Columbus Blue Jackets @ Florida Panthers: 4/11/24 Game Recap

Facing a former goaltender is never easy, but when that former goaltender is arguably one of the best your city ever saw, and he has a former Standley Cup Final team before him, it's a tall order. Growing legend Mathew Tkachuk would kick off the goal-scoring in Florida tonight. It was initiation by fire for Jet Greaves, as his Twenty-sixth goal this season would come at 0:47. That said, the visiting team would keep Thachuk and his teammates from scoring for the rest of the period. Still, they wouldn't score themselves, a problem the Blue Jackets have faced many times this season. 

Something had to give after 3/4th of the second period had passed with no goals, and the game would break in favor of the Panthers at 17:25. This would be goal number twelve this season for Evan Rodrigues and a wakeup call for the visiting Blue Jackets. A spark would ignite, and Alexander Texier would shoot a laser at Sergei Bobrovsky, but he was locked in and quickly stopped the scoring opportunity. A few other shots on goal would happen for the Blue Jackets, but none would go past the wall of Bobrovsky. Then, less than a minute before the second intermission, a fifty-fourth goal for Sam Reinhart would put his home team up 3-0. 

In my mind, the highlight of this period for the Columbus Blue Jackets was goaltender Jet Greaves's composure. His focus was apparent from the start, but a rebound would break through at 17:43. Vladimir Tarasenko would score the fourth goal of the game, which was in favor of the Panthers. This would lead to the 4-0 shutout for the Panthers over the Blue Jackets. 

Shoutout to Jet Greaves. He took forty-six shots and still ended tonight with a .913%. 

We have one more stop on the final 2023-24 NHL Season Roadtrip. That stop will be a challenging foe, the Nashville Predators. It's a Saturday evening game with a puck drop at 8:00 pm.m   

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What the Ranger's Elimination From the 2024 NHL Playoffs Means for the Columbus Blue Jackets Acquired 2026 Draft Pick

It's been an interesting 2024 NHL Playoffs already. This was captivating by watching the divide among the 5th Line fans who chose to watch the playoffs and cheer on former Blue Jackets. As the Eastern Conference Final was set, we saw Sergei Bobrovsky on one end of the ice as a Florida Panther. On the other end of the ice, representing the New York Rangers, stood three former Jackets, Artemi Panarin, Alexander Wennberg, and Jack Roslovic. Due to the final player I listed with the New York Rangers end of the ice, this playoff series had implications for the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Trade the organization did, sending Jack Roslovic to the New York Rangers, was for a conditional Fourth Round Draft Pick in the future 2026 NHL Draft. The condition to this pick was that if the Rangers advanced all the way to the Stanley Cup Final 2024, the Draft pick would increase to the third round. With the Florida Panthers eliminating the New York Rangers tonight in Game 6 (the final was 2-1), The B
Read more

Brenden Gaunce, Nick Blankenburg, and Jake Bean Sign NHL Deals Away From Columbus Blue Jackets

The 2024 Trade Deadline gives and takes away every season. Today, the Columbus Blue Jackets signed Sean Monahan to a deal that will last five years and give him a 5.5 Million AAV. This was the brighter side of the day as several Columbus Blue Jackets and Cleveland Monsters players signed elsewhere, including a favorite of mine.  The 30-year-old Center, Brenden Gaunce, left us to join the Minnesota Wild. He agreed to a deal that will go through the 2025-26 NHL Season. He was in Columbus last season for 24 games and had 4 points with an even 2 goals and 2 assists. I have yet to see what his contract is valued at, but nevertheless, I wish him good luck with the Wild.  Jake Bean had the 5th Line divided. Some saw value in him staying, while others wanted him traded months ago. He wasn't traded today but signed to become a Calgary Flame. This contract will take him through the 2025-26 NHL Season like Brenden Gaunce. It'll pay him roughly 1.75 million each season. Appearing in 72 gam
Read more

Rest in Peace, Johnny and Mathew Gaudreau- Part One

I've learned something over the roughly two and a half weeks since we lost Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Mathew; I will never be ready to write this blog. I've been avoiding this because my words seem hollow and empty to me; like anything I could say would be redundant and not enough. August 29th, 2024 will forever be burned into my brain alongside July 4th, 2021, the date we lost goaltender, Matiss Kivlenieks, in a firework accident when he used himself to shield others. To say this franchise and its fans have suffered too many tragedies since I started covering the team in May 2020 is an understatement. When we lost 'Kivi' I never imagined doing this again, but I am, and I won't lie to you because I never have; I hate that I have to do this again. My heart is shattered, especially for the Gaudreau family, and I don't think I'll ever find all the pieces. The hockey community will forever be changed by this tragedy. None of us want to accept that this nig
Read more