The hope for the playoffs continues! Columbus continued the dream run by defeating the San Jose Sharks Sunday for a crucial two points, moving them into a tie (in points) for 7th in the West, with only two games remaining in their season. Generally this waits for the bottom end of the game review, but I think it’s important to show just where Columbus stands as they head to Dallas in another absolutely crucial game:
7 – Minnesota – 51 points – 3 games remaining
8 – Columbus – 51 points – 2 games remaining
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9 – Detroit – 48 points – 4 games remaining
10 – Dallas – 48 points – 3 games remaining
11 – Phoenix – 46 points – 4 games remaining
As you can see, Columbus will likely need all four of their remaining possible points in order to have a legitimate shot at the playoffs, with games against Dallas on Thursday and the ever resilient Nashville Predators to close out their season at home. If they can manage to achieve both wins, they will sit at 55 points, forcing Detroit to win all four remaining games in order to vault them over Columbus into 8th place.
To the game against San Jose, it would be a mistake to base everything on the stat sheet. Three periods of play would show Columbus outshot by a good margin (35-21), but the activity behind the scenes such as time on attack likely shows a much different tale. While Columbus was not directly converting their hard work into shots on net, they spent long stretches forcing the issue in San Jose’s end of the ice, and their hard work paid off on four separate occasions, along with a few mad scrambles that could have gone either way.
On the other end of the ice, Sergei Bobrovsky had a relatively strong game, but did not outshine his teammates at any point. He didn’t really make any sparkling saves, and certainly will watch some video to better understand why he did not save a couple of shots that snuck by him on the short side. It was a nice change of pace watching the team rally together in front of Bob, considering how much this fan base is used to watching him stand on his head. It provides a bit of confidence knowing that while their standard method of operation is not scoring, they can score when they need to.
Of the game standouts, I absolutely have to give a nod to Mark Letestu. Scoring two goals along with an assist, he had an excellent game in all facets: short handed, on the powerplay, and killing penalties. He has been a truly pleasant surprise for this team down the stretch, and has certainly more than justified his recent contract extension. The line including him, Gaborik and Prospal has been excellent of late.
The second nod I want to extend is to Ryan Johansen. He has slowly matured into what I consider to be a solid NHL player, and was awarded tonight with the puck on his stick in a great scoring area, with the game very much in his hands. Calm and collected, he took a couple strides and ripped the game winner stick side high on a solid goalie. When interviewed in the post game by Natalie Taylor, you could get a real sense of how much that goal meant for him as a player and as a teammate.
Coach Richards talked about how they responded to fighting for the win after the game was tied at three. He said it was a huge game for both sides and you could feel the pressure on both sides of the ice, he said he was impressed with how the team handled themselves. Overall, Richie was just very positive about the efforts of the guys, and continuously referenced their tough start and how they are on the opposite side of tough games now.
The Jackets have earned a couple days of rest, giving them an opportunity to rejuvenate before their final two games. As we have seen the emotion on the shoulders of the players throughout the season, I have a feeling we are in for two incredibly hard fought games to close out the regular season, and what a season it has been. Remember this? I know I do.
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Carry the Flag!
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