In David Clarkson’s much ballyhooed debut for the Columbus Blue Jackets, the team fell to the New Jersey Devils with the score of 2-0. In a game that was low scoring and fairly low event, the Devils were able to lull the Jackets to sleep and eek out a victory.
Highlights:
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
The Good: David Clarkson
I don’t know how many times we will get the opportunity to write him into this slot so it is only right that we give him his due. You could see an obvious pep in his step playing on the first line with Nick Foligno and Ryan Johansen, his possession numbers were good with the two and had Clarkson with +7 shots at even strength. I kept an iso on Clarkson for most of the night, interested in what I might see in his play. It is pretty much as advertised with him, he moves himself to the front of the net and tries to disrupt play with his physicality. His skating isn’t particularly great but you shouldn’t be using him too much in the transition game anyway. If he can continue to bring this type of game to the Jackets and find himself in the asset more than liability column, he should find himself a home in Columbus.
The Bad: Positioning
In more of a nitpick than anything else, Curtis McEhlhinney found himself slightly off of his line lending himself to the opening in the top right hand corner that Andy Greene pinpointed. Yep, that is it. That is how this close this game was from start to finish. This attention to detail is something that can be the difference between a win and a loss. The Jackets found that out the hard way.
The Ugly: Scoring
While the Jackets did outshoot, out-attempt and overall at times play a better game then the Devils, they could not seem to finish yesterday. The game didn’t have many opportunities overall and actually was pretty boring. Just to illustrate how bad the scoring has been take a look at this tweet from Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch:
During #CBJ five-game winless streak (0-4-1), they've played in following scenarios: lead: 0:00 | tied: 45:33 | trailed: 254:27
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) March 1, 2015
This type of play won’t get it done and must be quite upsetting to the team. They are playing a good game but they aren’t being rewarded for their hard-work. If this type of consistent play keeps up even with the tough schedule coming up, they will find themselves a couple more W’s come the end of March.
Tweet of the Game:
https://twitter.com/RedditCBJ/status/571833143348617216
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
