Well that certainly isn’t the way we wanted our team to go out before the Olympic break. But, all things considered, 3 points and 1-1-1 on the west coast swing could have turned out a lot worse…it’s just that we started by beating an excellent team and then seemed to turn to battling the hangover from that from there on. After tonight, in the Metro, the Jackets are back behind Philly and four points behind New York (currently in 2nd)…not what we wanted but not insurmountable. What fans and the team seem to be battling to learn is that this is not your father’s Jackets any more and a loss doesn’t equal the end of everything. So enough philosophical thoughts, let’s get on to the three stars:
3rd Star: Tommy Wingels
Game winner. Yay. Pat on the back. You got the Jackets, tonight. Other than that, not a ‘blow your mind’ performance, but hey – your team won, so OK for the sheer fact that I thought all three stars would be San Jose players, I’m happy to award you this star and move on.
2nd Star: Sergei Bobrovsky
I’m torn on this one. Bob most certainly kept his team in the game tonight – no question BUT Bob was not at his very best. Watching him track the puck made me think he was skipping along the play more than he usually does, and far more rebounds seemed to be outside the usual control that 72 exhibits. If there was a Jacket to receive a star from the home town media tonight, I may have been inclined to give it to Ryan Johansen, but the guys out there chose Bob, and my quibbles just aren’t enough to be upset with the appointment. Bob has a lot coming up – and I guess we give him a game to transition from CBJ land to Olympics in his home country.
1st Star: John McCarthy
Stop me if you’ve heard this: First career goal for McCarthy came against the Blue Jackets tonight. Yay. Woo. So exciting. To be honest, that’s a bit much if that’s all it took to give this guy the first star tonight – but again, the thing is that McCarthy scored, solidly, and he was part of a team that played strong, demanding hockey tonight. I certainly can’t think of a Jacket who should be #1 star to let’s entrust this naming to the local media who would know better than I.
Coming SOON: Game in One Picture
Stud:
Matt Calvert. Good at hockey. Tonight, if you were looking for someone to continue the style of “scrappy, hard nose hockey” it was #11. As someone said on twitter tonight, (and if it’s you comment on this post and we’ll give you full credit) – Calvert is the kind of guy you notice – you notice when he’s not there and, when he IS there it seems like he’s always doing something significant.
It’s easy to pigeon hole Matt, but the secret it out. This is an incredibly loyal, energetic, focused teammate that could come to serve the club very well long term.Now if we can just get more of those shots to find the back of the net…
Dud:
The start. Woof. Against a team that builds off of scoring the first point, the CBJ were not as commanding as they could have been. The ice was tilted in the Sharks’ favor for almost all of the first period – a period which allowed 2 goals for San Jose. It was obvious how much the first goal ignited the home team, and even more significant how loud the fans became after goal number two. If you are a young visiting team, you have to come in strong and hard and dictate the “conversation” in the arena much more than happened tonight.
We are officially on Olympic break, my friends. No games until February 27th – and that game is away so March is the next time we can see our boys playing at Nationwide. Let’s hope for strong recoveries for those who need them, rest for all, trust that focus won’t die and a continued focus on bonus games come April.
Carry the Flag!
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
