The Blue Jackets are finishing this season how they were forced to play most of last year .
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They're banged up, missing half the NHL lineup and still, somehow, finding ways in most games to stay competitive against some of the league's top teams. The Jackets did it again Thursday at Nationwide Arena, where they forced the New York Islanders to work for a 4-2 victory despite Columbus adding Johnny Gaudreau to the list of missing players with an illness and losing two more in the game.
"I think it shows that we care," Blue Jackets forward Alexandre Texier said. "We have character in this group and we're not going to give up. We're going to play like it's fighting for the playoffs. That's how it should be. That's our job in the NHL and we've got to do it."
It wasn't enough to come out with a third straight upset, but the "replacement" Jackets put everything they had into it. That included playing through two more key injuries to goalie Daniil Tarasov going out in the first period (upper body) and defenseman Jake Bean (undisclosed) leaving in the third.
The Islanders (34-27-15) left with the points they desperately needed to move into a wild-card spot, but it wasn't a cakewalk despite outshooting the Blue Jackets 41-27 and controlling the puck. Allowing the Jackets to keep it close was sharp goaltending by rookie backup Jet Greaves , who allowed one goal on 25 shots, plus a game plan designed to withstand long stretches of defending.
New York got its goals from Pierre Engvall , Bo Horvat and Noah Dobson before Kyle Palmieri sealed the victory with 38 seconds on a goal into an empty net. Ilya Sorokin made 25 saves to earn the goaltending win for the Islanders.
Dmitri Voronkov and Kirill Marchenko scored the goals for the Blue Jackets (25-39-12), who tied it with each goal. They just couldn't surge ahead before Dobson ended a 2-2 tie with the eventual winner in the third.
"We knew we were going to spend a lot of time in our (defensive) zone, so we saw some clips on our D-zone coverage, making sure we keep them to the outside," Blue Jackets coach Pascal Vincent said. "But that's a heavy team. Getting the puck back was tough for our guys tonight, but managing the blue lines was a big component of tonight's game."
Here are five takeaways:
The Blue Jackets' run of terrible luck with injuries from last season is back in full swing.
Already missing seven NHL regulars starting out Thursday against the Islanders, the Blue Jackets had number grow to nine after Tarasov left in the first period and defenseman Jake Bean left in the third. Bean's injury hasn't been disclosed, but Tarasov's upper-body injury appeared to be a head or neck issue stemming from a collision with teammate David Jiricek .
After stopping 13 of 15 shots, Tarasov's head was slammed into by Jiricek while defending Engvall's rush toward the left post. Jiricek's hip slammed into the side of Tarasov's head, which left the Jackets' net-minder down. Tarasov needed help getting off the ice, went straight to the locker room and didn't return.
It was another stroke of terrible luck for both Tarasov and the Blue Jackets, especially if he's out long-term. Only six games remain in the season and Tarasov was beginning to consistently play like a potential No. 1 goalie option.
He's battled injuries ever since his draft year (2017), when a knee injury caused him to fall to Columbus in the third round (No. 88 overall). Since then, he's been sidelined by a torn hip labrum that required surgery and another knee injury that occurred just before training camp opened last September.
That one caused Tarasov to miss camp, the entire preseason plus the first two months of the season. After struggling to gain his footing upon returning, Tarasov found a new gear in late February to start looking like a potential goaltending ace for years to come.
Staying healthy was the biggest concern, and now he's injured again ― albeit a fluke.
"I've been here for three years," Vincent said. "(The injury spate) feels the same for three years. We're highly injured. It's something we need to talk about this summer, if there's anything we can do different ... but it's similar to the previous years."
One positive side effect of the Jackets' injury woes is that young players like Texier, Cole Sillinger , Marchenko and Voronkov are getting increased roles with key guys out.
Texier, Sillinger and Marchenko were Vincent's top forward line against the Islanders, which led to a goal by Marchenko late in the first to tie it 2-2.
Texier played 21:30 that included time on penalty kills and power plays. Sillinger logged 19:38 that included a significant role killing penalties. Marchenko played 18:25, which included 1:25 on power plays. Voronkov centered the second line, scoring his 18thgoal of the season to snap a 12-game goal drought.
The Blue Jackets have six games left and they played the Islanders without forwards Boone Jenner (personal), Gaudreau (illness), Sean Kuraly (lower body), Yegor Chinakhov (upper body), Patrik Laine (NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance), Adam Fantilli (skate laceration) and Kent Johnson (shoulder surgery).
Those voids leave behind a lot of ice time and responsibilities.
"Every game is tough without our (top) players," Marchenko said. "We have a good line now with 'Silly' and 'Tex,' and we're just trying to (have) confidence and take leadership on us, trying to do our best on the ice. We maybe had some mistakes (against the Islanders), but we're just trying to do our best."
The illness that's spreading through the Jackets' locker room claimed another key player Thursday night against the Islanders. Johnny Gaudreau missed his first game of the season with an illness that left defenseman Ivan Provorov as the lone Blue Jackets player who's played in all 76 games to date.
Gaudreau is known for his durability and had a lengthy "Iron Man" streak nixed last season by missing a two-game road trip. His first absence this season forced the Jackets to recall Trey Fix-Wolansky from AHL Cleveland with an emergency recall Thursday that put him into the lineup on the fourth line.
Greaves played in just his fifth NHL game when called upon to relieve Tarasov late in the first period against the Islanders. He shined again, which has become the expectation whenever Greaves gets a chance to play for the Blue Jackets.
Making 24 saves on 25 shots in 39:10 of action, Greaves kept the Blue Jackets in the game while they were being heavily outshot. That's been the norm for Greaves, who's the main goalie for the AHL Cleveland Monsters when not in Columbus. During his five-game NHL career, Greaves has faced 181 shots and made 167 saves for an impressive .923 save percentage.
"He's been good," Vincent said. "Every time we've called for his help, he's been really good for us. He competes hard. He's had a good season in Cleveland, but every time we've played him, he's responded well ... and tonight was a different kind of test."
The Blue Jackets welcomed back former coach Ken Hitchcock for a ceremonial puck drop honor to commemorate his recent induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Hitchcock, 72, ranks sixth all-time in NHL history in coaching wins and seventh in games coached with a career record of 849-534-88-127 that included winning the 1999 Stanley Cup with the Dallas Stars . Hitchcock coached the Stars, Philadelphia Flyers , Blue Jackets, St. Louis Blues and Edmonton Oilers in his 23-year NHL career.
He coached in Columbus from 2006-2010, going 125-123-36 in 284 games and guiding the Blue Jackets to their first playoff appearance in franchise history (2009). He was the fourth coach in franchise history, ranking second in games coached and third in wins.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 5 takeaways from Columbus Blue Jackets' gutsy loss to Islanders
