We all knew coming into this game how important tonight’s match up were for the CBJ playoff hopes. Obviously, anything less than 2 points would have been unacceptable and even though the Jackets have had the Red Wings’ number in recent years, they’re never a team to take lightly, especially with young talent like Nyquist and Tatar stepping up in times of veteran absences due to injury. Be it team proximity, old Central division rivalry or just two teams playing for their playoff lives, those in attendance at Nationwide Arena were treated to another great game that gave the home fans a lot to be happy about. Tonight’s 3 stars include:
3rd Star: Curtis McElhinney
While I’m not goalie expert, I can only imagine being a backup to someone like Bobrovsky who would sooner play a game without pads on than miss out on ice time has got to be incredibly difficult. Based on his post-game interviews it sounds like McElhinney had all expectations that he’d start tonight only to find out after warmups that Sergei would be in net. In addition to the practice and physical preparation that goes into being an NHL net minder, the mental prep/routine for a day where you start is well documented and many goalies don’t do well with interruptions to this routine. Curtis assumed his position on the bench for the 1st period and I can only presume he was disappointed. Imagine getting the tap at 1st intermission to be told you after all are going in. Curtis came in and while he allowed some pretty juicy rebounds early, he found his rhythm after a bit and gave the team a chance to win. Admirable performance by McElhinney tonight against a tough team in what’s arguably the most important game to date. This is a star well-earned.
2nd Star: Cam Atkinson
It’s very easy to get enamored by Cam’s flashy stick-handling and nimble moves but Cam earned his star tonight by earning the GWG in true Blue Jackets style: by crashing the net to pick up rebounds generated by a rush alongside Matt Calvert. Cam is physically dwarfed by Brendan Smith but keeps his nose down and plays through him. Even while it was awarded a goal on the ice, the Columbus faithful could only expect the worse when the goal went to review for the net being pushed off its moorings at the time of the goal and it would seem Toronto came to the same conclusion that I did: Brendan Smith pushed Cam Atkinson into the net, thus causing it to come off of its moorings. Good goal:
1st Star: Brandon Dubinsky
Dubinsky had a heckuva night, that’s for sure. Two points in the form of 1G and 1A is a good night any way you slice it and with Dubinsky’s goal coming on a recently woefully ineffective CBJ power play and making the break-out pass to Calvert on Cam’s game winning goal was huge. That goal doesn’t happen without it. That said, even though he was on the ice for both of Detroit’s goals and one actually went in off of his skate, I think Ryan Johanson’s 2 goal night merits mention as a potential star. Yes, his 2nd goal was an empty-netter but his first goal is what busted the power play slump 1:35 into the game and gave the team a great kick start. He went 12 for 18 in the face-off dot and when the rest of the team would seem to sag a bit seemed to gain a bit of a step to lift up those around him.
Studs: The depth
When I say ‘the depth’ I’m referring to guys that don’t don the sweater on every game day but came in tonight and took care of business. I’ve already sung the praises of McElhinney but I was happy with Schultz’s performance tonight too. He stepped in for Nikitin on what I think is nothing more than a coaching/personnel choice and seemed to work well with Savard. In a playoff run you’ve got to have depth in all positions to be able to change the tire on the proverbial moving car with minimal disruption. Both Schultz and McElhinney did so tonight. Kudos, boys!
Duds: Boone Jenner
I can’t believe I’m doing this but I have to call out Boone’s performance tonight as being sub-par. In fairness, he’s set the bar pretty high so I expect a lot of out him each night but tonight he had a few big miscues including a pass from behind the net between two defensive pair that effectively killed the offensive momentum we had at the time and later in the same shift he got absolutely undressed by the mule, Franzen. For any other player, his game would be considered but out of Boone, I expected more.
As of Tuesday night at 11:30pm Eastern, there are 4 teams in the Eastern Conference tied at 80 points. Due to the all-important ROW (regulation/overtime win) tiebreaker and number of games in hand the Blue Jackets are the highest ranked of those four. Luckily the team has a few days of rest before facing the Malkin-less Pittsburgh Penguins who will surely be weary from travel and having played the night before. Here’s to hoping the can capitalize and continue to cement their place in the playoffs. Carry the flag!
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