Tonight marked the beginning of the Columbus Blue Jackets regular season, the debut of Dean Evason as head coach, and his return to the home of his previous employer, the Minnesota Wild.
First Period
From the jump, this felt like a different Blue Jackets team from last season, and I mean that as a compliment. We saw the aggressive style that was promised when Evason was hired. The Jackets dominated possession early, and all 5 skaters were involved in moving the puck up ice and into the offensive zone. Even the third pair of Jack Johnson and Erik Gudbranson looked way better than expected early on!