The Blue Jackets marched into Pittsburgh last night and for 23 minutes of play looked like world beaters. They were skating hard, they were checking brutally, they were very clearly matching and over matching the Penguins’ efforts. A beautiful finish by Jack Johnson from an even more beautiful pass by Brandon Dubinsky. A powerplay that was eager to respond to the Penguins’ own notch just under a minute earlier. The Jackets finished their scoring on the night with an amazing effort by Derek MacKenzie who made Kris Letang look like a fool and potted a SHG in his first career playoff game. Somewhere past that though, the Penguins either adjusted or the Blue Jackets let off the gas; via mental mistakes or physical limitations; and managed to walk out of Consol with a 4-3 victory and a 1-0 series lead.
This was my first ever NHL playoff game. I wasn’t here for 2009’s quick and embarrassing exit, but I can tell you that this had me pacing, watching something else out of nerves for a few moments…and then coming right back to it. One of the saddest things in the world is seeing your team score a SHG to go up 2 goals in a playoff game and not having someone to high five. I won’t lie, when I saw the scoreboard and the “Eastern Conference Quarterfinals” graphic below it I started tearing up. It’s a beautiful thing.
3rd Star: Jack Johnson
Jack scored the first goal and he did it looking pretty suave but he took a penalty that led to a Penguins goal and that wasn’t a good move on his part. But if we were going to give a single star to the Blue Jackets, I would probably have given that star to Derek MacKenzie. His short-handed goal let the air out of the arena and put a smile on an entire state’s face.
2nd Star: Matt Niskanen
Sure, Niskanen scored the game tying goal, a goal that was pretty….lucky. How Bob doesn’t stop that is anyone’s guess. But home team makes the stars, yadda yadda.
1st Star: Brandon Sutter
Props to Brandon, the goal he scored on Bob was a nice one. Skating down the wing and picked his spot expertly. By this point in the tilt the Jackets had not quite given up but were nowhere close to playing the game that they had wanted to play. After this goal, the Jackets’ fate was all but sealed, even with the healthy amount of time remaining on the clock.
Game in One Picture:
Stud: The First Period
Wow. If the Jackets play that well every period, there’s no reason the Stanley Cup can’t be theirs. They were doing it all. They were throwing brutal body checks in the same motion as their rushes down ice were. They played like the team we know they can be, and showed that they can beat the Pittsburgh Penguins.
(An honorable mention here is the refereeing team. I thought they did a very fair job all night.)
Dud: Discipline
It’s no secret that the Penguins love to draw penalties. It’s easy to see why, as the most important goals for the Penguins came on the powerplay. The Jackets have got to be smarter here; either on the ice before the penalty is called or on the PK once they’ve screwed up. The Jackets can really dig themselves a foundation for a series win if they don’t let up on giving Pittsburgh the business, but that foundation can quickly turn into a grave if they don’t do it intelligently.
As a first-ever playoff game, I can say that it’s a whole new ballgame having a real vested interest in these matches. I was dying on every goal against and soaring around my room on every goal for. This is amazing stuff to be a part of, and after seeing the Jackets play so well against the NHL’s darling team makes me excited to see how far they can go in the playoffs.
Because I think we all feel like Pittsburgh isn’t our first opponent, but rather our first victim.
Battle On!
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