Even strength play couldn't even keep the Jackets in this one tonight as the Jackets suffered their first shutout loss to the LA Kings.... and it was ugly boy, real ugly.
STOPLIGHT GAME REVIEW
GREEN
* Credit to the Kings.. they capitalized on their chances and shut the Jackets down. They kept them on the perimeter all night and they looked the best I've seen them in years defensively.
YELLOW
* I liked Methot quite a bit. He carried the puck... was physical.. showed some emotion out there.
* I give Boll credit for trying to get his team into this one by taking on a true heavy in Ivanans..
* Commodore and Hejda played okay I thought even though Commodore took the hook on O'Sullivan which resulted in a penalty shot and Hejda redirected the 2nd goal.
* Well the PK didn't allow goal (yeah, I"m reaching here).
RED
* Exactly what I was afraid of happening happened... no energy....although they didn't get snowballed as bad as I thought they would. No excuses as the Kings played Friday night and the Jackets had it off. This team's competitive inconsistency is entirely to consistant.
* Absolutely no flow. Everyone was out of sync. They couldn't break out of their own zone.. they couldn't break into the oppositions.. when they did get in it always seemed to be off some broken play when the only player gaining the zone with any kind of speed was the puck carrier which eventually led to a dump in right to a Kings' player.
* A combined 5 shots in the first period....if anyone was having trouble staying awake for the start of this one they were surely sound a sleep by the end of the first 20... that was some brutal boring hockey.
* PP is an embarrassment at this point. No shots on the first two PPs...one chance on the 3rd one. Again it fails to take advantage early in a game. What exactly were Backman and Brassard doing on the play that resulted in a turnover and subsequent penalty shot? Playing keystone cops? I am serious when I say Hitch should just role the even strength lines as is with a man up..why not?
* Russell is playing like he is afraid of making mistakes and getting sent down. He's had some opportunities to pop up in plays but he playing is very safe which will get him sent back down.
* Jackets couldn't seem to win a faceoff when it mattered most.
* Mason has to stop that 1st goal.. Backman set one hell of a screen and I think he even tipped it. I wish he'd just scratch himself.
* Kings win a faceoff and their point man gets shot on net...a deflection later off of Hejda and its in the net. Again offense starts from the points..
* Goat line invisible. Nash line ineffective. Jackets offense as a whole a no-show.
* Speaking of the goat line.. I think its safe to say the rookies have officially hit a wall... Brass with 11 minutes.. Jake with 13.. and the way they have been playing lately its hard to disagree with the reduced minutes. The problem is we need them being productive to be successful consistently.
3 BRIGHT LIGHTS ON THE NIGHT
None
The loss drops the Jackets to 11-12-3 on the season and 0-2 so far on this trip. They take on the Anaheim Ducks tonight at 8 EST.
This is shaping up to be one brutal trip and I'm not holding my breath that the Jackets can salvage a win against the Ducks tonight.
-LTL
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Kings crown Jackets
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
5 comments:
"There's 2 hours of my life I'll never get back!" was my first thought as time expired in that suck fest last night!!! Am I supposed to accept that the team is coached to have 4 players on the same board leaving crease/slot empty during power play? They obviously are disreguarding the lessons they are being coached on! I'm beginning to think some are too lazy to play Hitch's style & true colors are beginning to show! Jake is pressing & giving up a rediculous amount of penalties, he's stick handling like an overcaffinated manic maniac...give him back his Sprite!!! Commodore is also taking way more penalties. It's time for a shake up me thinks!!!
Had a few thoughts as I watch my Eagles try & defeat Giants & I see allot of parallels...Andy Reid/Hitch=Experienced coach that knows how to win but can't get on the field/ice & do it for his players, they must execute!!! McNabb/Nash=experienced franchise player that sometimes feel weight of lack of execution & success. Juice/Westbrook=Amazing player that needs those around him to execute when he has a chance to make a play. LJ Smith/RJ Umbarger=not flashy but solid players. Both teams have the coach & pieces to succeed it all comes down to heart, discipline, team play, & execution when the opportunities arrive!!! C'mon boys, you can do this!!!
I think it's official, after having started with the best offensive stats the CBJ has ever had, we have now hit the wall..
The 3 road game losses were very unfortunate, I don't think we were dominated BUT I never felt we were able to come back... we are now officially offensively impotent.. Which is now starting to highlight our Defensive deficiencies and PP/PK...
This is my prediction.. .IF we are not better then .500 in our next 5 games, we are not going to make the playoffs...
BTW what really scares the crap out of me is the daily game results... it is truly insane how many 3 point games there are ... especially in the west..
It seems the ENTIRE west hast lost more then 1 in a row for weeks now, thanks to the 3 point games... they are still getting points in virtually every game... I think the CBJ needs to realize that 3 straight losses in such a tight and competitive western conference is devastating.. absolutely devastating...
Yep.. completely agree eplagge. Losing 3 games is one thing.. losing 3 games without getting any damn points is something different entirely in this conference.
The CBJ could not afford to throw a goose egg up in the points department on this trip.. but here we are in another big time hole.
-LTL
Sorry guys, I have to disagree with this one.
Maybe it is because I originally came from an area with a pro sports tradition, and long stretches zero success for some of the teams. But this town needs to learn some perspective.
Central Ohio especially seems to have trouble grasping a season longer than the 12 game college football season. The fact is that every team including San Jose, Detroit etc. is going to run through bad spells, including bad spells that have zero points. There is just over 2/3 of the season left, and I guarantee the CBJ will be playing better hockey each month. If we need to make some personnel adjustments along the way, so be it.
I grow reallly weary of Dispatch writers and everyone else ready to chuck the season. Do we need to address some areas of concern? Absolutely. But let's not jump on the ADD bandwagon here. 2 wins in a row puts us back at .500, and from there anything is doable.
With 50% of your roster rolling over, and many of that section young, it isn't going to be a level or easy ride.
I'm going to do some features on my blog in the next few weeks, including one on the 3 point mathematics. It will take about 93-94 points to get in the playoffs. We can, and I think will, get there.
Just my $.02 worth.
--JAL
A Shot From The Point
Post a Comment