The St. Louis Blues were the more desperate team and it showed in both games over the weekend concluded by a 5-2 loss last night at Nationwide.
The Jackets looked pretty good for the first half of the game but a critical mistake by Steve Mason with the score knotted at 1 a piece sucked the life right out of the team and the building and the Jackets weren't able to recover.
I know Mase is taking the blame for the loss but it's not all on him. This kid is the reason the Jackets are where they are. Sure, he made a big mistake but that is the time when the team has to step up for him like he's done all season for them. The fact that they couldn't get it done for him was the most dissapointing part of this game for me.
STOPLIGHT GAME REVIEW
GREEN
* I liked Nash's game a lot...especially over the first half of that game. He had great jump, was driving the net well... he was trying to carry this squad. He finished the night with a goal and a helper.
* I thought Umberger and Commodore were really into this game as well.. Commodore was real physical (credited with a team high 6 hits) and RJ once again was showing some great outside speed and created scoring chances. Although like the team, they kind of faded after that Mason mis-hap.
* Great crowd at over 17k on a Sunday.
* Fans know... was good to see the fans give Mase an applause after his flub.. they know how important this kid has been to this squad.
* Great hit by Russell along the boards on whom I think was McClement. He was giving up a lot of size but still took him out.
* Dude who yelled "Keep your head up Oshie".
YELLOW
* Hey, they got a PP goal...
* First half of the game was pretty even... there was some solid play in there but then the wheels completely fell off after..well, you all know..
RED
* Just way too many mistakes. Bad decisions, costly turnovers, too many penalties.. The Jackets were the first to blink and they got burned.
* Off night for Mase... rookie mistake on that clearing attempt.. couple of goals he'd like another shot at... he was also hung out to dry a few times as well. Need to put it behind him and and focus on Nashville tomorrow.
* Jackets just couldn't match the Blues will and want from shift to shift.... they wanted it more and had the will to take em there.
* The Blues younger players were better than ours... Oshie, Perron, Berglund (he was real impressive) > Mase, Voracek, Russell
* Oshie is a solid young player but if he's gonna run another team's star players he better man up. Nash, Dorsett and Boll all wanted a piece of him. That said Oshie got the last laugh last night with a goal, assist and being a big distration.
* Tyutin's turnover... just can't happen if you expect to win.
* Why o'why do they continue to play Backman... this guy just doesn't belong in the NHL.. he's slow, makes horrible decisions with the puck, pinch's when he shouldn't, can't get a shot through.. there is absolutely nothing to like about this guy's game.. nada... zip..zilch.. Rome is the lesser of the two evils.
3 BRIGHT LIGHTS ON THE NIGHT
1. Nash was good.
2. Crowd was good.
3. The Crunch won 4-3 to put them back into a playoff position. Filatov with 2 goals and a tally in the shootout.
Jacket nation (myself included) is understandably uneasy out there. The Jackets were in the drivers seat headed into this weekend and really "blue" an opportunity to solidfy their playoff spot.
Although they still hold onto the 6th playoff spot they are only 2 points out of 7th, 3 points out of 8th and just 4 points out of a playoff position all together.
They may have blown the weekend but the good news is that they certainly haven't blown their season. There are still 6 games to go and the Jackets still control their own destiny. If they aren't a desperate team now, they should be.
The Jackets have quickly put games like this behind them and have responded well in the next one. So as fans let's get out there tomorrow night and show these guys we are behind them 110%!!
The road to the playoffs is going to have to go through Darth Vader. Heck, to hell with Vader -- let's blow up the death star tomorrow night boys.
GO JACKETS!
-LTL
Monday, March 30, 2009
Jackets "blue" it
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
6 comments:
There's a few words I've grown to despise this season... words muttered in just about every player interview... One of them is "Obviously" & the other is "Huge".
Given Nashville's position & our wasted energy/effort this weekend, the game Tuesday will be HUGE.
Obviously.
6 games left & we all know what kind of team the CBJ are. Let's roll.
Wally..
Yeah.. I could get used to the words "playoff" and "lock" really quickly.
-LTL
I would feel a little less worried by the 2 recent losses if weren't for the fact the Jackets are playing the Preds twice in a row.
I am still not ready to say "in". In fact I have been saying since the season started that we would be close, but just short. I have not wavered. Unfortunately I looked at the last couple weeks of the schedule in January and saw the writing on the wall. I don't think we are gonna make it. It really bothered me when Arace and others started putting it out in print that we're in. I would love to be wrong, but unless the sky falls I only see 1 more win this year and the CBJ in 9th missing the playoffs by a point or 2. So close and a measure of respect, but not quite the promised land. Anahein takes the final spot with Nashville and St. Louis.
Crap.
just, wow! i'm glad our coach doesn't have an ounce of quit in him.
& i understand there's a history of falling short for this franchise, but let's let the puck (and chips) fall, before just giving in.
'believe' is the term, i believe
Geez, did somebody die and i missed it??? Let's see, we are 3-1-2 in the first six of the Dirty Dozen to wrap up the season -- 8 out of 12 possibe points -- .667 winning percentage with wins over Calgary, Chicago and Florida. Nashville has 9 points, so has picked up 1 point on us in 6 games. I'll accept that pace going forward.
Nashville plays 4 of their final 6 on the road -- CBJ, Chicago, Detroit, Minnesota. They lost Erat for the season. Their two home games are against us and Chicago.
St. Louis is the hottest team in hockey, but now has 5 of the last 6on the road, including Chicago and Detroit.
Anaheim also plays 4 of their final 6 on the road, and their schedule includes 2 against San Jose and other games against Vancouver and Edmonton.
Minnesota has only 2 road games, but plays Nashville, us, Vancouver,Calgary and Detroit.
Edmonton spends most of their time at home, but has 2 against Calgary, and other games against Vancouver, San Jose and Anaheim.
The Jackets played 2 really bad periods of hockey over the weekend -- the 2nd period on Saturday, and the 3rd period on Sunday. They will bring it tomorrow night, count on it.
The CBJ are in the best position of all of the teams -- ahead. If St. Louis wins the remainder of their games and finishes the season with a 12 - 0 run, tip your hat and say "Wow!" Jackets just need splits going down the stretch for 92 points and a sure spot in the dance.
So let's save the funeral dirge for later, shall we? ;-)
--JAL
A Shot From The Point
Post a Comment