Three Stars and Game in One Picture: DAL @ CBJ

There’s always an end to the honeymoon. For the Jackets, that night was tonight. Coming off a franchise best 2-0-0 start to the season, with the much ballyhooed Stars coming in with no wins and no goals for Benn nor Seguin. So, now ask yourself if your as surprised by what happened. The Stars came in H-O-T and for one period dominated (end of first period had the Stars with an even strength 64.29% FF vs a measly 35.71% for the CBJ). That one period was enough of an edge that the Jackets just couldn’t crawl back, even after a fairly even outing by both teams for the balance of the game.

So let’s look at who the NHL named the three stars of the night. And see if we agree.

3rd Star: Jamie Benn. 1 goal, 3 assists, +4 on the night. +10 Corsi. And that one goal was unassisted. Pretty good performance. He was dominant in the game and even went up against Nick Foligno…wait what…in a little spar to end the second period. But anyway, yes, I think Jamie deserved a star. In fact, my only issue with this naming is that Benn was the better player on the ice than those named higher than him. In my book, Benn was #1.

2nd Star: Ryan Johansen. Who does this guy think he is? He can skip training camp and then come in to the regular season and expect to make a difference? Oh right. He’s Ryan Johansen. So he’s good enough to do exactly that. Johansen also had no points through two games and was sitting on 99 career points…until…with a lackluster first period over and the Jackets lagging in the second, Joey had had enough. Jack Johnson passed to Cam who placed the puck perfectly for Johansen. The shot from 19 came from the right circle, hit the net and ignited both the team and the crowd (of 15,000+). Point #100. Johansen would also score what was then the tying goal off the power play. The boy can play. Good on him. Give him a star.

1st Star: Tyler Seguin. Halfway through the first period I said to the person next to me, “how many times do you think Boston kicks themselves for that trade?” I mean goodness. A hattrick on the night and +4 in the game. He was tied with Benn on Corsi for with +10 (second on the team overall for the game). Seguin is part of the makeup of what makes the Stars so potentially dangerous and he was really good tonight. I will not deny the man his three goals, but, right or wrong, an empty netter usually doesn’t carry as much weight, and, as mentioned above, I think Benn was just better overall. So swap the two Dallas players here and I’m happy.

Game in One Picture

Stud. The Crowd. Call me nervous, but for a community still looking to cement it’s status, a Tuesday game against a western conference opponent had me worried about the turn out. But, as mentioned above, the announced attendance exceeded 15,000 and even when the team wasn’t driving energy with their play, the crowd kept trying to will them into playing to win. Chants were consistent throughout the night and when the team woke up after Johansen’s first goal..that was all the folks in seats needed to cheer on their boys. Good showing tonight, and a good sign that if this team stays consistent, they’ve got the supporters ready to cheer them on.

Dud. Game Ready at Game Time. Coach Richards talked about being game ready, being able to prepare yourself, managing success. Post-game players said they just weren’t dialed in when that bell rang. That first period was a mess. Even with five power plays for the Jackets in the first two periods, the Jackets just couldn’t find that higher gear tonight. Flashes of frustration showed. It’s early, and the game wasn’t entirely lopsided. In fact, when the Jackets got to playing their game, the match looked fairly even. So I’m not hitting any panic buttons or leaping from the rafters, but let’s work on getting the kids ready to go when it’s “just another game” not the ‘season opener’ and not the ‘home opener’ because we’ve got a lot more of the former than the latter.

Friday night, former Jacket Kris Russell and the Calgary Flames come to town. It’s the last chance to see the Jackets in person for a while as the Jackets head on a four game road swing that won’t have them back on Nationwide ice until the 28th. So head on down, it’s also Hockey Fights Cancer night, always a memorable event.

Carry the Flag!