I’m at a bit of a loss to comment on tonight’s game. The Jackets were a mere 73 seconds away from a shutout after weathering an early storm and clamping down to allow lower quality shots and Bobrovsky standing on his head for the 2nd half of the game. The CBJ played a physical game while being able to maintain their discipline and limit penalties, both we’ll put in the “good” column in any away game. The “bad” column is a familiar story: getting outshot 34-20 by a dynamic, young team that is captained by one of the league’s elite scorers in Stamkos. While I’m always grateful for a Jackets win, the kind of play we’ve seen on this road trip simply won’t lead to sustained wins. On to tonight’s stars as seen on NHL.com:
3rd Star: Matt Calvert
Matt Calvert showed up tonight and played the Matt Calvert brand of hockey. Most nights that’s enough to earn him a star in my book. While not officially logging any shots on goal, his relentless pursuit of the puck and a great hands play to keep the puck in the offensive zone created opportunities and earned him an A on the Jenner goal. I love watching this guy play.
2nd Star: Boone Jenner
Speaking of good hands, get this guy an All-State sponsorship. He swats down a flying puck from mid-air onto the ice before settling it and firing it on net. His stick handling sure may be the result of years of practice but Jenner makes it look not just instinctual but effortless. Boone also created a good deal of havoc pursuing pucks and beating Bishop to the puck behind his net this evening. It would seem that Coach Richards was pleased with his performance tonight because his 21:12 led all forwards in ice time.
1st Star: Sergei Bobrovsky
Once again, Bob helps the team through a turbulent start and provides a calming presence in net and the Jackets get a win. As mentioned earlier, he held off all 34 shots until the game was effectively over. If you had to pick a story of this road trip, it’s been Bobrovsky’s resurgence in net. That’s a good thing because if the Jackets want to maintain any hope of turning this thing around, he’ll need to play at 100% every single night.
Stud: David Savard
Of course I’m thrilled to see Savard on the score sheet but tonight was yet another great game for the once-questionable defenseman. He logged over 23 minutes tonight, was a shot-blocking/goal-saving machine, looked great on special teams and helped contribute on offense. I’m really not sure what more you can ask of a defenseman. What’s best is that this performance from him has practically become the norm this season. I’d be hard pressed to pick any other member of our defensive corps as a more consistent player.
Dud: Slow starts
Sorry to beat this dead horse but it’s true. Slow starts, especially on the road, will kill a team early. The Jackets simply have to come out and win the possession and scoring chances battles early in the game.
We can call this short trip to Florida a success in terms of points earned and tonight absolutely represented a better effort than the game against the Panthers. Let’s hope the team will carry this momentum into Tuesday night’s game in Nationwide Arena against Philly. Until then, carry the flag!!
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