Jackets won one and lost one this past weekend. Friday's game against the Sharks surprised everyone when the Jackets blanked San Jose. Michael at Army of the Ohio noted a couple of unexpected features of the game, including some key plays by players I have trouble with.
Sunday shaped out a little different, however. The Jackets hosted the Montreal Canadians for only the second time ever (Thank you NHL scheduling). Even though the Habs came in on a multi-game skid, they managed to scrape together one more goal than Columbus to get the win.
21 year old Halak was in net for the Canadians and he put up 31 saves. He also had this to say to a CBS Sportsline reporter:
"It would have been nice to get the shutout but we got the two points."
I don't like the vibe I get from that- opposing goaltenders coming into Ohio half expecting the shutout. It's particularly pompous from a guy who's in his first NHL start!
Anyway, the Habs scored all three of their goals in the second. The third period demonstrated some strong play by our younger players as Zherdev and Brule lit the red lamp. Seeing those guys execute and make plays even when down two or three goals is incredibly important to the recovery of the CBJ organization. Frankly, it's almost worth the loss at this point in the season.
The Jackets' six game home stand is now finished, and the team will be headed to St. Louis on Tuesday in what will surely be a "we're not going to the playoffs, you're not going to the playoffs" demonstration of young talent and some scrappy play by Nash, Svitov and Tollefson, who have become increasingly violent. (Or is it just me?)
On an unrelated note, this marks the 100th post on The Jacket Times!
1 comment:
No, it's not just you.
Svitov and Tollefson have pretty much taken over the enforcing job from Shelley (that may be Hitch's doing).
And Nash is finally sticking up for himself. I'm happy with that.
Post a Comment