunited with Damon Severson on the right.
Sillinger missed a game earlier this month with an illness, which appears to be making its way through the Blue Jackets' roster.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: New York Islanders dominate Columbus Blue Jackets: 3 takeaways
