Jackets squeak by the Penguins this evening with a 4-3 OT win. The result was by no means pretty but with it the Jackets have now won six straight.
Highlights:
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
The Good: Boone Jenner
Boone Jenner had himself a game out on the ice tonight. While he didn’t dominate the corsi battle this evening (37% even strength) his process so far has been one of the highlights of this young season. The top Corsi Relative player for the Jackets with a minimum of ten games played, he is showing early why many believe he will be the Blue Jackets next captain. Tonight he scored a penalty shot goal and got an assist on Nick Foligno’s power play goal. A steadying force offensively and defensively, you will see him more often than not at home in the “good” section.
The Bad: Blue Jackets Closing Ability
To quote the famous line from the movie ‘Glengarry Glen Ross’ :
“A-B-C. A-Always, B-Be, C-Closing. Always be closing, always be closing.”
The Jackets during this winning streak have had nary a clue how to close games in regulation time. End game icings from 150+ feet away are a recipe for disaster and they have been bitten twice by it. While many may argue that a win is a win, a win isn’t really a win when you are giving up points to your divisional opponents. The Jackets are still 6 points out of the final Metro playoff spot even if this winning streak ended tomorrow. The odds are still against them but if they want to try and make a run out of it they need to close.
If this were ‘Glengarry Glen Ross’ they wouldn’t be getting any coffee after the game. Why?
“Coffee’s for closers only”
The Ugly: Lowered Standards
During this six game winning streak a lot of different things have been thrown at the team but the one part that shouldn’t be dismissed is the continued reliance on Sergei Bobrovsky. This team is better than many will let on, even when the injuries ravaged the team. Last night they played a Penguins team with one and a half NHL caliber lines, should this Blue Jackets win be celebrated this loudly? The team has played poorly to date but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t expect more from them. This game wasn’t pretty but it could have been, the Jackets can play better than this, I, for one, can’t wait to see it.
Tweet of the Game:
Trying to tie this game into last year's playoffs seems like a stretch since most of these guys didn't even play in that series.
— Adam Gretz (@AGretz) December 14, 2014
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