Oilers-Blue Jackets Recap: Return of Roli the Goalie

missed the net with a great move. The Oilers continued to press and Torres missed the net on a big rebound. The Oilers had some good chances on the power play but didn’t get the reward the deserved as the Jackets killed the penalty.

After all the pressure Pascal LeClaire came up injured and had to be replaced by Frederick Norrena. Again the teams went end to end with neither team to break through the fortress the defenses were putting up. With just under 8 minutes gone the Jackets had a great chance as Boll’s shot gave Roloson all sorts of problems and then Boll put the rebound over the empty net.

The Oilers finally broke the Blue Jackets pressure and came back with Cogliano setting up Smid at the point and his shot was deflected wide. Rick Nash then brought the Jackets back and a great back pass found Russell open but the puck rolled before he could get the shot off. Ladislav Smid was checked on the play by Jody Shelley and was slow getting to the Oiler bench. Norrena then made his best save since replacing LeClaire as Alan Rourke took a pass and wired a shot.

Dwayne Roloson made his best save of the game with just under 8 minutes to go. A point shot by Ron Hainsey deflected off a defenders skate and forced Roloson into the splits to keep the puck out of the net. With just under 6 minutes to go Jarret Stoll was called for tripping. The call was made by the back side official and it was a horrible call as the hit was a legal check. Stoll also ended up getting an additional 2 minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct because of his additional yapping at the ref.

1 minute in the 4 minute power play and Cogliano had a great chance as he got a break away from the Jackets blue-line and Norrena made a great blocker save and as the puck flew to the open net, Hainsey cleared it off the line. The Jackets came right back and Roloson made a big save off first Nash then Zherdev. The video officials took a look at the Cogliano shot at the next stop in play and while it looked in to me the officials determined that it didn’t completely cross the line.

Cogliano then stole the puck again and took more time off the clock as he took the puck deep into the Columbus zone. The Jackets finally got a good chance as Chimera broke in on the left side and his shot forced Roloson into a big pad save. The Oilers killed the double penalty with no damaged and the period ended still tied at 1 goal apiece.

The Oilers started the third period with some good pressure and hitting and a point shot by Smid was kicked to the corner by Norrena. 2:30 gone and the best hit of the night went to Boll but unfortunately it was against his teammate Shelley as Pitkanen ducked out of the way.

The teams continued to exchange chances as the pace picked up. With just over 5 minutes gone the Oilers were on their turn at possession and Rostislav Klesla was called for interference. The Oilers had possession in the Jackets zone for almost the entire 2 minutes but were unable to get any clean shots at the net. Finally with 10 seconds left in the power play, Shawn Horcoff moved in on the left side and blasted a shot that Norrena was sharp on.

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