Cavaliers Preview Game #4: Hawks at Cavs
November 2, 2010While We’re Waiting… Holmgren speaks, Braylon Complains
November 3, 2010Blue Jackets 3, Canadiens 0
(box) – Highlights
CBJ: 7-4-0, 14 pts
The Jackets looked to bounce back from another embarrassing loss on Saturday to Colorado. Sadly, again, they did so in front of a half-empty house. And thanks to Versus and the NHL, my guess is almost nobody in Ohio saw this game.
The Montreal Canadiens came calling, and from the drop of the puck in the first period let Columbus know they meant business. And, though it took the Jackets about five minutes to respond, Columbus looked like they weren’t experiencing any hangovers from the beat-down by the Avs. In a bit of good news, the traveling show of the Canadiens brought tonight’s attendance up over 10,000! Victory!
The Habs registered the first four shots of the game, as they moved the puck with crisp passing while the Jackets looked a bit out of synch. Columbus took almost five minutes to get a shot on goal. But, once they did, they slowly started to tilt the ice in their direction, outshooting Montreal 9-6 the rest of the period. The teams traded Power Plays, with neither team really getting anything going. The Jackets’ PK looked especially strong.
The Jackets have been seeking some scoring from their top line, and the unit finally delivered in the first. Jakub Voracek sprung Rick Nash for a 2-on-1, and Nash kept the puck and snapped it past Carey Price at the 12:34 mark to make it 1-0 Columbus. The goal was the first by Nash in six games, and it seemed to liven the boys up a bit. “When you have those chances, [you have] to take those shots,” coach Scott Arniel said. “He’s got one of the best wristers in the league. That’s a goal-scorer’s goal.”
They began going harder to the net and testing Price, and after Montreal’s Benoit Pouliot was sent off for boarding at the 13:18 mark, Voracek would again get his team going. As he brought the puck into the zone early in the PP, a crease opened up in the middle, and he plowed the puck to the net, drawing both Habs defensemen with him. He managed, on a great individual effort, to feed the puck across the crease to Derick Brassard, who was waiting wide open on the doorstep for the easy PP goal to make it 2-0 13:57 in.
“It just kind of opened up [at the blue line],” Voracek said. “The next thing you know, [I thought] if I jump in I might have a breakaway. I put it too far, but I tried to cross it because I knew Brass was gonna be there somewhere.” Brassard was far more complimentary: “After the goal went in, I told him ‘That’s all you, that’s all you.’ It was a great pass. I asked for that puck at the blue line, and after that I never said anything. He saw me back-door, and that was an unbelievable play.”
The Jackets ratcheted up the defense, and other than one chance kept Mathieu Garon pretty clean. The Jackets were blocking shots and getting solid stick checks on the Canadiens forwards. The defense would continue through the second period, as the Jackets hardly ever hung Garon out to dry and he again saved all of the shots he faced. Both teams had a full PP (and Montreal had a second that evenly straddled the second and third periods), and the Jackets made the most of theirs, getting several great chances on Price. But, he was equal to all of them, and the score remained 2-0 through two periods.
The Habs came out in the third desperate to get back into the game, and they ratcheted up the pressure. 5:13 into the period, a rebound popped out into the slot in front of Garon, and Benoit Pouliot was parked right in front. He tried to lift a shot over a sprawling Garon, who managed to get his body on it. It looked as though it was only a matter of time before the Habs would get back into the game. But, the Jackets’ fourth line would have none of it.
On the very next shift, Derek MacKenzie sprung Jared Boll and Kyle Wilson for a 2-on-1, and Boll fed it beautifully across from right to left to Wilson who buried goal number three on the night for the Jackets at 6:22 of the third period. From there, the Habs seemed to slump just a bit, and to their credit, the Jackets kept the pressure on. “It was the biggest goal of the night,” Nash said. “It’s a 3-0 game compared to a 2-1 game [if the Pouliot shot goes in], and it’s a huge difference.”
Montreal picked it back up toward the end, but “back up” goalie Mathieu Garon was stellar on this night in pitching the shutout by stopping all 29 shots. “We played a solid game,” said Garon afterward. “We got a two goal lead, and it’s a lot easier for a goalie to battle with a lead where you just have to protect the lead. We blocked a lot of shots tonight. It was just a great team effort, and the way the guys worked offensively it was just good to see.” The Jackets’ skaters blocked 24 additional shot attempts in front of Garon. “[Garon] was outstanding, and he deserves chances to play. He’s earned the opportunity to play games. Whether that’s 25, 30, 40 games, I don’t know,” Arniel said.
On offense, the Jackets finally had a top line that did some damage to the opponents and dictated the game. “It’s huge, you know,” Voracek said afterward. “I don’t think we played that bad in other games, but we just couldn’t bury more than one goal.” Derick Brassard, who is quietly getting better and better, added: “Our team expects us to produce offense, and I think we did a good job tonight. We got a lot of scoring chances.”
The Captain agreed. “I think each game our line’s getting better,” Nash said. “We’re gaining more and more chemistry, and it was another step tonight. I think each game we’re getting better and better. Finally tonight, we had lots of chances on the Power Play and five on five. Hopefully it just keeps on getting better.”
Indeed, Rick. Indeed.
But, tonight, they can bask in a complete win against a very good team. The Jackets then head out on the road, visiting another Eastern Conference foe in the Atlanta Thrashers on Thursday November 4th.
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Photo Credit: Jamie Sabau/NHLI via Getty Images
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