The Columbus Blue Jackets gave everything they had in the third period of Game 6. Everything. Down 4-0 going into the third period, CBJ fans were starting to say their goodbyes for the 2013-14 season. But the 5th Lline, and the players had different ideas.
Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin scored two goals in the first, and finishing off the hat trick 15:22 into the second period, the game looked out of reach. That goal made it 4-0 in favor of the Pens as Brandon Sutter had scored a goal earlier in the second.
The CBJ never gave up. They hit anything that moved and outshooting the Pens 20-12 in the last two periods. The Jackets layed 54 hits on the Penguins. Most of them were felt from the stands or from home. Brandon Dubinsky of the Jackets led the team with 9 hits. In fact, every Jacket who dressed for the game had at least one hit.
A scary incident in the third period had both CBJ fans, and Pens fans a little worried. After Jacket forward Blake Comeau layed a thundering hit on a Penguin in the corner, Joe Vitale made a bee line for Comeau and went knee to knee on Comeau. Both players fell into a heap on the ice. Vitale looked to get the worst of it, and had to be helped off the ice. After several replays, the hit, instigated by Vitale looked very similar to the hit that Wild F Matt Cooke put on Avalance Tyson Barrie, causing the league to suspend Cooke for 7 games. Vitale should expect a call from the league.
And then with 10 minutes left in the third, D-man Fedor Tyutin put the CBJ on the board with a short handed goal. That goal woke up the 5th Line. Three minutes later, while on the power play, Artem Anisimov scored on the Power Play, making it 4-2 Pens. The fans got louder. And then, a minute and a half later, while playing 5 on 5 hockey, CBJ forward Nick Foligno wristed a shot past Marc-Andre Fluery to make the score 4-3 Pens with under 4 to play. The roof blew off.
The fans, who have been called the loudest in the NHL playoffs, went absolutely bonkers. The Penguins had been subjected to massive waves of shots and hits all series, and they looked rattled a bit. All 19,000 fans started chanting FLEURY-FLEURY-FLEURY! And if you've never heard 19,000 fans chanting together, you don't know what you're missing.
The Jackets gave it everything they had, but couldn't quite finish off the comeback. They fell to the Pens 4-3, but not without a fight. They shook hands, and saluted the fans. No one left the building. Everyone started chanting CBJ-CBJ-CBJ! It's a beautiful thing to hear when everyone is chanting at the same time.
The future is bright for the Columbus Blue Jackets. They have depth in the minors. They have John Davidson. They have a young, ambitious GM. And they have the belief that they can compete for a Stanley Cup in the near future. Brick by Brick is the motto for this team, and by the looks of it, this team could be a brick wall for many NHL teams. It's been a fun season, and CBJ fans are already looking forward to next season. 150 days to go.