Columbus Blue Jackets center Artem Anisimov was been named the National Hockey League’s Second Star of the week for March 3rd – 9th. This is Anisimov’s first such recognition by the NHL since coming into the league as a rookie with the New York Rangers during the 2009 – 2010 campaign.
Fresh off a disappointing 2014 Olympics for the Blue Jackets center as well as the entire Russian National Team, Anisimov’s play has been nothing short of stellar lately. Anisimov was selected to the Russian National Team along with fellow Russian Blue Jackets Sergei Bobrovsky, Nikita Nikitin, and Fedor Tyutin.
Since returning from Sochi, Anisimov has been playing with a chip on his shoulder, as if he has something to prove to the hockey world. He is showing them what he is capable of on the ice and what they didn’t get to witness at the games in Sochi, Russia. The Russians were favored to medal at the very least in their native land but failed to live up to the expectations of the international hockey community, let alone the expectations the Russian National Team placed upon themselves. Sprinkle in the fact that the 2014 games were on Russian soil one can surmise that the Russian Club had the weight of an entire nation on their shoulders.
For Artem Anisimov that is all in the past. Fast forward to the post-Olympic and current NHL season and hockey fans around the world are witnessing the very recent first time father playing some of the best hockey of his young professional career. If Anisimov set out to prove to the world that he is better than his ice time in Sochi he is certainly making that fact known in the National Hockey League’s current season.
During Anisimov’s Second Star stretch he tallied four game winning goals, including an impressive three consecutive game winners. With that feat he became the only player in Columbus Blue Jackets history to score three consecutive game winning goals. He registered his consecutive game winners vs. Florida, at Toronto and vs. Dallas. Those three game winners were followed up by a poor team effort in a 6-1 road loss at the hands of the Chicago Blackhawks. Anisimov then rebounded and got back to business with another game winner at Nashville on March 8th in what held up as the only goal of the contest helping reigning Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky to his third shutout of the season.
Anisimov is relatively new to the Blue Jackets Organization arriving in Columbus along with fellow center Brandon Dubinsky in the blockbuster trade that sent then Blue Jackets Captain Rick Nash to the Rangers prior to the 2012-2013 partial lockout season. In his first season with the Blue Jackets Anisimov posted 11 goals and 7 assists with a minus 6 rating in 35 games in the shortened season. Currently, Anisimov has already achieved career high 19 goals to go along with 14 assists in 65 games with a plus 1 rating while averaging nearly 18 minutes per game. He is second on the team in goals trailing only the young phenom, center Ryan Johansen, who leads the club with 26.
The Blue Jackets are currently tied with the New York Rangers for second place in the Metropolitan Division with 74 points on the year. Without Artem Anisimov’s clutch play with games on the line during the past week the Blue Jackets could easily be on the outside of the playoff picture at the present time. The divisional and wild card races are tight with only a few points determining which teams get a playoff berth and which clubs call it a season. While the Blue Jackets are tied with the New York Rangers for second place in the Metro Division they have played one less game. The Blue Jackets have eight games remaining on the schedule in March including two more back to backs and five divisional matchups. If Columbus plays up to their potential as a club down the stretch and the guy that Blue Jackets Fans affectionately call Arty Party continues to elevate his game to the next level, the club’s aspirations of clinching a playoff spot for only the second time in franchise history should easily become a reality.
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