After taking out the Canadiens the past two games they played against them, the Blue Jackets had to feel comforted by the fact that they were catching them on the tail end of a back to back. The past couple of games between the two sides involved goal scoring and even more goal scoring. Now with Claude Julien at the helm, they tightened up and played the Blue Jackets to a very close game.
The Jackets ended up dropping the game by a score of 1-0 in overtime. Let’s try to catch you up.
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
The Good: Sergei Bobrovsky
Bobrovsky is from another planet… #CBJ pic.twitter.com/VzvhiHugYy
— Buckeye State Hockey (@BuckeyeStHockey) March 1, 2017
This game was odd for many reasons and it was an up and down affair for most of the evening. The team’s traded penalties for a while and it just made for one weird night. No team could get in a rhythm and because of it, the game suffered. It was an exciting game, don’t get me wrong. It just had massive lulls in it. Only one player was able to wake me up during those lulls, it was Sergei Bobrovsky.
Bobrovsky is very clearly in the zone right now and is playing out of his mind. He made save after save, the Canadiens got many premium chances on him and he was able to stop them. He posted a .967 sv% on the evening and single-handedly got his team a point. The Jackets are going to try and give Bobrovsky as much rest as he needs down the stretch but if they get this version of him over the next couple of months, it’ll be darn tough to sit him.
The Bad: Referee-ing
This space is normally reserved for actual play on the ice and not anything extra curricular but this was an exception. Bad referees are part of the game, similarly with good referees. It all tends to even up. They usually end up calling everything consistently throughout the course of a game.
Last night wasn’t one of those nights. They have darn well effected the outcome of this game.
Jenner and Radulov go at it at the end of the second period. The Canadiens are going to start the period with a power play. #CBJ #MTL pic.twitter.com/MgtqpeWgYx
— Buckeye State Hockey (@BuckeyeStHockey) March 1, 2017
That play in the tweet above ended up resulting in a Canadiens power play to start the third. Don’t really see what Jenner did wrong there that Alexander Radulov didn’t do.
Distinct spearing motion on this one. Paciorettty is fired up here, eh? #CBJ pic.twitter.com/Wbo1B1k3j1
— Buckeye State Hockey (@BuckeyeStHockey) March 1, 2017
This was probably a good goal but unfortunately for the Canadiens, they blew this play dead. Therefore it wasn’t reviewable. Not a great look for the referee’s.
Here's the "infraction" that sent Seth Jones to the penalty box in overtime. #hotgarbage #CBJ pic.twitter.com/xcJDOKIwwJ
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) March 1, 2017
Somewhere in this play they called a hold on Seth Jones, it may have been a hold but it is such a small infraction, I don’t really know how you call it. Especially as you let the game get out of hand on multiple other occasions. The game was rough and tumble, if you’re going to let them play, let them play, don’t try to effect the game with calls like this.
The Ugly: The Optics of a Blow Up
Everyone who watches the NHL only somewhat regularly is expecting head coach John Tortorella to blow up at some point. Tonight may have been the night that those people have been waiting for.
John Tortorella is my spirit animal. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/Q9I67QgbSV
— Sam Blazer (@Sam_Blazer) March 1, 2017
He was upset after Alex Galchenyuk scored a power play goal when the penalty against Seth Jones was questionable at best. He wasn’t mad at any of the players, he was mad at an official.
While it is nice to show passion for the game, you have to ask yourself the long term ramifications for a move like this. Will certain referees internally not give the Jackets the benefit of the doubt? It sounds like a ridiculous proposal but it should be brought up. Tortorella was supposed to be a reformed person and not the coach that had these types of blow ups.
This is only going to add fuel to the fire that Tortorella is a buffoon and a neanderthal of a coach. What he has done with this team so far says the exact opposite of this preconceived notion. If he wants to change the perception that follows him around, these types of incidents have to stop.
He knows this, he has said it in the past. It just brings up a whole bevy of questions that don’t need to be brought up during the last twenty games of the season. Even if he isn’t in the wrong when cursing at the referees, he needs to be better than this. The team doesn’t need a distraction.
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