Game 9 Recap: Rise Above

by Matt Wagner on Oct 25, 2011 11:29 PM EDT in Game Recaps

We're gonna rise above
Try and stop what we do
Rise above

Tonight, the Jackets could have easily fallen to 0-8-1 against the division leading Red Wings, particularly with the Wings fresh off a 7-1 drubbing at the hands of the Capitals and looking to reclaim their swagger at Columbus' expense.

Instead, the Jackets took the return of James Wisniewski as the catalyst that Scott Howson and Scott Arniel were clearly hoping for, pushing the Wings back right from the opening faceoff before the starting lineup of R.J. Umberger, Antoine Vermette, and Ryan Johansen tore their way through the Wings' defense and set up a bang bang play with Vermette taking a shot on Ty Conklin, creating a great rebound for Umberger that he was able to pound home through Conklin's five hole to break his personal slump at just 29 seconds into the game.

Despite the early jump, the Wings did not retreat, and a pair of plays would set the table for some serious tsuris among the crowd in Nationwide, first with Tomas Holmstrom crashing into the netminder just past the three minute mark during a Wings PP, leaving Steve Mason testing a sore shoulder, and then Justin Abdelkader winning a board battle against Kris Russell, forcing Aaron Johnson to overskate the puck, and putting a pass back to Darren Helm, who managed to stuff the puck between Mason's leg and the post for the tying goal.

With Mason leaving for the locker room in obvious pain, Allen York would be asked to stand in. Though York ended up spending only 2:33 in net (and the team making it easier by pushing the puck hard into the Detroit end), Mason would return just in time for the Jackets to head to a power play.

Grant Clitsome would unload a bomb from the point that put the puck on the stick of Ryan Johansen behind the net, and the 2010 first rounder would flip the puck into the back of Ty Conklin, banking it into the net for his first NHL goal. (The goal also marked the first regular season game with a two goal period for the Jackets since March 7th of last year.)

After 20 minutes, the Jackets had a dominant first period, with several other "near miss" chances, but another 40 minutes looming in front of them.

We are tired of your abuse
Try to stop us it's no use

Despite Detroit turning up the pressure in the second period (and outshooting the Jackets 15-12), the Jackets would seem to capture the better opportunities, including odd man rushes from Derek Dorsett, R.J. Umberger, and Antoine Vermette that just failed to drop home before the Jackets' fourth line used hard work to help create the insurance goal. Grant Clitsome fired another shot hard and high before Cody Bass was able to corral the puck and push his way through Ian White to set up John Moore, who unloaded a bullet that struck the glove of Drew Miller and wobbled in past Conklin for the 3-1 lead, providing him with his first NHL goal.

Not only would this put the Jackets past the two goal barrier, but would be the first time two Jackets' rookies had ever scored their first NHL goals in the same game.

With that bit of luck behind them, the Jackets would gird their loins for the final 20 minutes of play, and it would be a surprising lack of cohesion for the Wings triggering a series of Jackets power plays to eat up a major chunk of the period, and though the Jackets did not convert it was certainly not for lack of trying - or for lack of James Wisniewski, who was a major player in all situations in his return to the ice.

Finally, in the final two minutes Derek Dorsett would get tied up with Thomas Holmstrom and made the mistake of retaliating to a bit of a facewash with a flagrant hold that the referees simply could not let go. Sent to the box, the Wings would take their timeout to set up a 6 on 4 attack, pulling Conklin for the extra attacker. The Wings pressured, but the Jackets PK, stellar all evening, bent, but would not break, finally breaking the puck out with R.J. Umberger and Derek MacKenzie, and D-Mac would slide up the boards and through a check before sailing the puck down the ice and into the empty net to seal their first win of the season.

