For something a little different (and because I didn’t get to this last night), here is a recap of the game using mostly GIFs (courtesy, as always, of Ryan Real) and pictures:
Wennberg – yes, Wennberg – opens the scoring
Good work by Savvy to get a shot on net with his cannon, and good work by Wennberg to be in position for a deflection or rebound.
Camsanity, Part 1
This was the power play unit getting on the board again. Notice that the usual 5 are on the ice, but in slightly different positions. In this case, Cam Atkinson was at the top of the zone rather than in the faceoff circle. He takes a great feed from Sam Gagner then skates into position and fires from the slot. Props to Gagner for getting out of the way. He showed surprising air!
Radical pic.twitter.com/wThDztJFrJ
— Ryan Real (@ryanreal) February 26, 2017
Wennberg + BJORKSTRAND = GOALS
Obviously my favorite part of this play is how well BJORKSTRAND is fitting in with the Wennberg line. He skates in as far as he can go, then lets it rip at the goal. Once again, Wennberg is in the right place at the right time.
Camsanity, Part 2
This simply isn’t fair. Brandon Dubinsky forces a turnover, then feeds a streaking Cam at the blue line. From there it’s wide open ice and you just knew the puck was going in. Especially since an earlier breakaway got stuffed.
Charts!
Saad’s minutes were down a bit from Saturday, but that line is still the third line, not the fourth line (as much as those labels matter, which should be very little). What stands out to me is how balanced the even strength minutes were. That’s going to be huge down the stretch, if Columbus is always the fresher team.
I am very happy to see this heat chart. Look how much time Columbus spent in front of the New York net! That’s how good things happen. On the other end, it at least looks better than it has recently. It’s important to help Bob by keeping the crease empty.