Well that was a disappointing way to get back into things. The Jackets were thoroughly outshot through the entire game, with the final tally of 35-19 . At least they were consistent, getting outshot by five or six shots every period. Oddly, I didn’t feel like New Jersey was actually dominating the play. For parts of the first and third periods, and most of the second period, the Jackets looked like the better team. They did look to be off in the positioning, and were definitely off in their passing. Those are both related, as I felt the team did an extremely poor job tonight of supporting the puck carrier, forcing players into making tougher passes than necessary. Oh well, not like this was a divisional game against a team they are battling for a playoff spot. Oh wait, New Jersey is now only two points back. Super.
Third Star: Patrik Elias
Couple of dandy assists tonight for him. The second one will rightfully get the most replays, but the first (a falling, no look, cross-ice, backhander) was probably the nicer play. And yes, blame Jack Johnson for the turnover on the shorthanded goal, but don’t blame him for the defensive play (even though he looked stupid waving his stick in the air). That was just a really good play by Elias to get the puck to Henrique the only way he could
Second Star: Jaromir Jagr
Jagr is so interesting to watch now. He’s such a smart player, and the economy of movement is just fascinating. He rarely seems to actually be trying very hard out there, but he’s always in the right spot, he’s still so strong, and his reach is just ridiculous. Oh and his mitts are pretty dirty too.
First Star: Adam Henrique
Henrique may go down as one of the all time “right place” players. Made his bones in junior centering Taylor Hall. Jumped into the NHL centering Ilya Kovalchuk. Now he’s continuing his career taking dirty feeds from Patrik Elias (who is better than you probably think he is considering the era and system he’s played his career in). Don’t get me wrong, Henrique is a pretty good player, and he was solid tonight (two goals, five shots, 75% faceoffs), but whenever I watch New Jersey he never really stands out in any way.
Dud: Sergei Bobrovsky’s puck tracking and angles
I’m chalking it up to getting back on the small ice. Bob seemed to have a lot of trouble tracking the puck in traffic and off rebounds. He also seemed to be caught juuuuuust a little out of position with some frequency. I’m not putting too much blame on his shoulders, as he did make some fairly sweet saves, but a few of the goals against were stoppable. I think a different goalie probably still gives up four goals tonight, they would just have been a different four goals.
Stud: Todd Richards goalie pulling
Loved seeing Richie pull the goalie with three minutes left. Numerous statistical studies, by like real University professors, have shown that NHL coaches are WAY too conservative in pulling the goalie. The strategy I’d like to see employed: down by more than one, pull the goalie with five minutes left; down by one, pull the goalie with three minutes left; and if you get a powerplay within the last five minutes of a game, pull the goalie no matter how many goals you are down. Yes, there is some risk to putting the game away early, or losing by a couple extra goals, but this isn’t the Olympics, goal differential doesn’t matter that way. In addition to increasing the chances of scoring, teams draw penalties at a much higher rate.
Anyway, yeah that game was disappointing. Let’s hope the Jackets can pull it back together for their upcoming games. The next two are must win games against Florida and Toronto. Florida is a must win, because losing to terrible teams is bad. Toronto is a must win because they are currently sitting in one of the coveted wild card spots. Let’s hope the rust has been shaken off and the Jackets get back down to business.
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