Tonight the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the Montreal Canadiens by the score of 5-2. Again. No hat trick but they do enter the All Star Game with a win. Now for a much needed break for the team.
Highlights:
Good, Better, Best
Good: Seth Jones
Being a number one defensemen isn’t an easy task and somehow Seth Jones is making it look like a walk in the park. He had one assist on the evening and an even strength CF% of 56.8%. Those numbers are incredibly solid and give such stability on the back end. While Johnson and Savard have tried to fill the role previously, Jones has filled in with gusto and has allowed Johnson to play more manageable minutes. His play also gives the team an even distribution they have been needing as far as time on ice and competion.
Better: Joonas Korpisalo
Boy, oh, boy did Joonas Korpisalo bail the Blue Jackets out at the beginning of this game. The Jackets didn’t play terribly by any means, but the Canadiens were allowed more than a few scoring chances at the very beginning of the game. He is very quickly becoming a solid option for the Blue Jackets who may have themselves a bit of a goalie controversy on their hands once Curtis McElhinney returns. Are they really going to be compelled to send Korpisalo back down after his time in the NHL? It is a very tough call and the reason why I don’t get paid the big bucks to make those decisions.
Best: Cam Atkinson
What a couple game stretch for Cam Atkinson. After his amazing hat trick from the night before, he follows it up with a multi-point game. His breakaway goal was the nail in the Canadiens’ coffin and it took the air out of the Bell Centre. He missed some time for some unknown maintenance but I suspect it is a situation similar to Michael Jordan in Space Jam. He just needed his special stuff. I guess I should mention the fact that Atkinson also had a 66.6% CF on the evening, so no matter what he does he is succeeding. That is what you call a hot streak.
Tweet of the Game:
What’s French for “property of Cam Atkinson?”
— slammed down big style (@derdrache) January 27, 2016
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