Okay, I’ll say it straight out. Last night was terrible. Not a single person on the Columbus Blue Jackets was on the same page with one of their teammates and it lead to poor play in front of Sergei Bobrovsky (I’d say about two of those goals Arizona scored last night were truly on Bob. Maybe even less than that really were) and the blow out 6-3 loss.
Back-to-backs can be dangerous for the following reason – what if the Jackets don’t play any better tonight and need a day or two off to truly get back into the swing of things?
Now, usually that isn’t the case – and, as a matter of fact, the last 10 or so minutes last night were probably the best Columbus played of the night. Jack Skille lit a fire under the team by throwing down in the third period when it was a four goal game and the team didn’t show quit. Scott Hartnell and Brandon Dubinsky didn’t play a lot in the third period either and will have fresh(er) legs to give the Jackets the spark. Because they’re two of the guys who are relied on to do so.
The Avs came into the season with some high expectations, and frankly, they haven’t quite lived up to them. Sitting at 15-15-8, they too have experienced some goaltending questions, much like Arizona from last night. However, Mike Smith was solid (again, thanks to the defense in front of him, unlike what Bob had) and Semyon Varlamov looks to be the man in net for Colorado, putting his 2.88 GAA against Columbus.
The question heading into tonight is who will start between the pipes for the Blue Jackets. Curtis McElhinney played the final 15ish minutes last night, turning away all three shots he faced (but, did the Yotes need to pressure the new goalie with a four goal lead?) and it was speculated that HCTR would put him in net today anyway with the back to back (much like a backup catcher getting the start in a day game after a night game in baseball). Mac was Bob-esque in his last start against Boston, so if he does get the nod (and if anyone deserves a day off, its Officer Bob), I feel comfortable tonight.
The Jackets were embarrassed last night – I’m not saying that to be mean, but its true. They’ve been playing so well and to fall flat like that wasn’t what they wanted. Look for them to come out of the gates fast and, for the love of all things holy, please at least be on the same page tonight. No silly penalties (that means don’t call any silly penalties, officials), not silly turnovers, tighten up the screws, and lets put the memory of last night totally to bed with a win tonight.
Puck drop is at eight. Lets get it!
For the Avalanche side of things tonight, go check out Mile High Sticking.