In the first 10 minutes this looked like it would be a picture perfect road game. Two goals from the fourth line. The Rangers scrambling and calling a timeout. Life was good.
There was a 30 minute stretch between the 1st and 2nd that was some of the worst Jackets hockey I’ve ever seen. We made a struggling offensive team look like the Red Army. Our defense was terrible. Nash was -4. Hejda, Stralman, and Commodore looked terrible. Even Yahoo declared the game a final score with 18 minutes left in the 3rd period. I would not want to be in the visitors dressing room after this one.
If you could say one thing. We make our losses count. I’m not sure if I’d rather have two 1 goal losses or one 4 goal loss. This feels miserable, but at the end of the night. It is just one game.
A couple weeks ago, I annointed our blueline, the best defensive group we’ve ever iced. Yikes, tonight. Why we have been so bad on some nights is beyond me. I think the lack of a top shelf puck mover is the main issue. We have 4 defenders that regularly prefer to chip the puck than skate with it. Under constant pressure, this is not a good thing.
It was nice to see us somewhat stop the bleeding and score a couple goals toward the end. This may speak more to the difference between the Rangers and the Red Wings. MacKenzie, Boll, Huselius, and Voracek on the tallies tonight.
No reason to comment on the goaltending tonight. It wasn’t good, but they didn’t get much help.
Mancrush of the Night: It has to go to Jared Boll tonight. The fourth line chipped in two. He was +3 with a goal and an assist with 2 fights. He definitely cared.
Whipping Boys: The Blueline. While I thought some guys played especially terrible, they were all pretty bad. The only pair that had any chemistry is Tyutin and Stralman and they haven’t been good in their own zone consistently. This is Hitch’s problem to fix. He’s had plenty of time. We need to see improvement here.
Barf. Fire Away!