Well that was an interesting game. By and large I was happy with the Blue Jackets play, even if they trailed in the shots department all evening. They were generating good scoring chances and most of the guys seemed to be skating well but it just wasn’t meant to be tonight. The officiating could best be described as interesting tonight. We saw everything from phantom calls to no-calls to makeup calls. While there are a lot of things the CBJ could point to for why they came up empty-handed tonight, being on the PK 6 times in an evening probably didn’t help. Let’s see who the three stars were:
3rd Star: Anton Khudobin
In a game where very few individual players stood out, I can see giving the game-winning net minder the nod for 3rd star of the game. Although he wasn’t really challenged in terms of quantity of shots until the 3rd period, Khudobin performed admirably all night. No coach will complain about their net minder closing the night with a win and a 0.917 save percentage.
2nd Star: Marko Dano
Pardon me while I watch this highlight on loop for the next few hours:
I just can’t get enough of this 43-41-56 line lately. One can’t watch this line without getting excited for the future of the team. Wennberg and Dano seem to gain confidence every night and at this point there’s no question in my mind that they’ll be with the big club for the entirety of next season. I think the most impressive aspect of Dano’s game tonight is that no matter when he hops on the ice, you can count on the intensity and tenacity that he’s going to bring during his shift. The guy simply leaves it all out on the ice and it’s hard not to contemplate if that’s got anything to do with being paired with Hartnell. While others were making a run to bid on the St. Patrick’s day jerseys during 2nd intermission, I happily walked into the Blue Line and left with a number 56 jersey that you can expect to see on me on pretty much any game day. I think Porty summed it up well:
RT @treed1919: Marko Dano gonna be a player. #CBJ // Wrong tense, sir.
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) March 15, 2015
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1st Star: Brad Malone
Huh. I can only imagine that Malone’s GWG was what earned him the distinction of 1st star of the game but I’d like to see practically any of the Canes’ defensemen who were such key scoring contributors tonight. As was pointed out by Lori Schmidt in the post-game presser, all three of the Hurricanes goals originated from 50 feet out or farther. Malone was smart to be at the right place at the right time to make a gorgeous tip but the Canes defense really set up their scoring all night.
Stud: CBJ Game Ops
If you didn’t stick around during 1st intermission to see the #1 star of the pee-wee hockey game get interviewed by Mike Todd you really missed a great moment where we saw a mite reunited with his dad who was returning home from military service in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Good stuff.
Dud: Officiating
It really was a hot mess. No less than 60 seconds after a player is sent to the box, a member of the opposing team commits the same infraction in front of an official and no call at all. Whistle were blown for calls that simply were not there. C’mon NHL, fans and players deserve better.
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