I didn't get to catch all of this one (thanks for the comments!) so I won't have an in-depth break down. I did catch the first, some of 2nd on radio and the last few of the 3rd/OT/SO.
The Leafs one-upped us on the blowing a lead category giving up 2 goals in 14 seconds late in the 3rd period. Unfortunatley for them they were not able to recover and the Jackets, off a Nikita Filatov shootout goal, were able to pull it out to finish the pre-season an even .500.
Some general thoughts on the game:
* This Nikita Filatov kid is the real deal folks. He scored his first goal and made the shootout goal look easy. The Jackets have a real decision on their hands with this kid and as of now it doesn't appear juniors is an option.
* Jakub Vorack continues to put up points. Just when you think he's having a quite game he flashes the skill and next thing you know he's got a goal and an assist. He's really going to help the secondary scoring this season. He finished with 2g, 6a for 8 points in 7 games.
* The Jackets are putting themselves in way to many two men down situations. They continue that into the regular season and teams will make em pay.
* The PK is another negative trend the Jackets need to correct in a hurry. According to the radio guys heading into this game tonight they were killing at less than 80% -- ouch. They gave up two more PP goals in this game.
* The fourth line played really well -- especially Dorsett (who had a fight) and Picard (who had a goal).
* Still not sold on Backman but he's better than I thought he'd be. In contrast I am definitely sold on Russell.
* How about that open ice hit by Tollefsen? Clean too!
* Nice to see the boys not give up an come back from that 2 goal deficit. I'm not a believer that things in the pre-season don't matter be it negative (like blowing that 3 goal lead on Friday) or positive (like scoring those 2 goals in 14 seconds to steal one on the road). All can contibute to the confidence of a team and I happy to say I think there were many more positives this pre-season than negatives!
* Norrena stopped 3 of 17 and LaCosta stopped 1-16 plus 3 shootout attemps. Norrena has certainly been up and down this pre-season. How about that stop LaCosta made on Blake with 30 seconds remaining? Clutch!
* Didn't hear or see a lot from Modin or Peca. Modin strikes me as still shaking off the rust but he's one guy I'm not worried about - he'll get it going.
* Most importantly the Jackets got out of this one with no injuries.
* While Filatov looked real good so did the guy the Leafs' usto get in Luke Schenn. He's going to be a real solid player. Gonna be a long year for them though but a neccesary one I think.
So that's that. The Jackets get a week to team build up in Miami as they prepare for the season opener in Dallas this Friday.
Final cuts are made Wednesday by 3 p.m. and the Jackets' brass certainly have some decisions on their hands.
Fire away - what were your impressions from tonight?
-LTL
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Jackets wrap up pre-season with come from behind win
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13 comments:
nice video summary of Leafs site
http://mapleleafs.nhl.com/
Fantasic summary Puckeye -- big time thanks!!
That Tollefsen hit was somethin..
-LTL
You're always trying to get crowd chants together, here's one for the first game....
"Keep Ni-ki-ta...clap, clap, clapclapclap"
Nice hit by OKT...then kicked ass after that. NICE!!!
It's hard to tell anything from the radio and the 6 min. highlight video on the leafs site. However it does appear OKT is on his game again, he has to make the team. Also that Filatov kid has a good shot, very accurate... did you notice both goals were exactly the same.... (I wonder if the goaltending coach told the players that Toskala's weakness is his glovehand ??)
Anyways, I thought the preseason looked strong, now let's hope we keep them out of the IR... LET"S GO JACKETS
On the radio, I could swear they said his shootout move was one of his signature shots, so I'm not sure what else he has up his sleeve? Gonna watch the vid now.
WOW! Nice tip by Chimmer to tie it up.
I'm so pumped up about the season. Was going to pick up an extra shift Friday night at the bus garage, but decided against it because it's Jackets Time.
P.S. what are they doing in Oxford? I know they're practicing at Goggin (great facility, btw!), but what else? Singing campfire songs? Raiding each other's hotel rooms? A hockey camp dance perhaps? Haha it's going to be a long week for me...
P.P.S. I really think Filatov needs to light it up in Sudbury. Look at Voracek. We can do without Filatov this year. But if he must play in the 'Cuse, it's good because he'll be a star there with plenty of cement heads to keep him safe!
LTL,
I know this is a little late, but I was out of town this weekend. The home game video ops will be much better once the season starts in terms of replays. The problem with the preseason is that FSN was not broadcasting the games, so the normal number of cameras for a TV broadcast weren't in the house so we were not able to have better angles on replays than the couple of in house cameras the game ops staff had. Once the season starts, they will do much better because they will have access to the FSN cameras and replays.
Anonymous -- thanks for the update on the replays. That is great news!!
Max -- I completely with you on Filatov. As good as he's looked these two games I really think a year in Sudbury would be the best move for all involved. Filatov will get mountains of ice time and confidence while the Jackets will essentially get a more mature game breaker next offseason and save a year on his entry level deal.
I'll admit it certainly is tempting to keep him up or in Syracuse but in the long run I think the move to make here is Sudbury.
I really do hope that the "powers to be" here work out an agreement that allows Filatov to play in the Junior this season.
-LTL
Curious what the difference is between playing Junior vs. AHL?
AHL - if your North American you can only play if your over 21. If your born elsewhere you can play at any age. Its a league for men as the players are older, more physical and generally not quite as developmentally focused as Junior but players are certainly developed there - especially goaltenders. If you play in the AHL it counts as a year off your entry level ntract. A big positive is that players can be re-called from this league at any time during the season I believe as many times as you want. Players on entry level deals do not have to pass through waivers so no other team can claim them.
Canadian Major Juniors - It consists of 3 leagues called the WHL, OHL and QMJHL. They each have their strenght and weaknesses. The winner from each league plays for the Memorial Cup at the end of the year -- the 4th team is the host and they get an automatic bid.
I'm not sure the exact age upper limit but this is a league where the player range from 16 to 22 years old (something like that). Its a league in which most of your NHL draft picks come from. Its a development league that plays a "NHL-like" schedule/grind. Any player drafted and returned to their Junior team cannot be recalled to an NHL team unless its in an emergency circumstance that is approved by the league head offices (as we saw with Steve Mason last year). Generally its the best place to develop prospects although the College route is becoming a favorable choice as well. Teams do not lose a year of contract if the player is returned to their Junior team. A player can play up to 9 games in the NHL before being returned without penalty.
I hope that helps. If anyone else has more detail please add.
-LTL
I think if he can Filatov will be headed to juniors, maybe after few games here at the beginning of the year, I think H & H want to give him every chance to prove himself. Good quote from the Dispatch said Hitch thought he would be twice the player he is now if he had all camp to make the team (anybody think thats a little scary?). The problem I keep hearing about though is that right now Fil can't head to juniors because Russia won't let him transfer and Sudbury doesn't want to rock the boat and go against them.
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