David vs. Goliath. The Jackets were able to beat the league leading Dallas Stars in Nationwide Arena by the score of 6-3. As the year ends, the Jackets get to end on a high note; a hopeful sign of good things to come in 2016.
Highlights:
The Good, The Good and The Good
Good: Possession
Possession is a much talked about metric in hockey that gets bandied about and many turn a blind eye to it. Recently the team was losing the possession battle and losing hockey games, not a great formula if you can avoid it. Even though the Jackets tonight were winning for most of the game, they were able to keep taking it to the Stars who as a team are quite good offensively and in the possession game as well. Could this be an outlier? Maybe, but you need to start somewhere and the Jackets beating one of the best teams in hockey is a great start.
Good: Foligno and Dubinsky
For all the talk surrounding Dubinsky and Foligno being overpaid and not living up to their contracts, they are both having solid seasons. Both Foligno and Dubinsky had three assists a piece, which, if memory serves me correctly, is pretty good. Many will point to the captaincy weighing on Foligno but as many know, hockey is a game of streaks and that he, like others, was going through a bit of a drought. Similarly, Dubinsky has had an underwhelming past couple of months but he shouldn’t be seen as a focal point to this seasons struggles. In short, it is nice seeing both players shutting people up by getting in the assist column tonight.
Good: Return of the Mac(k)
You may be thinking to yourself, “Sam, what does this song have to do with hockey?”
My answer?
Nothing, but it is okay to jam out every once in a while.
It also gives me a chance to talk about Curtis McElhinney and his play this evening. McElhinney faced 43 shots on the evening, a large number coming in the third period, 17 in fact. Recently it has been an uphill battle for Columbus goaltenders as they try to fill in the admittedly big skates of Bobrovsky. While Bobrovsky remains day-to-day it is has to be comforting to head coach John Tortorella that he knows that McElhinney can be relied upon strong opponents like the Dallas Stars.
Tweet of the Game:
@frickindannie @AlisonL N'awwww. pic.twitter.com/76K7w3NrBf
— Becca (@BeccaH_JR) December 30, 2015
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