Ever work on an old car?? You put months, maybe years of effort into it. It starts looking better, but still doesn't run. Then, with some more tinkering, a little praying and a lot of swearing, one day it comes to life. At first it sputters, but then it settles in, and the longer it runs the smoother and faster it goes, until it just purrs right along.
Tonight, we saw that work in progress come to life. We sputtered a bit during the first period, then proceeded to play the best second period in CBJ history, and followed up with a 3rd period that was equally dominant. Yeah, the sputtering cost us and Mason a scoreless streak, but his GAA stlll went down as a result of his effort. We sweep the Avalanche in their building for the year -- something you would never have thought, much less say, just a year or two ago.
Here are the plus/minus awards for the night:
++Nash, Huselius, Malhotra line -- Combined for 8 points and +10 in one game!! Malhotra is a completely different player since joining the top line. The passing, intensity and sheer hockey instinct was a joy to behold. Nasher finally converts a penalty shot to boot!!!
+Commodore, Umberger, Voracek -- Great efforts as well. Commodore has become a scoring machine, and it was great to see Voracek get rewarded for his hard work. A nice 5 hole shot that will hopefully encourage him to shoot more.
+Peca, Russell, Boll -- In what seems like an injustice, they were all -1, but played with great guts and energy, and always seemed to be making a play.
+Mason --Duhhhhh . . .
+Special Teams -- 1 for 4 on the PP, with lots of good movement and some good shots. A perfect 6 for 6 on the PK. Doesn't get better than that.
+Team Spirit -- Did not get discouraged after some sloppy work in our own end resulted in Colorado's only goal. Came to Nash's defense after the Adam Foote cheap shot (#2) on Nash. Great to see Nash jawing at Foote. Wish I would have know what he said. Something like "Got an airplane waiting tonight, Adam?? "
--Foote -- Classless act, slew footing Nash (unbelievable no-call there), then just cheap-shotting him in the corner. But, when all is said and done, it was Foote who walked away with a bloody nose, a -3 for the evening, and the prospect of coming to Columbus in just 10 days. ;-)
A truly magnificent effort by the boys tonight. Watching Hitchcock in the post-game interview, you can tell he knows that they are on to something. Fun to watch, and consider that this is all happening on the road. We have guaranteed ourselves no worse than a .500 record on this trip, and it could be really special.
Mason back in goal tomorrow in St. Louis, who lost in Carolina tongiht 2 - 1, so they have an even longer flight than the CBJ. Puck drops at 8:30 PM EST. Go Jackets!!!
Friday, January 2, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
great job sir ! i love your blog...
i wish i had a loop of jared boll just crushing foote on the wall...
that made my day alone... and then we go all penguins style and score 6 ... wow...
my fave moments ( other than seeing foote turned into wall paper ) were....
huse gettin some pucks in the net !
nasher taking it and giving it back on the sheet ! 4 points
jake taking his puck and smokin thier goalie for a much needed goal
killer game... i think were ridding a pretty big wave here... i hope we dont drop off tomorrow
lets get some more wins baby
MASE THE LEAGUE !!!
Great post on the plus/minus for the game. Like you cautioning against the pessimism, I seemed to be the only one who was giving Peca any kind of credit. It's nice to see you stick to your guns.
Thanks, guys. By the way, Chunxs -- I may be old, but I do not respond to "sir". ;-)
Rick, Peca has been sneakily effective, and, unlike others, has cashed in on his chances. Nice to see. I think Hitch has stumbled on some pretty good pairings. Add Chimera to the mix, Filatov down the road, and it gets pretty exciting.
As far as sticking to my guns goes, I have learned over the years that you just have to look for the positive signs, compare season vs. season performance (which is not necessarily the same as results), and determine if progress is being made.
I think even the most pessimisting CBJ fan would have a tough time claiming that this team is not light years better than last year's team. The quality of our problems has dramatically improved.
Let's ride this as long as we can. You gotta love the approach and the attitude.
Post a Comment