Put THAT On My Review!

Wow!  Lots to talk about for our (gasp) first review of a Jackets game on this blog.  Thanks for joining, and hang in with me, I’m a few beers in and pretty jacked after this Jackets OT win in Dallas.

First, my SOMEBODY TELL…

SOMEBODY TELL Derick Brassard and Jake Voracek that they are rookies on the “fourth line”

SOMEBODY TELL Kris Russell that he’s still a puny kid, not an offensive defenseman

SOMEBODY TELL Jason Chimera that he is not a playmaker

SOMEBODY TELL Mike Comodore that he doesn’t hit enough

SOMEBODY TELL the Jackets that they need secondary scoring.

(this one is serious)  SOMEBODY TELL Sean Avery that (except for getting annihilated by Comodore) he was invisible.

On to the game.  Talk about a damn roller coaster.  Decent in the first, abysmal in the second, dominant in the third, for a time, then they closed their eyes, and finally finishing with an OT win.  First period went pretty much as it should have.  Lots of energy, some defensive jitters, and, oh yeah, Jake scored his first goal as a professional hockey player. Beautiful feed from Chimera from behind the net and Jake puts it right under the crossbar so fast that it had to be called on the review.  On a warm and fuzzy note, Jake’s parents were in attendance.

You would have thought that the helmet line* was playing the whole time in the second.  14 minutes in, the Jackets were without a shot in the second.  It was a Dallas shooting gallary.  Granted, there were the penalty issues, getting caught on the ice, and our best defensive forward was ejected after arguing that he was slew-footed by Morrow (he clearly was).

The new Jackets finally showed up in the 3rd and really started creating scoring chances and winning battles.  With 3 straight Jackets goals from Huselius, Andrew Murray and rookie Derick Brassard, the Jackets found themselves with a comfortable 4-2 lead.  Then the old school Jackets came back and 2 quick Dallas goals later took the game to overtime.

I thought for sure the game was going to go to a shootout, especially after Chimera got a great chance, with another great chance from Nash on the follow-up.  A few seconds later though the pair was at it again - with Chimmer on the right wing and Nash in the middle.  Jason drew the D to him and fed a beauty to Rick and - RICK NASH HOW-DO-YA-DO! rips a wrister that beat Turco.

How about some commentary on the players?  Sure:

• Peca looked phenomenal before he got the boot.  He’s one of the great checking-line centers and he’ll be a real asset playing the position that he’s meant to.
• Mike “the” Comodore is a hammer.  Absolutely crushed Ribeiro and then Avery later.
• Russell is a beast.  Noticeably bigger and a lot more confident on the offensive rush
• Brassard and Voracek gave us a glimpse of the future.  It is bright.
• Modin… i’m not drinking his kool-aid.  I thought he looked sloppy.  took a terrible hook and made a bunch of offensive turnovers.
• Sean Avery wasn’t worth half of his salary (3.5 Mil).  He was invisible except for jawing a moment with Chimmer and getting blasted by Comodore.

Bad News first: The Jackets lost momentum and weren’t productive on the power play.  This also should have been a game won in overtime.  You can’t give up 2 goals in the final 3 minutes of a game like this.

Good news:  Yeah, they lost momentum, but they got it back, twice!  And, hey, they came away with a W on the road in the house of a great team.  They got the secondary scoring that they sorely needed and the rookies really showed up to play.

*Helmet line is a term used for guys who should be playing special olympic hockey

Posted in Bluejackets buzz   Tagged: Blue Jackets game review