Stars of the Night: CBJ vs. Nashville

U-G-L-Y. Ugly. Ug ug uuuuuuuuuuuuuugly. With that said, I’m going to keep this one short and sour.

Third Star: Marek Mazanec

Wait, his name is Mazanec? And he’s started eight straight games for the Predators? I had NO idea. Wait, I was only told that at least a dozen times over the course of the game. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a goalie’s name more during a broadcast while doing so little. Rimer sounded like a little kid learning a new word for the first time and just saying it over and over until it lost all meaning. Mazanec. As for his actual play, well the Jackets never really tested him, so good for the kid in grabbing the easy shutout.

Second Star: Nick Spaling

Nick Spaling is a hockey player. He plays in the NHL. That is literally all I know about Nick Spaling. Oh, and he ripped the Jackets for one and one tonight. He might be the most random dude-est player in the National Hockey League. Fun times.

First Star: Matt Cullen

Cullen’s first goal was nice. Good job of finding space, and a solid finish. It was mentioned in the broadcast that Cullen is a good fit in Nashville. For a solidly talented guy he just seems so nondescript in every way. He’s pretty much the Nashville Predators of hockey.

Stud

I guess that one shift in the third period where Calvert, Skille and Anisimov got a little bit of pressure and kind of looked like a group of competent hockey players for a couple minutes. Other than that, not much to see here. Jack Skille was probably that best Jacket. And he wasn’t playing like anything special, just your average third liner.

Dud

Every game that I am assigned to do the Stars of the Night. Seriously, what is up with this? This is my second game, and they’ve been outscored 11-0 in that span. But on a more serious note, this was a dud of a game. Unlike the Edmonton slaughter, this was NOT a snowball game. The Jackets got beat in every way right from the puck drop. They seemingly lost every race, every battle, every 50-50 puck. This team can only win if they out race, battle and 50-50 puck the other team. So yeah, not a recipe for success.

So forget about this steaming pile of garbage, eat a crap ton of turkey, gravy, and pie, avoid the canned cranberry sauce (vomit), and enjoy the long weekend. We’ll have Stars of the Night over the long weekend, and will resume the full recaps following the break. Enjoy.