Three Stars and Game in One Picture: CAR @ CBJ

This game recap was supposed to be all about the triumphant return of Boone Jenner and Matt Calvert to an otherwise depleted CBJ roster. Instead it’s going to be about unforced errors, ugly turnovers and an abysmal defense. In fairness, I had tempered my expectations for Jenner and Calvert as it always takes a little while for any player on the shelf to regain their rhythm but nothing could have prepared me for the degrees which which the squad on the ice tonight were each marching to the beat of their own drummer. While some are eager to hang this loss on McElhinney, they’re wrong to do so. When your defense allows a bottom-dwelling team like the Hurricanes to put 36 shots on net (18 in the first 20 minutes alone) without any sort of pushback you’re in for a long night. Was Curtis McElhinney a superstar tonight? Not by any means but any time your backup can go .917 for you in an evening, he’s doing his job: keeping your skaters in the game and giving them an opportunity to win. Going 37% in the face-off circle and allowing a short-handed goal? You don’t get to scapegoat the goalie. Sorry all. On to the stars of the evening:

3rd Star: Justin Faulk

A defenseman who logs just shy of 27 minutes and contributes a shortie? I’ll take 6 of them, please. Faulk’s short-handed goal was truly a great individual effort stuffing the CBJ power play at the blue line and plodding down the ice with an ugly shot on net.

2nd Star: Riley Nash

Nash stands in the slot, unmolested by Prout or Erixon and gets a chance to redirect a blast from Sekera. Pretty much textbook. He had a solid game in other regards. The Jackets made him and a lot of other Carolina skaters look really good tonight.

1st Star: Nick Foligno

I’m torn on this one. I’m a huge fan of Foligno’s and with each of his goals the team got a little bit of a jump, as if it reminded them that there was a hockey game going on. Any other night, I’d have no problem awarding a 2 goal scorer the 1st star of the game and while driving home I contemplated that  the Jackets were so clearly outplayed tonight I’d have a hard time awarding it to anyone wearing a blue sweater but when a team as a unit refuses to jump start itself, sometimes you need an individual effort out of a natural leader. That’s what Foligno’s 2nd goal was.

Game in One Picture

Stud: Penalty Kill

The Jackets gave Carolina an ample number of man advantages tonight by going to the PK 6 times before the 60 minutes was over. The good news is they didn’t allow the Hurricanes to convert on any of those 6 chances. During the first PK in particular right when I was getting ready to make a comment about not being sure about playing Wennberg on the unit, he had a dazzling shift showing man-strength and tenacity to keep the puck away from an onslaught of two or three attackers. That PK shift may have very well been the highlight of the evening for me as it’s great to see youngsters show a promising future when it comes to special teams.

Dud: Defense

This isn’t meant as a slight against Frédéric St-Denis but when you start St-Denis in the NHL, you’re gonna have a bad evening. What’s disheartening is that St-Denis played about as I expected from an AHL call up, it was those with more solid footing in the lineup like Jack Johnson and David Savard who disappointed the most. Pucks seemed to evade their sticks and they were behind offensive rushes more often than not. Sustained pressure seemed lost when the puck would pass them at the blue line to escape what had otherwise looked like a promising offensive zone setup.

I would like to end this post on a positive note: I’d like to thank the Columbus Blue Jackets for helping us launch the button giveaway at the cannon during intermission this evening. One of the greatest challenges of involving new fans with the metopes has always been pairing a face with a Twitter handle and these buttons will hopefully help us overcome that! If you want to start that process, do a Twitter search for #jointhebutton to see selfies from tonight. We hope to continue giving these away at each game so newcomers can feel comfortable introducing themselves to the group. If you were able to snag a button tonight, please make sure to wear it to future meet-ups!

Until Friday when we get an opportunity to exact some revenge against those stinkin’ Hurricanes, Carry the Flag!