How bout dem Jackets!
Another opener on the road... another win.
Ho hum.
This will be a fairly short stoplight review as I'm hitting the STP show so let's get right into it shall we?
STOPLIGHT GAME REVIEW
@ Phoenix
10.10.09
Score: Jackets 2 Coyotes 0
@ Phoenix
10.10.09
Score: Jackets 2 Coyotes 0
GREEN
* I'll get to Garon in a sec but to me the team defense in front of him was the most impressive part of this game. The Jackets collectively did not give up many quality chances. They bent at times but didn't break. They were in lanes, they were blocking shots, they were winning battles in corners, they were keeping shots wide, they had active sticks.. I don't recall one odd man rush against.
* Then when the few breakdown did occur Mathieu Garon was there to clean it up. He stopped 36 of 36 shots. He was spectacular and on his game. He controlled he rebounds.. angles were great... glove was great... a well deserved shutout win in his Jackets debut.
* PK.. this could really be lumped into the team defense as well but the PK was HUGE part of these two points. It killed off two separate 5 on 3s and what 6 total PPs against including a 4 minute minor? They didn't give up a whole lot on those PKs either. It's really hitting on all cylinders out of the gate.
* Want a Picasso..? just replay that Brass to Juice to Nash goal a few times. World class goal at a key point in the game. As I said in the live blog it was great to see Brass get on the board. That goal was enough on this night.
* Boys found a way to win another opponent's home opener. That is very hard to do.
* Nice to see some Jackets fans representing in Phoenix!
* Thanks to everyone who joined me last night for the live blog. Was a lot of fun!! We'll certainly do more of those as the season progresses.
* Really liked the way the Jackets competed for 60 minutes. They didn't always control the play but there weren't many, if any, passengers in union blue.
* Jackets were swept last season by the 'yotes... not happenin this year baby!!
* Was good to see a solid fan turnout for the Coyotes. White out looked great on the tube.
YELLOW
* As I stated they bent but didn't break... especially in that 3rd period where I could probably count on one hand the amount of minutes spent in the offensive zone.
* Some quiet nights from a lot of players offensively. There was so much time spent killing penalties it was hard for any line to get anything going. Games are won in different ways and the Jackets showed they are again capable of winning the low scoring defensive kind.
* Not a lot of shots (19).. okay on hits (21).. not the best in faceoffs (47%).
* Still searching for those line combos and I don't think last night's game provided any of those answers.
RED
* Way too many penalties.
* Klesla has to watch getting beat wide like what's happened the past couple of games.
* Filatov a non-factor
3 BRIGHT LIGHTS ON THE NIGHT
1. Two more big points on the road
2. Team defense
3. Garon with a shutout in his first regular season start for the CBJ
A 3-1 start with 3 of those games coming on the road.
Fire up the bandwagon folks.... we have somethin here!
-LTL
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5 comments:
Good recap cept for the Filatov comment...OMG, the trainer would find it hard to be a factor with five minutes on our non talent fourth line.
Play him at least 9 or 10 minutes a game or send him down, the kid must feel like the water boy sitting on the bench watching the game.
Did Filatov even play? And hey, ho, way to go Jackets! Great to be beating Phoenix again.
Filatov needs to play on the second with vermette, he will get points that way, as will vermette
Garon looked amazing, and, frankly, could challenge Mase if he doesn't get back into his game
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I agree about Filatov rallen.. the point you made was the point I was trying to make by putting Filatov in the red light header. I should have expanded on that more.
I don't like the way he's being handeled as I am just not seeing the bad play to warrant his benching -- but then again it's hard to argue with a 3-1 start.
My biggest concern is the kid's confidence.
Filatov will be a scratch against Calgary.. bank it.
I'll throw up a post about this later today.
-LTL
I disagree with most here I guess, I think Filatov is more a victim of circumstance. The games have been tightly contested and I think most people would trust the Nash and Pahlsson lines over the Nikita line.. He will get his chances but his defensive play isn't exactly what he's known for.. If he wants more icetime he needs to step it up on both ends of the ice... I know most people will point to the Juice, but he's got a surprisingly active stick and good defensive positioning... The downside is ofcourse he's not a physical player at all... but he has hockey sense and an active stick.. btw the Juice has been pretty darn good so far this season..
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