The Blue Jackets had a rough time of it just making it into Chicago, with mechanical issues preventing their planned flight from Charlotte on Thursday night, and only arrived in Chicago a few hours before the start of the game.
Perhaps that’s why the Jackets took a series of miscues that lead to almost immediate penalties and a power play goal for the Blackhawks, and continued to hand Chicago penalties through the game.
Though they did briefly tie the game, the Hawks regained their advantage almost immediately afterward, and the first period would come to a close with Columbus trailing 2-1, but with a power play to open the second period.