Three Stars and Game in One Picture: DET @ CBJ

The Blue Jackets fans were riding as high a high they could have Tuesday night when the club took on the Detroit Red Wings. The Jackets have been dominant against their rivals from up north the last few years, and the Jackets  seemed rejuvenated after breaking their losing streak and taking 4 points against the Flyers and Sharks. The excitement didn’t last long, however. After a goal midway through the 1^st period the Red Wings pulled ahead and never looked back. 

3^rd Star: Tomas Jurco

Honestly, Jurco was the first Wing to beat Bobrovsky cleanly. It was on a screen, but still cleanly. Until that point the Wings were playing the “pass off the pads” game pretty hard, and it was Jurco’s goal that put the 3 goal lead in place and pretty much ended any hopes of a comeback in Nationwide Arena.

2^nd Star: Tomas Tatar

Tatar’s goal was the game winner, which is why I guess he’s the 2^nd star. I didn’t notice anything spectacular about his play, and I’m not going to compliment his skill set tapping in a rebound.

1^st Star: Jimmy Howard

I don’t agree with Howard being 1^st star at all. If anything, regardless of the score Bobrovsky deserves recognition for the amazing effort he put into each second of each minute of the game. Bob was struggling through the at times comical Columbus defense and the most Howard had to put up with was a few shots from the slot. The Jackets would have put 5 up on Howard if their puck luck was as decent as the Wings’ was last night…no doubt about it.

Game in One Picture

Stud: Effort

As bad as the game was, I have to admit that the Jackets didn’t stop trying until the horn ended the game. They weren’t crisp, they weren’t making good entries into the zone, their powerplay was abysmal…but I honestly believe that the Jackets were making a solid effort all game. A couple bounces a different way and they’re out of this laugher on top.

Dud: Zone Entries

All night, whatever the Wings were doing, it seemed nigh impossible for Columbus to mount a decent start into the offensive zone. When the Jackets did have good positioning in the Detroit end it was because of a faceoff win. It squashed momentum and eliminated any powerplays the ever-disciplined Red Wings gave up. (A runner-up to this is Brendan Smith’s fight with Foligno. Why did he take such offense to that hit and why didn’t he get the book thrown at him for instigating?)

All in all, it was a bad night for the Blue Jackets, and the overall forgettable stretch of hockey stretches on longer. The Jackets get a chance for redemption though, as a struggling and injured Bruins team comes into Nationwide on Friday night.

Until next time, Carry the Flag!