Bobcat’s Post Game Notes, Game 16
Jackets win, 6-4 over the Montreal Canadiens.
-Instead of starting this post with a look at the lineups, we shall start with a special occasion.
I’ve been praying to the Hockey Gods for a long time for some luck on this front, but to no avail.
So where do you turn when the Hockey Gods fail you…?
(Cut to a dark room, lit by candles, with one candle, unlit, in the middle of room)
HOCKEY DEMONS… THE 5TH LINE SUMMONS THEE!!
I would not talk to you under regular circumstances, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
The hometown boy,
JACK ROSLOVIC… he needs a goal. It has been close to a month since he last put the puck behind the goalie, and your counterparts have yet to answer my prayers for this to change.
HERE IS THE OFFER I AM PROPOSING, HOCKEY DEMONS. I cannot sell you my soul, as it is currently in the possession of someone else, but YOU can sell ME, or rather, Jack Roslovic, a
GOAL.
In exchange for a Jack Roslovic goal-
TWO, IF THE HOCKEY DEMONS FEEL GENEROUS…
…I will not be mad if we lose. I won’t care. As long as Jack gets a goal, I will be happy.
SO I SHALL LIGHT THIS CANDLE PLACED BEFORE ME, SO THAT JACK ROSLOVIC SHALL LIGHT THE LAMP.
(Cut back to regular scene)
Okay, back to business.
-With both Z and Bean out of the lineup, Coach Larsen has left our PP1 quarterbacking job to Marcus Bjork. I’m surprised they didn’t give it to Jake Christiansen, but this might be better.
-Cole Sillinger takes a one-timer off the boards that bounces off of Jordan Harris and into the net.
-I will admit, I haven’t seen very much film of Evgeni Dadonov before this, so this is the first time I’ve noticed his speed. Man is an animal on his skates. Luckily, Jake Christiansen shuts him down along the boards before he can do anything too destructive.
-Liam Foudy comes off the bench and finds himself on a breakaway, but he gets too excited and fans on the puck. Rough luck.
-Another breakaway, this time by Yegor, but Sammy Montembeault makes the stop. You’re no fun.
-Arber Xhekaj gives Liam Foudy a good heave-ho into the Montreal bench. That one looked scary, but thankfully he looks un-injured.
-Gavin Bayreuther gives Gus Nyquist a god-sent tape-to-tape pass to set up a wrister that goes by Montembeault. 2-0 Jackets. Still looking for that Rosie goal, though…
-Boone Jenner gives the boys a third breakaway, and beats Monty, but he rings it off the post. Perhaps we should stop getting breakaways.
-As the first period goes away, I have no complaints. I love this stuff. I just want to see Rosie score. I have that deal with the Demons…
-…It’s official. I hate Evgeni Dadonov now. A blatant cross-check that hurts Andy AGAIN. I sincerely hope he’s okay, but it does give us the first power play of the night. Let’s go, boys.
-…Nothing came of it, although we did get a lot of shots in.
-Jordan Harris (the man who inadvertently scored the first goal of the game for the Jackets) capitalizes on a bad rebound to bury it behind Korpi. Rough.
-Marcus Bjork takes his first penalty in the NHL by holding Kirby Dach. First PK of the night…
-As the first penalty dies, Gus gets sent off for “tripping”. Josh Anderson took a dive. Fitting for a guy that couldn’t stick in Columbus.
-This then devolves into a 4-on-3. Juraj Slafkovsky trips up Andy, and then a few seconds later, Sillinger gets sent off for *almost* hitting Kaiden Guhle in the face. No contact, but Guhle took the full dive anyway. Taking a piece out of the Sidney Crosby Book of Hockey, i see…
-Tie game. Montreal dives their way into a goal from Josh Anderson with 2 seconds left in the period. That’s pure BS.
-MATHIEU OLIVIER! ARBER XHEKAJ!
LLLLLLLLLLET’S GET READY TO RUMBLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLE!!!!!!!!!
-WiFi got the most shots in, but tripped and fell on his own. I’m assuming hockeyfights.com is going to call that one a Xhekaj win, but it’s a draw at best.
-I didn’t think I’d be saying this considering last year’s disaster, but Korpi’s keeping us afloat.
-Someone fell in front of the Blue Jackets bench, and we find ourselves on a 3-on-1. Kenny, to Johnny, to El Capitan, buries it behind Montembeault. 3-2 Jackets.
-Montreal claps right back on a chaotic sequence that ends in Brendan Gallagher catching Korpi overcommitting to the wrong side. Tie game.
-COLUMBUS RESPONDS WITH A BEAUTY OF THEIR OWN. SEAN KURALY, YOU ROCKSTAR.
-We follow that up with a goal directly off the faceoff from… Mathieu Olivier? Not really a goal-scorer, but he made it look easy. 5-3 Jackets.
-Nick Suzuki claps right back to put the Habs back within one again. That was a very hard angle, that’s gonna make every highlight reel this month.
-Sean Kuraly scores on the empty netter. This. Game. Is. OVAH.
-I’m very glad we won, but my prayer to the Hockey Demons goes unanswered. Perhaps I shall ask again another day…