A little different flavor for the recap of last night’s Blue Jackets-Sharks game. Instead of going through the ebbs and flows of the game, I’m going to quickly run through the six Columbus goals from last night and point out what Blue Jackets players were doing what right, as well as a few errant plays by San Jose players.
Goal #1 – Brandon Dubinsky from Matt Calvert and Fedor Tyutin
First thing to notice here is the obviously great work down low by Dubinsky and Calvert. But don’t ignore the jump into the play by Tyutin. This caught the Sharks off guard, no one was quite sure who to take and a few guys (ahem Joe Pavelski, #8) get caught puck-watching. This can happen sometimes when an offensive player does something unexpected. Tyutin jumping up caught them by surprise and there was a moment of confusion as three guys rush at Tyutin, then over-react and all try to take Calvert. In the confusion no one picks up Dubinsky and he is able to bury his first of the season.
Goal #2 – James Wisniewski from Derick Brassard and RJ Umberger
Again, the obvious first take is fantastic work down low, this time from Umberger. However, rewatch that video and check out the movement from Johnson, Dubinsky, Brassard and Wisniewski. Fantastic support of the puck and use of motion. Umberger’s work draws in Brad Stuart (#7) and Justin Braun (#61), but the switch by Brassard and Dubinsky draws the other forward down as well. This leaves Patrick Marleau (#12) as the lone Sharks player back. Good job by Brassard, both in finding space down low and the beautiful saucer pass. Obviously a nice shot by Wiz as well, but he really didn’t have to do much but slowly creep into the slot.
Goal #3 – Cody Goloubef from Derek Mackenzie and Nick Foligno
This play actually starts off a broken cycle. Foligno tries to cycle the puck back around to Dorsett, but Brent Burns (#88) lifts Dorsett’s stick and the puck goes all the way around. This is key as Foligno continues the play as if the cycle had worked, bringing him back to the front of the net for the screen. Two great plays by Mackenzie. The hustle is obvious, but it means he gets to the puck with space to make a play. It would be very tempting to either cut to the net here or cycle back around low to Dorsett. Instead DMac makes a fantastic pass to Goloubef, who puts a decent shot on net. The key to the shot there was the half wind-up. Tommy Wingels (#57) was coming out to block it, but because Goloubef only wound up halfway, Wingels didn’t have time to hit the ice and block the shot.
Goal #4 – Nikita Nikitin from Matt Calvert and Brandon Dubinsky
This goal begins with Pavelski bailing on a hit from little Matty Calvert. Calvert then makes a great hustle play to tip the puck past Dan Boyle (#22) to Dubinsky. A very heady play by Dubi to back up here, as that draws Braun away from the play, spreads out the Sharks defenders, allowing Calvert and Nikitin space. Calvert then makes another great play, using the net to pick Boyle (who helped him out by chasing around the net instead of stopping and cutting him off the other way). Dubinsky’s play to spread the ice means that Scott Gomez (#23) had already moved down into the slot to pick up Foligno (again doing yeoman’s work in front of the net), which allows Nikitin to break free for the shot. While Greiss probably wants that one back, it was still a very nice shot for a wrong foot, off balance one-timer.
Goal #5 – Vinny Prospal from Nick Foligno and Jack Johnson
More great work from Nick Foligno. He continuously uses his body to create space for himself, this time knocking Marc-Eduoard Vlasic’s (#44) stick out of his hands. The stick loss causes a moment of hesitation in Braun, as he is not sure whether to stick with taking away the pass to Vinny or commit to Foligno. Foligno does a great job of going to the net and waiting until Braun is perfectly out of position before putting it in Prospal’s wheelhouse. A tip of the hat to Wingels and Michal Handzus (#26), as on a Jackets powerplay the two Sharks forwards both pick up Anisimov, with no one backchecking on Vinny.
Goal #6 – Mark Letestu from Artem Anisimov
By this point in the game, the Sharks had all but given up. Check out the work off the faceoff. All the Sharks just jump ahead, and no one battles for the loose puck off the draw. Anisimov gets it and feeds it to Letestu who does a good job of protecting the puck while entering the zone. Nothing too fancy on the shot, as he tries to draw the puck in on his shot release to change the angle, avoid Vlasic and trick Greiss. He actually fails at this, as Vlasic still gets his stick on the shot, which does indeed trick Greiss. As Don Cherry would say, either block the shot or keep your damn stick out of the way.
Well there you have it everyone. A feast of goals for the previously goal-starved Jackets. This was coming against one of the league’s better teams as well. Aside from the Letestu goal, all of these goals were the exact type this team needs to live and die with. They need to continue to win battles down low, crash the net, find space, and finish the chances they get. If they can continue to do this (and keep their point shots on net), they could surprise a few more teams along the way this season.
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