We are born with a chance
Rise above
We're gonna rise above
I am gonna have my chance
Rise above
We're gonna rise above

Final Score: Jackets 4 - Red Wings 1

Standard Bearers:

Steve Mason - I'll freely admit that I have said unkind things about Mason this season - particularly this past weekend - but he was simply incredible tonight. Responding with poise and ferocity, he controlled his rebounds, held onto pucks, snapped up chances, and was unafraid to lay himself out in order to take away opportunities - all after being injured and returning to the game!
James Wisniewski - Though the Wiz did not contribute to the scoresheet, his presence was felt from beginning to end, playing nearly 28 minutes, including heavy PP and PK time, throwing hits, clearing out the crease in front of his netminder, and really setting an attitude for the whole squad tonight. Tonight was a 60 minute effort, and it feels like he helped set the tone for the entire effort.
Grant Clitsome - Three assists for the Clitter in 16:44 of ice time. Not bad at all.
Ryan Johansen / John Moore - Welcome to the NHL, guys. Great efforts leading to some great personal moments. Moore had some solid hits and never really looked out of place tonight, while Johansen really seems to have clicked on the wing with Vermette and Umberger, and easily could have had another goal and assist tonight if a bounce or two had gone his way.
Special Teams - Not to throw the praise around, but with the PP converting for the 5th game in a row AND the PK keeping a clean sheet, it was a fantastic performance in that department as well.

Bottom Of The Barrel:

Derek Dorsett - I think that, on the whole, Dorse had a great game, but that penalty in the final two minutes was a case of really poor timing, particularly after he was able to keep his temper earlier and draw a couple of calls.
Top Line - Held off the score sheet entirely for the first time this season, a reflection of how the Wings focused on them all night - and in their defense, but for some odd bounces they, too, might have scored.
Third Period - The boys won, but R.J. Umberger mentioned in his postgame comments that he felt the team backed off a bit in the third, and I have to agree - especially with Detroit handing them several chances to extend the lead on the man advantage.

Still, a win is a win, and this was really the first complete 60 minute effort we'd seen all season. Perhaps, just perhaps, with Wiz back in the fold and should Jeff Carter return in the near future, we'll be seeing more and more of these kind of games. It was, all things considered, a pretty small victory in the scheme of things, but just as worth considering that those small victories create others.

The jackets will practice tomorrow at the Ice Haus before heading to New York to take on the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.

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anyone know?

how long carter is out for?

oh and I’m glad to see the Johan score but equally excited to see John Moore. Do you think its time he saw more ice time with the Jackets? Moore that is…and Johan as well. : )

Flyers and Jackets...all I need. BOOM!!!!

by PhillyPhan85 on Oct 26, 2011 1:45 AM EDT reply actions

X-rays were reviewed and it will not aggravate the injury to play on it, so it’s simply a matter of waiting for the swelling / pain to go down enough that he can lace up and skate comfortably. I’ve heard talk about potentially being back by Thursday, but I suspect the weekend games are more likely.

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by Matt Wagner on Oct 26, 2011 8:13 AM EDT up reply actions

Stress fractures are no fun. This will likely be a slight annoyance for him all season.

"An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools" -Hemingway

by notthatnoise on Oct 26, 2011 1:24 PM EDT up reply actions

Johansen has looked so much more comfortable these past two games. He looks like the player most of us thought we would see. The top-six has gelled to a point where, obviously Carter will play on the top line, but what do you do with Brass? The 18-50-19 line looks comfortable, and I’d hate to disrupt that now that they’ve had two solid games together.

As for Wiz, he does one thing better than anyone else on this team right now, and you could see how much it helped the team: his first pass out is always solid. With as many guys as have looked panicky in the early going, it was nice to have that calming influence. Tyutin looked like a much better player last night with Wiz on his other side.

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"I will say anything to be funny, often in the most horrible situations, which is one reason [a] good [woman] so far [has] been very sorry on occasion to have married me." --Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

by Dan P. on Oct 26, 2011 8:27 AM EDT reply actions

Here, here on Wiz’s passing. All his passes seemed solid and easily receivable out of the zone.

by painaxl on Oct 26, 2011 9:53 AM EDT up reply actions

I hate to be that guy, but it’s “hear, hear.”

"An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools" -Hemingway

by notthatnoise on Oct 26, 2011 1:25 PM EDT up reply actions

Actually, I’d argue Wiz’s best skill is controlling the puck along the blue line – that’s an area we really struggled at that seemed to instantly improve when he was on the ice, particularly on the PP.

