Steve Mason's unbelievable backhand swooping cross crease save with seconds remaining... Rick Nash's ridiculous cross ice pass to Huselius for the equally impressive one timer in net for the go ahead goal... a PP goal! .... secondary scoring from Modin and Murray... winning a game where they were, for the most part, outplayed... finally winning a game where they didn't score first... it all added up to one insane night the guys in union blue!
I've got to tell ya... I didn't think that game was going to fall the Jackets way so believe me when I say I was thrilled to see it happen... and I completely agree with Hitch when he says we were due for one of these types of wins.
How many times have we been outplayed by the opposition only to make a late mistake or fail to hold onto a lead and come up empty in the points department? Quite a few. Its got to feel real good today for those players/coaches/mgmt to get out of that one with a big 2 points.
Got to hand it to Vancouver a bit.. they came to play last night and were throwing bodies all over the place and converting on their PP chances. That was certainly no easy win (are any of em?).
STOPLIGHT GAME REVIEW
GREEN
*Steve Mason. This kid is just in the zone. He didn't look particularly sharp in the 2nd, especially after Vancouver got that 1st goal, but he stayed cool and calm and just shut everything down in the 3rd. Those plays/saves at the end were something really special.
*Down but not out. The was the first game where they have scored first but came back not once but twice to win. Got to love that risealency.
*Kristian "Husane" Huselius. This guy is just playing lights out for the Jackets right now. Sweet pass to Modin for the PP goal. Received a sweet pass from Nash for his...but even more than that is his ability to calm and slow the play down out there and create scoring opportunity after scoring opportunity... he had some get away from him but this guy is making everyone around him better everytime he's on the ice lately.
*Secondary scoring gets a big hell yeah. Modin needed one in the worst way as did the PP so that was huge. Same for Andrew Murray who has been workin real hard after his scratches.. he scored a big even up hard working goal in the 3rd... and how about his team leading 4 hits.
*Nice to see Boller win a decision... slowly but surely he's starting to look like last year's #40 out there.
YELLOW
*Love the dish by Nash for the game winner...that was real hockey beauty. I move him into the yellow b/c he did have multiple turnovers (I think teams have that cut to the middle play figured out).... still he was there to make the play when his team needed him the most and nobody was expecting that pass...
*The Jackets did an amazing job drawing penalties last night..the had 8 total. Unfortunately they could only pot 1 PP goal but b/c they got one in I'll give it a yellow. I can only hope its a start to turning the PP's fortunes around.
*I'm loving Russell out there. He's skating hard, moving well and jumping into plays.. he almost got caught once to far up ice but managed to recover. I'd like to see him paired with a guy like Klesla when he comes back.
*13k+ plus in attendance. Better than previous Monday games but after seeing that packed house on Saturday I want more more more! Spread the word folks!
*This is more of a general thought.. but when was the last time Commodore and Hejda played less than 20 minutes each? Commodore had 17+ while Hejda 16+ -- helps when your team is on the PP so much. Both finished a +1. Tyutin on the other hand put in over 25+ and it seemed like he was out there the entire game (he took a nasty hit too).
Thought the Brass line looked a little better and Chimera had some looks... still the rooks have cooled down as of late but imagine where we would be without them taking care of business over the first 15..? The good news is as they've cooled the big guns have heated. They'll also heat up again.
RED
The PK gave up 2 goals on 4 chances. I'll give them credit for killing off that final one when the game was on the line but they need to do a better job of getting out on those points and blocking/disrupting shots. Both Vancouver goals were generated from those point shots (..and I was one jealous fan watching those bombs).
Backman with over 7+ minutes of PP time... I just don't get it. He adds nothing when he's out there... what happened to Methot getting PP time.. he had a whopping 48 seconds and quite frankly I thought he did a better job in 48 seconds than Backman did in 7+ minutes. Yeah yeah the Backman hate.
Game ops.. what's up with more of those stupid movie clips? I thought those days were behind us.
..and one last gripe... fans cheering louder for t-shirts than the on ice game action? We can do better than that c-bus!!
3 BRIGHT LIGHTS ON THE NIGHT
1. Come from behind win againt a team that for the most part outplayed them.
2. Steve Mason's lockdown down play in the 3rd...and WOW that arm save!!
3. Big guns coming up big in critical moments!
The win moves the Jackets back over the .500 mark (11-10-3) as they embark on a tough west coast trip with stops in San Jose, LA & Anaheim. Its absolutely key that the Jackets won these past two games as they look to continue to build some momentum on the road. Ideally you'd love to see a Jackets sweep of this trip but if they can take 3 to 4 points on this trip then things will start to look really good.
