It didn’t produce a win, but the Blue Jackets took an impressive stride Tuesday night during a preseason road game in St. Louis.
Getting two goals from Emil Bemstom and two assists from Alexandre Texier, the Jackets pushed the St. Louis Blues to the final horn in a 3-2 loss at Enterprise Center. Despite the Blues dressing much of their projected NHL lineup, Columbus controlled the puck and dominated the final two periods.
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The Blue Jackets (1-1-1) outshot the Blues 32-12, including 21-4 combined in the second and third periods, but they couldn’t finish enough scoring chances against backup goalie Malcolm Subban (20 saves). Bemstrom racked up a game-high six shots on nine attempts and has two goals, one assist and three points in his first two preseason games.
After the Blue Jackets’ morning skate in Columbus, coach Pascal Vincent said he wasn’t satisfied from his team’s “pace” of play while splitting a home-and-home preseason doubleheader Sunday against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He watched those games from a suite, but ran the bench Tuesday in St. Louis.
“I’m looking for a team that’s going to have a lot of pace, and what I mean by that is the tracking, the net drive, those 1-on-1 (battles), 50/50 races, it’s not there yet,” Vincent said. “That’s fine, but we need to create that culture, that once you step on the ice that’s how we do it. That’s going to be part of our DNA and that’s it.”
The Jackets’ performance against St. Louis was a stride in the right direction, and they’ll now get three days to iron things out in practices before traveling Saturday to face the Buffalo Sabres.
Columbus Blue Jackets at St. Louis Blues key moment
Late in the first, the Blues turned a 1-1 game into a 3-1 lead on back-to-back goals by Isaac Ratcliffe and Oskar Sundqvist. Ratcliffe poked a loose puck home for a 2-1 lead during a controversial goalmouth scramble and Sundqvist capped the ensuing power play after an unsuccessful challenge for goaltender interference by Blue Jackets coach Pascal Vincent.
On the disputed goal, former Blue Jackets forward Brandon Saad deflected the puck in the crease with his skate before defenseman Nicolas Meloche knocked him into goalie Aaron Dell – sending both into the net. Ratcliffe chipped the puck into the net with Dell on his back and Saad all the way in the net, which was ruled legal because of Meloche’s check on Saad.
Ratcliffe soon made it 3-1 on a power play assessed for delay of game after unsuccessful coaching challenges. The Blue Jackets never recovered.
Columbus Blue Jackets at St. Louis Blues goal of the game
Bemstrom’s goal knotted it 1-1 with a hard wrist shot under the crossbar on the far side of the Blues’ net in the first. After a nice backhand stretch pass from Texier, Bemstrom carried into the St. Louis zone and ripped his shot from the left circle to beat Blues starting goalie Jordan Binnington.
It was the type of goal the Blue Jackets expected to see more often from Bemstrom, who arrived in Columbus in 2019-20 after lighting up the Swedish Hockey League as that league’s top rookie.
Columbus Blue Jackets at St. Louis Blues save of the game
Subban made several big stops in his two periods, including a dandy late in the third during a 5-on-3 for the Blue Jackets. Scooting over to seal off the left post, the Blues goalie denied Bemstrom’s heavy one-timer to preserve a 3-1 lead. Bemstrom beat Subban 33 seconds later with a one-timer to cap the remaining 5-on-4 power play, but the goalie’s prior stop saved the game.
Columbus Blue Jackets at St. Louis Blues unsung effort
Denton Mateychuk set up Bemstrom’s second goal with a perfect one-timer feed cross the offensive zone, but his play in other zones stood out most. According to Natural Stat Trick, the rookie defenseman started most of his shifts in the defensive zone, finished with a 72.4% attempts percentage (21-8) and the Blue Jackets held 5-on-5 edges in shots (8-1), goals (1-0) and scoring chances (5-1) with Mateychuk on the ice.
Mateychuk also was credited with blocking a shot after skating back hard to break up a scoring chance in the low slot by Blues forward Sammy Blais in the third.
Columbus Blue Jackets at St. Louis Blues three stars
First star
Malcolm Subban, G, Blues
Subban took over the St. Louis net from Binning to start the second and was the biggest reason the Blues pulled out a victory. He stopped all 11 shots he faced in the second, when Columbus dominated puck possession and rolled up a 11-1 edge in shots.
Second star
Emil Bemstrom, RW, Blue Jackets
Bemstrom is off to a fast start in the most important preseason of his NHL career. The Swedish forward is among a large group of players with NHL experience for the Blue Jackets to sort through via waivers or trades. Showing off his big shot with two goals could boost the odds Bemstrom makes the Jackets’ opening lineup or garners a trade offer.
Third star
Alexandre Texier, LW, Blue Jackets
Texier has impressed throughout camp, including his two preseason games. After playing with rookie Adam Fantilli and Patrik Laine to start out, the French forward skated with Cole Sillinger and Bemstrom as the Jackets’ top line in St. Louis. Texier assisted on both of Bemstrom’s goals and set up several other scoring chances.
bhedger@dispatch.com
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets make strides during preseason loss to Blues
