Pregame
This is what the lines looked like this morning in San Jose. pic.twitter.com/NG9lPWDXEA
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) October 23, 2014
OH, how sassy of them! Luckily we were able to find help elsewhere when searching for the Sharks lines tonight.
https://twitter.com/KKurzCSN/status/525345280380923904
https://twitter.com/KKurzCSN/status/525351085201162240
The top 6 of the Sharks is a smorgasbord of offensive skill. Thornton, Couture, Pavelski and Marleau can send chills down anyones spine but it should cause even more concern tonight against the injury depleted Jackets. The defense lead by Vlasic is full of puck movers that will make entering the zone a pain. Like fellow writer Matt Souva said this trip is going to be tough but win or lose it isn’t the end of the world.
Confirmed that F Adam Cracknell will make his #CBJ debut on Thursday vs. #SJSharks
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) October 22, 2014
#CBJ D Cody Goloubef will make season debut tonight vs #SJSharks, paired w Fedor Tyutin. Looks like D Dalton Prout is out.
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) October 23, 2014
Looks like Scott Hartnell will play LW alongside Ryan Johansen & Nick Foligno tonight. #CBJ a.m. skate notes here: http://t.co/W2UC2Q1NLK
— Rob Mixer (@RobMixer) October 23, 2014
The Wild, Wild West is going to be an experimental time for the Jackets. Much like going away to college, it is time to try some new things. The insertion of Cracknell, Goloubef and the shuffling of lines isn’t going to stop tonight, be on the look out for more of the same during this trip. I wish I could give some sort of preview of tonight’s game but with the lineup influx your guess is as good as mine.
Unfortunately with the west coast games our GIF’s are going to be a little behind but make sure to be on the lookout for them in the coming day’s.
In Game
First Period:
I mean do we really want to talk about the first period? The Jackets are down 2-0 and are looking listless. We could talk about Boll trying to maul Desjardins or we could talk about the lack of spring in the team’s step. Maybe we could even talk about Patrick Marleau’s 500th assist? I say we talk about something happy.
How about puppies?
What is your favorite kind of puppy?
When is a puppy no longer a puppy?
6 months? 1 year?
Anyway I hope this cheered you up, but the Jackets have two more periods to go and a turnaround is more than possible. Key to the second period? Limit dumb penalties and the plethora of shots the Jackets have been allowing. 40 more minutes Jackets fans. Let’s see if they go to work.
Second Period:
What was that all about? I think it was because we were all thinking about puppies. Man, puppies are great. Johansen scored two to continue on his torrid pace and Letestu picked up one shorthanded to make the game 3-2. The Jackets showed signs of life when Wennberg drew a penalty, although they didn’t score on the ensuing power play, the team rallied and finally decided to show signs of life. Both teams have thrown some punches but which team are we going to see in the third? The Buffalo like first period or the Kings like second period? Either way, let’s start thinking about puppies.
3-2 Johansen #SmokingJohansen pic.twitter.com/PcnMPqOwuU
— Buckeye State Hockey (@BuckeyeStHockey) October 24, 2014
Third Period/Post Game:
So that third period happened. Foligno had a goal. Letestu had a goal. Pavelski had a goal. Couture had a goal.
Who am I missing?
Overall it wasn’t great hockey but it sure was entertaining. I thought we were about to see the Jackets get jobbed on a no goal call from Johansen but alas, a win seemed to always be in the cards. I guess we should talk about the good, the bad and the ugly, right?
The Good:
Ryan “Joey” “RyJo” “JoJo” “Based God” Johansen is having himself quite a season. Two goals on the evening, he was everywhere causing the Sharks all kinds of problems. Time and time again, he is not only finding himself in the right place at the right time but he is creating his own shot. His overall strong play is lifting Foligno to unforeseen heights and allowing him to also create offensively. Weow.
The Bad:
If we are being honest with ourselves you can’t put a lot of blame on Cody Goloubef on his mental lapse in the third period. He got caught up ice and fed a cross ice pass to Logan Couture. A brain fart to be sure but he had the highest 5v5 corsi of all CBJ defensemen this game at 62% and a 29% zone start percentage. He was tasked with the difficult assignments and his one mistake led to a goal but let’s not write him off just yet.
The Ugly:
I really don’t want to pile on to the guy but Alexander Wennberg didn’t have a very good game. He was moved from the 3rd line to the 4th line and his soft coverage allowed the Sharks to get a goal in the 3rd period. If you want to read about his problems thus far you can read @307x‘s article here.
Advanced stats for your viewing pleasure.
Tweet of the Game:
same pic.twitter.com/YBR4dVQyBn
— Fear the Fin (@fearthefin) October 24, 2014
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