Finally a BIG congrats to Steve Mason for being named the NHL ROOKIE OF THE MONTH!
This is the second consecutive month a Jacket has won that honor. NHL rookies just got "Mased"!
-LTL
Posts
9 comments:
Backman is either getting a little better, or his mistakes aren't as bone-headed. Take your pick.
Maybe I just watch the guy to much but he couldn't catch or receive a pass for the life of him last night. Then when he's caught up ice he hardly looks like he's skating to get back..
He did get a couple of shots through so that's a plus.
Oh well.. its clear I just gotta deal with him another 56 games.
-LTL
LTL,
I am right with you. I was at the game last night and I find myself like the guy on Mallrats saying "That kid is back on the escalator!" I keep saying "Backman is back on the ice?!?!?" I did not see him do one thing positive last night and he constantly catches my attention.
I'm with you on the Backman hate (OK, dislike - can't hate the guy, just his game.) When Rusty does come back who sits? As it is I would prefer to see OKT out there with Russel but that's not going to happen. Rusty and Russel could be a good pairing. Rusty should help the PK too when he returns.
And here's a jeer to the people around me. Learn the game idiots. Nothing but complaints about Russel jumping into the play "Does he even play defense?" was my favorite comment. The kid has been solid and is our only threat to go forward with flair and danger. He's not perfect and he won't clear the front of the net but he's smart, great with his stick and transitions better than anyone on the team.
And to the guy behind me that boos every game - bar none. Get a life. How people don't see this team is soooo much better - OK the PP SUCKS! - and can play with any team in the league is beyond me. Cheer for your team and support them or give you tix to someone who will.
Re-watching this game I can't believe I forgot to comment on Methot's save in the goal crease -- generally he had a strong game and was one of the CBJ's most physical players last night.
Also Tyutin seems to be getting better and better in general and more confident on the PP. He's certainly a go-to guy for Hitch. I really like all the little things he's doing out there.
I hear ya 'x'. I know I point out areas to improve every game but people are absolutely kidding themselves if they don't think this is by far the best squad the Jackest have ice'd in their 8 year history and its not even close.
If they can get their special teams cleaned up it really could turn out to be a special year.
-LTL
Couldn't agree more that this is already the best Jackets team ever, by a wide margin. They do things routinely on the ice that prior teams only dreamed of doing. More talent, solid coaching, getting familiar with each other.
I can't believe someone would actually criticize Russell, or any defenseman, for jumping up on the play. That is precisely what good teams have, and we have been missing. We now have the familiarity and the talent to allow the defensemen to jump up and know that somebody else is covering the back end. I can't tell you how many time over the past 8 years I have seen one of our defensemen a step and a half away from the puck at the offensive blue line, and start backing up. Grrrrr!!!
Big trip coming up. Look out for the Goats to re-emerge as a force.
--JAL
A Shot From The Point
Seek counciling on your Backman hate people.
Methot is attending the meetings, he got some time. Backman had less PP time then Tyutin or Russell. He'll likely be in there soon enough. Chill the heck out. Seriously. It's not like the forwards were going any better at the point.
And to say he did nothing and that he couldn't receive a pass is just plain wrong. I wouldn't say he was lights out, but you people are going to force me to replay the game and give you segments in which he did ok. How exciting.
This is the big converstation after this win? Backman? Good grief.
And OKT? The only reason to put him on the ice is add some toughness. Beyond that, he offers very little, if anything. You want a good chuckle, but that guy on the point on the PP.
You guys are looking for a scapegoat for the PP. Backman is no more or less responsible for a 10% PP then Nash, Brassard, Tyutin, Huselius, Chimera, Jake, etc. Frankly, Jake's been a turnover machine on the PP, at times, yet I don't see any comments about him.
I did re-watch the game last night and I may have been a bit harsh on Backman which I'll freely admit. He wasn't quite as bad as I initially though watching live. Still he certainly had his moments..again.
So would you agree or disagree that most of your PP success is generated from the point anonymous?
Re-watch Vancouver.. both of their goals were generated off point shots. Heck watch any PP and its all the same story.
You yourself have said there is only so much Nash and Huselius can do from the half-wall and that the lack skill on the blueline is our biggest problem but your story changes here.
-LTL
..and in terms of Voracek your comparing a 19 year old rookie to a veteran 28 year old defensemen who has been a pro since the 2002 season. Yes, his leash will be longer for me as rookies are going to make mistakes as they grow and gain experience.
-LTL
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