Note from the author: while I will normally try to get articles up immediately following the games, any game on the West Coast will be delayed until the next day.
The Columbus Blue Jackets finally had things going their way. They had the best start in their franchise history, a strong showing by their young core, and enough depth to handle anything this season. Meanwhile, the San Jose Sharks were not looking happy. They had lost two tough games, and they were slumping. However, as this was their home opener, they needed to show the crowd something. Show them something they did, as the Sharks dominated the Jackets, and owned the game from the second period on.
Game Recap
After seeing his younger players struggle in the win over Vancouver, Coach Ken Hitchcock decided to switch up the Blue Jackets' lines for the game against San Jose. Dropping Center Derick Brassard to the second line, and promoting Antoine Vermette to the first, Hitch was hoping to spice up his offense. When Captain Rick Nash (1) scored his first goal of the season, and the Jackets went into the intermission leading 1-0, it looked as though the line switching was a good move.
Alas, it wasn’t. The Sharks, now with a chip on their shoulder, came out of the tunnel looking for blood. They quickly found it when Dan Boyle (1) and Dany Heatley (2) scored within the first six minutes of the game. Though Jason Chimera (1) tied the game up for the Jackets, it was clear that they were being outplayed, and that they were tired out. The Sharks proved this, as Marc-Edouard Vlasic (1) and Heatley (3) lit the lamp, bringing the scored to 4-2.
The third period was just as bad for the Jackets, as Devin Setoguchi (4) scored just a minute and a half into the period. Goalie Steve Mason was then pulled from goal, and Mathieu Garon was sent in to replace him. While Raffi Torres (2) scored on a power play to try keep Columbus in the game, they clearly were not anywhere near it. The Sharks were outplaying the Jackets, wearing them down, and revealing all of their problems on defense. When Heatley (4) scored his hat-trick goal (on a penalty shot), the Jackets had no chance at all.
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