In the aftermath of the Jackets’ loss to the Blackhawks on Saturday, Aaron Portzline wrote about the importance of keeping the physical aspect of the game in balance with the newfound flashy, skill side that Columbus has a ton of.
It’s an interesting take to have if you’re going off the box score alone, which indicates it was a fairly physical game on both sides - the Jackets landed 27 hits while the Hawks were credited with 32.
However, as Portzy notes in his piece, it isn’t just the fact that the Jackets need to be physical, but they need to use their physicality methodically.