Things haven’t gone the Columbus Blue Jackets’ way very often this season - to say the least - but a thriller against their 2014 playoff opponents conjured memories of last year’s dangerous team.
The Blue Jackets won their sixth consecutive game via a 4-3 shootout win against the Pittsburgh Penguins in a contest that was as electric as the Columbus crowd.
As usual for Columbus, it wasn’t easy.
Kris Letang was in vintage form on Saturday, scoring a 2-1 goal and the game-tying tally with about 11 seconds left. The Blue Jackets just seemed like they wouldn’t be denied, especially when Boone Jenner scored on a dramatic penalty shot:
Again, the Blue Jackets looked a lot like the 2013-14 squad that really came on late in the season, generating a relentless attack. Head coach Todd Richards didn’t deny the resemblance.
“That was our M.O. last year: our resiliency and finding a way,” Richards said. “Our guys stuck with it.”
Cam Atkinson’s take was simpler: “That was a lot of fun.”
It certainly was a lot of fun to watch; it was the sort of contest that likely made fans of the sport pine for a playoff rematch. At 12-15-2, it would take an epic run for Columbus to make that happen ... but would you really want to question their scrappy outlook?
