Bethany's Hockey Rants

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Sharks keep Rollin’

by Bethany on 12/05/08 at 11:01 AM ET
Comments (3)

Wow. I can’t believe the way the Blue Jackets played last night. They were all over the Sharks in the first and if it hadn’t been for the great play of Nabokov, the Jackets would have been leading the game by more than just a goal. Here’s Sharks Coach Todd McLellan on Nabokov:

“He won us the game,” Sharks Coach Todd McLellan said of netminder Evgeni Nabokov. “He was easily the first, second and probably the third star of the night.”

True enough, he stopped a solid chance from Huselius.

Rick Nash scored the opening goal of the hockey game, and the Jackets appeared to be poised and have things under control.

Unfortunately the Jackets couldn’t stay out of the penalty box. The Sharks scored two goals on the power play and one on a delayed penalty call.

Fredrik Modin also scored a goal for the Jackets, he’s now riding a two game goal scoring streak. He was all over the ice and looked great.

Jared Boll also had a really good game. There was one shift in particular that he was everywhere on the ice, even the announcers commented on it.

The Jackets dominated the game. The big moment for me though, was Drew Remenda, talking about the Blue Jackets. He gave us a lot of credit saying that this is the biggest challenge the Sharks have had. He also said that he thought the Blue Jackets have what it takes to make the playoffs. It was nice for someone outside of our area to give us credit.

Steve Mason played another great game. He is such a solid goaltender, and really, I have no doubt that he *IS* our new number one.

The Blue Jackets also were able to kill off a long 5 on 3 with one of their best penalty killers, Michael Peca and Jake Voracek in the box.

Hitch wasn’t as pleased with the effort the boys showed though saying:

“We didn’t outwork their goaltender. We had a chance to win the game, but we didn’t out work their goaltender. We’ll be back for more.”

We really didn’t outwork their goaltender. There should have been more traffic in front of Nabokov, but all in all I am pleased with the effort the Jackets showed.

One last thing I do want to say is Rob Blake showed a lot of respect last night. RJ Umberger fell down face first, and Blake lost his balance and fell on top of him. Umberger stayed down for a few moments, and Blake stayed right there checking on him. I don’t know why, but it left an impression on me. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen it, but I hope to see it again.

Other random notes:

* The Sharks won their 9th straight game last night. They have never lost a game at home.
* Raffi Torres is having surgery today. He is expected to miss two to four weeks, I am guessing it’s going to go towards the four week mark.
* Pascal Leclaire goes in ~~tonight~~ tomorrow night, wow, it has been a long week.. Will Norrena ever play again?

Filed in: Columbus Blue Jackets, , | Bethanys Hockey Rants | Permalink
Tags: Columbus+Blue+Jackets, San+Jose+Sharks, Steve+Mason,

Comments

great game played by the jackets. despite the loss, you have to be encouraged with their play against the best… i was just wondering, where derick brassard has gone? he went from 1st line to 4th line and from 20 minutes to 11 minutes within a week.

Posted by ThinkinPink on 12/05/08 at 12:35 PM ET

Personally I think Nabokov got robbed out of the Vezina last year simply because he plays in the West. If the Sharks continue rolling like they are Nabby is going to put up huge numbers and he should have a legitimate shot at it again this year. He’s going to have a hell of a challenge from Luongo, Backstrom and Thomas though.

Posted by Hockey Hermit's NHL Hockey Blog from Canada on 12/05/08 at 05:44 PM ET

ThinkinPink ~ I have no idea, since that game in Detroit he has struggled, let’s hope that he gets his groove back soon.
Hockey Hermit ~ I dont’ think Luongo will be a challenge this year, especially with the injury, but who knows.

Posted by Bethany on 12/07/08 at 11:27 AM ET