Jackets Forming an Identity

They can rally around these smaller, skilled players, and feed off of their energy…

We’ve been waiting for this team to find energy for much of the early part of this season, and they seem to have found it on the backs of the little guys. We all expected Johnny Gaudreau to be a difference maker for this team, and he certainly has been.

But what we didn’t necessarily expect, are contributions from two other players of smaller stature: Justin Danforth and Nick Blankenburg. These were the three stars of the game last night. Average size? 5-9, 177 pounds.

#3 star: Danforth, who just continues to prove everyone wrong. Just a few years ago, this guy was starring in the ECHL(!); he’s played hockey all over the world but has finally established himself as an NHL guy at 29 years old. He plays whatever role the team needs him to play, in all situations, and he owns it. This guy belongs here:

#2 star: Gaudreau, who ends up with two goals and finds himself on a better than point-per-game pace. He’s every bit the star we thought we were getting, and then some … he’s only had Patrik Laine on his wing for a period and a half. That he’s remained so effective while on a line with Boone Jenner and Gustav Nyquist, is incredible. Not taking anything away from those players, they just aren’t top line guys.

The #1 star of the game? College free agent and 24 year old NHL rookie Nick Blankenburg. After earning the kepi on Tuesday night in his first game of the season, his follow-up performance was somehow even better. He scores the game winning goal and adds an assist on a homerun pass to Gaudreau, that sparked the comeback early in the third.

There is still a lot for this team to figure out; probably most important right now being their slow starts. Defensively, they are still all over the place – but that has improved over the last couple of games. Goaltending continues to be hit or miss (mostly miss), but Elvis does come up with some timely saves last night.

Tthe identity is forming for this team. They can rally around these smaller, skilled players, and feed off of their energy. This isn’t a team that can be pushed around anymore either – there are guys here who can protect them (though admittedly, we’re still waiting for that to come to fruition…).

The schedule doesn’t get any easier over the next few days. They’ll face Pittsburgh tomorrow night at Nationwide, before traveling to New York to face the Rangers. If they can work out how to defend, get more consistency from their own goaltenders, and show up on time; they are a dangerous group and should be able to keep pace in these games.

Looking further out, they’re going to be adding one of the top goal scorers in the world in the next couple of weeks, which should make things a little easier. At least it will move everyone up front back into roles that should better suit their skillsets. It’s nice to see this group beginning to gel, hopefully they can keep it up.

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