The Blue Jackets wrapped up their five game road trip in Madison Square Garden tonight. After the first period, I doubt you could have found many who would have believed the game would end in a shootout, but the boys in union blue managed to find a way to crawl back, get one point, and challenge for the winner point as well. The team won a total of 5 of 10 possible points on the trip. Let’s take a look at the three stars of the game as defined by NHL.com:
3rd Star: Artem Anisimov. You know how when you think of Artem Anisimov you think of a wicked backhand, and solid defensive play blended with a wicked nose for offense? Well #42 is returning to that form and it’s great to see. Arty had a goal and an assist tonight and has had three points (1-2-3) in the last two games. He also ended up second in Corsi +/- at +11. What an asset this guy is – you can’t help put wonder as you see his impact on the ice what it would be like to have all the key players healthy for the season…
2nd Star: Derek Stepan. Step had two assists tonight. Which is laudable I guess, but this is a vote colored through local media glasses in my opinion. A far more impactful performance came from the young Marko Dano playing in his fourth game back up with the Jackets. He, like Anisimov, has gone 1-2-3 in the last two games, and his second NHL goal came tonight against the same team that he scored his first goal. What a lovely story. In addition to the offense (he led in Corsi +/- at +12_, Dano is playing with confidence and solid physical play – great to see.
1st Star: Martin St. Louis. A valid award for MSL. He got the first two goals (on his only two shots by the way) for the Rangers and also scored in the shootout. First star when your team ends up winning for sure.
Stud. Attitude. As I mentioned, you couldn’t find many people who would have thought this game would have brought bonus hockey. Kudos to the team for not rolling over and finding the gumption to battle back and show some character. Regardless of how the season finished out, great to see.
Dud. Wisniewski Scratch. We Know nothing – allow me to say that again – we know nothing as to the circumstances leading to the scratch but per Aaron Portzline of the Dispatch, Richards said: “We want him to be better. I’m not going to get into it with you guys.” You want to see your leaders challenging your club not raising questions. Let’s hope this is a small bump in the road.
Jackets head home tonight and have a day off before facing Buffalo on Tuesday.
Carry the Flag!
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