Jackets strike "back"!

Christian Backman with the game winner!

..yes, the Christian Backman!

A rookie goaltender making 28 of 30 stops in his frist NHL start against the NHL's 2nd best squad.

A depleted lineup stepping up in front of a sold out crowd and grinding out a HUGE win to keep this team in the fight.

It was that kind of night in Nationwide last night...and just like that the 3 game losing streak is history.

STOPLIGHT GAME REVIEW

GREEN

* Dan LaCosta. Just a solid game especially under the circumstances. Not to be forgotten was his play in OT.

* Jackets came to play... Dorsett set the tone early... they gained a lot of momentum off of William's early goal.. they were physical, opportunistic and composed.

* Jackets may have been outshot but they seemed to have more quality chances than the Sharks.

* Two big plays down the stretch that were absolutely key to this victory. Manny Malhota's disruption of Shark's pass to a wide open Grier in front of the Jackets net with seconds remaining in regulation to preserve a point. Dan LaCosta's save on Joe Thornton just seconds into OT to preserve a shot at 2 points. Its those kinds of little plays the Jackets made all night that they haven't been doing of late.

* Got to give credit to Backman... he's stepped up his game logging 23+ minutes... he finished a +3 and of course had the OT winner.

* Great jump from Umberger.... made a nice move to get to the cage in OT.. more than that though he had a lot of nice rushes to the net last night. Soild game from a solid player.

* Jan Hejda... the type of game he plays night in and night out just doesn't get the attention it deserves.. he led all Jackets with 26+ minutes of ice time.. and those are the hard minutes against the Thortons, Marleaus, Michaelks of the league. The way this guy takes a hit to make a play never ceases to impress me.

* Tyutin was another guy whom played well... Klesla was up in Thorton's face all night.

* Boll vs. Shelley. That was fun to watch. Boll, the light heavy that he is, hung right in there against big Jody.

* I love watching Dan Boyle! That guy is exactly what this Jackets squad needs. Of course just about every NHL team would say the same thing.

* Sell out crowd. That was a terrific atmosphere in the building and the Jackets gave them a good show.

YELLOW

* Nash played a decent game. Great feed from Huselius on his breakaway and a tremendous finish by Nash on a sprawling Nabokov.

* Jackets gave up a PP goal but did kill off 4 of 5 chances against a dangerous Sharks PP.

* Hate to see them give up a 2 goal lead but they stayed composed and took care of business in OT.

RED

* Too many penalties.

* Tollefsen had a rough night especially making that first pass out of the zone. He only played 9 minutes.

3 BRIGHT LIGHTS ON THE NIGHT

1. Dan LaCosta.

2. Christian Backman. +3.. game winner. Great game for him.

3. Sold out Nationwide Arena. The crowd really was the 7th man last night. Way to represent Cbus!!

The win keeps the Jackets in 10th place with 55 points. They are tied with Minnesota and Edmonton. They are 3-3 since the All Star breat.

....but don't look now as LA, Nashville & Phoenix all have 53 points and are right on the Jackets heels.

A slumping Colorado squad is up next on Tuesday night. Its a game the Jackets need to have and a game in which the Jackets will need to replicate last night's effort.

Great win!

-LTL