Highlights:
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
The Good: William Karlsson
In a lost season you can look at your team and try to figure out what in the hell you have among your players. Some will quit and allow a defeatist attitude to take hold of them. Others will fight till the very end and show their true colors. Tonight seemed like a defining night for a player like William Karlsson. I have viewed him as slightly overrated due to the premature fawning over his game but tonight he may have turned a fan out of me. His goal, while simple, was a pure hustle play that really displayed what his game is all about. He drew two penalties while on the penalty kill, helping the Jackets even it back up to at least a four on four. He will be a key player going forward and it was an encouraging sign to see a young player step up in a dire situation.
The Bad: Start to the game
It has been a tale of two teams at times.
You know that the Jackets are going to come out to play if they are immediately on the other teams tail. This unfortunately was not one of those games. Shots were 17-5 after the first period and the possession battle was 27-11 all in favor of the Islanders. Those are numbers that can instantaneously bury a team at the beginning of a game. The Jackets were able to manage a goal in the first frame but had to play from behind for large portions of the game. This has to be improved if they want to turn this ship around.
The Ugly: Lack of scoring from depth players
No one has been talking about it and it needs to be discussed. The fourth line is more there in theory than in actual practice. They don’t generate offense. They don’t do anything defensively and they play less than ten minutes a game. None of this helps the rest of the hockey club. Gregory Campbell may contribute on the penalty kill from time to time but is he demonstrably better than any other player on the team in this one specialty? The answer is no. Rene Bourque will be a free agent after this year. Boll and Campbell will still have another year on their deals. Will the Jackets finally address this in the offseason and alleviate some of the top players on the team by playing depth players more? It is almost as if they are already playing behind the eight ball before they even drop the puck.
Tweet of the Game:
Turning my viewing to #MakingAMurderer, which is a feel good program compared to #CBJ right now.
— Sara (@HuskyHockeyHops) January 13, 2016
Quote of the Game:
Brandon Dubinsky: "I'm so pissed off right now. I don't have many words for it. It's unacceptable. It makes me sick." #CBJ
— Rob Mixer (@RobMixer) January 13, 2016
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