Now I can't be the only one out there who always wondered what Hitch would look like with Elvis hair and glasses can I?
Last night's 2-1 loss went pretty much as advertised... It was a tight checking low scoring affair. Of course the cruelty of the entire thing was that recently dealt defensemen Kris Russell scored a goal and the only coach to have any success here in Ken Hitchcock got his first win against his former team on his first try.
Never easy being a CBJ fan.
1. Best line of the night for me was Vermette-Pahlsson-Dorsett line. They were matched up against the Backes line and didn't give anything up - even strength at least. In terms of ice time to scoring chances ratio - they created some quality chances and of course DD got the only goal. Was nice feed by Pahlsson and great finish but DD.
2. Overall I liked the Jackets effort but let me state the obvious - their lack of scoring crushed them. Games like that somebody in the top 2 lines has got to find the back of the net. The Jackets had their chances on the PP -- in fact they had 5 (although 2 of those were abbreviated) but could not covert. The difference in the game was that the Blues and their 30th ranked PP came up with the game winner. That PP goal by the Blues was slick.
3. Marc Methot is playing some outstanding hockey right now. He is very strong on the puck. He's not losing many, if any, battles. Not sure if this increased level of play is due to a new partner in Wiz or he's just finding his groove. Whatever it is, I'm lovin it and hopefully he keeps it goin.
4. Sanford was solid again but was outplayed by Elliot and there is your difference. Unfortunately when you don't get a lot of goal support there is no wiggle room and every goal is magnified. Still when I watch those goals back there isn't a whole lot he could do. I really liked Elliot's rebound control versus Sanford's.
5. Congrats to Hitch and Russell for their early success in St. Louis. It will be interesting to see how long Hitch can keep this streak going -- as that new coach smell will eventually wear off. No doubt, he's got them playing well now as St. Louis is 5th in the West with a 13-8-2 record.
6. Although Nash didn't score I'm really liking his game much better of late. His play at his end of the rink has been significantly better. He's really playing all 200 ft. He's also been a lot more noticeable shift to shift even if he's not scoring. That is what this team needs from him. I did notice a few times last night that both he and Carter almost forced passes to one another where 9 times out of 10 they both shoot. That isn't a horrible thing as both guys are being unselfish but if the shot is there I'd like to see both take it and the other crash for the rebound. Always easy to say from the cheap seats.
EXTRA SHOTS:
Game wasn't as nasty as I thought it would be but Cody Bass had a nice go with Reaves. Saw Hitch do what every team does to the Jackets - pressure those dmen and get turnovers. Thought Wiz had a tough night - couple of bad giveaways in his own zone that need cleaned up. He led all Jackets again with 26:16 in TOI. Carter a nice night at the dot winning 10 of 16 draws. Methot and Dorsett led the team in hits with 5 each. Now that Sanford has lost in regulation does the coaching staff immediately go back to Mason? I hope not. When the Jackets got that first goal I thought for sure they would win this one. If you think last night's result was cruel then be glad you didn't watch and Springfield games -- they wen't 0-3 over the weekend.
The Jackets 5 game point streak comes to an end and they find themselves right back where they started - in the league cellar.
Things don't get any easier as they'll head out west 3 game swing before finishing up at Montreal on Dec 6th. Their next home game isn't until Dec 8th versus Nashville.
-LTL