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by Matt Wagner on Oct 26, 2011 10:26 AM EDT up reply actions

It was good to see the intensity coming out of the gate. While the Jackets had many solid first periods during this wretched month, they never had that much fire to start, IMO.

Sounds like Arniel heard the rumblings of others around here: Putting Ryan Johansen on a line with Bass/Either Derek/Pahlsson/etc is keeping him down. I think this game showed that he belongs on a scoring line this year. He’s obviously not going to always be this productive every game and he’ll have his ups and downs I’m sure, but it’s not too hard to see that it’s where he belongs.

Thanks for the Black Flag, Matt. That’s a song that seems like it should be the intro music for every game. The remade version with Henry on the WM3 compilation is nicely mastered and would sound perfect blaring out the speakers of Nationwide. The punk rocker in me knows, however, that this will never come to be. [sigh]

by painaxl on Oct 26, 2011 10:03 AM EDT reply actions

It just seemed to fit. :)

Editor for The Cannon - A Columbus Blue Jackets Blog
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by Matt Wagner on Oct 26, 2011 10:26 AM EDT up reply actions

I love where we’re heading with these musically-themed recaps, myself. I love setting a game to music.

by Dan P. on Oct 26, 2011 10:37 AM EDT up reply actions

Real nice win. Biggest thing I saw was Mason. He really settled down after that first goal. He may have to keep the purple pads now.

by NTB on Oct 26, 2011 12:27 PM EDT reply actions

That was a great game. We’ve now seen this team play the game they’re capable of playing, and it’s pretty remarkable. Now it’s time to repeat it.

"An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools" -Hemingway

by notthatnoise on Oct 26, 2011 1:26 PM EDT reply actions

This

As I said in the game thread, this was the first time I saw the team I was expecting to see, both in terms of effort but also in terms of forechecking, system, and skill.

That makes the bajillion dollar question: can they maintain that effort level and do it again and again? One would hope that, now having seen the results for the positive, that they would bring the same intensity each game. But, we’ve seen this team in many forms carry an attitude of, “See? We did it. Everything’s cool.” and then it goes back to crap effort again.

by Dan P. on Oct 26, 2011 2:10 PM EDT up reply actions

Our passes were much, much better last night. Lots of tape to tape crisp passes. Like Dan said above, Wiz made a great first pass last night numerous times last night and that was huge. You could also tell on our PP the wings had to have one guy up high on Wiz at all times. Our wings had much more time with the puck. Once we slot Carter in there, he can be right in high slot where the opposing player usually is but is not because of Wiz, and get the one timers all day.
I didnt think Wiz would come in and “save all” necessarily, but i thought it was more obvious than i thought it would be what impact he has. Obvously the booming shot, but the first passes he makes creates lots of opportunities that we usually dont get. Also the PP as well…
Mase was unbelievable. Bunch of great saves. One thing about him so far this year is that he is bouncing back from goals much better than in the past.
Derek Dorsett.. man o man. Two minutes after i turn to my buddy and say “Double D has actually played a pretty good game tonight” (which is rare for me) he pulls the stupid penalty at the bad time that is just not neeeded..again.
Lastly, i dont like to complain about Pahlson because he does the little things right and isnt supposed to score, but he is supposed to be here to be a supreme defensive forward that is good at killing penalties. Our PK was last in the league going into the game last night. Im not so sure how much that is Pahlsons fault, but its still a case for concern. Also, i believe someone mentioned he got pulled off the first pk line last night? Seems interesting
Is Giroux hurt or just didnt get many minutes last night?
P.S Congrats to Moore and JOhansen on first NHL goals. Johan was an absolute beast all night last night

by cbjfan14 on Oct 26, 2011 3:16 PM EDT reply actions

Less that he’s hurt and more that he hasn’t been performing when put on the second line, and Arniel really likes the Max / Pahlsson / DD line and doesn’t want to shake them up. Johan gets the minutes, Giroux gets the fourth line.

Editor for The Cannon - A Columbus Blue Jackets Blog
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by Matt Wagner on Oct 26, 2011 3:26 PM EDT up reply actions

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