Ohio Jones
Game on...
CD - Boston
The Jackets leaned on special teams and a fine performance by goalie Martin Brodeur to hold on for their first win of the season, a 2-1 road victory over a powerful Bruins squad.
Once again Columbus took the game to their opponents, outshooting the Bruins in each of the first two periods. Columbus opened the scoring in the first minute of the second while in teh dying seconds of a powerplay carried over from the first period. Slava Kozlov tapped in the rebound of a Mark Bell wrister for his third goal in 24 hours.
The Bruins answered midway through the second. Jeremy Roenick turned the puck over crossing into the Bruins' zone, and in the ensuing odd-man rush Wade Redden trailed as the third man. When Trevor Linden left a drop pass for him at the top of the circle, Redden stepped up and fired a laser to the top corner past a screened Brodeur to tie things up.
That goal took the wind out of the Jackets' sails, and they played very defensively for the remainder of the game. However, Martin Brodeur showed none of the shakiness that had characterized his starts so far this year, making 10 saves in the period and giving young blueliner Joni Pitkanen the chance to make up for the cross-checking major he took in the second period. With Brad Stuart serving a double-minor late in the third, Pitkanen teed up a one-timer on a nifty saucer pass from Mike Leclerc, and his shot deflected off a Bruins defender and behind Marty Turco to put the Jackets ahead for good.
No doubt Stuart and the Bruins will be hearing from their coach in teh post-game debrief about disciplined play late in games, but in fairness, both teams played very disciplined hockey, with each teams getting only two powerplays. The Jackets were able to make good on both their PP chances, and their PK continued its strong play, denying both Bruins chances with the man advantage.
The star of the night, however, was Brodeur, who stopped 22 of 23 en route to earning first-star honours, not to mention the Jackets' first two-point game of the year.
"About (expletive deleted) time", Brodeur was heard observing when his teammates rushed to congratulate him at the closing horn.
He qualified his comments afterwards.
"The guys have been playing so well in all of these games, and aside from the one game in Edmonton I just haven't been there for them. I've just been awful. I want to thank Coach (Mike Babcock) for sticking with me while I ironed some things out. I'm just glad I could be there tonight to do my part for the team. I hope I'm past all that crap now. I hate losing."
On the bright side, despite having been winless in their first 4, the Jackets have earned at least a point in 4 of their 5 games, and are now at .500.
The Jackets are back home tomorrow night for their second game of the young season against Central Division rival Detroit. In their first game of the season, Columbus made HFNHL history by being the first team to "earn" a point for an overtime loss. It's a memory they'd like to erase, and while the record will remain, they get a chance to make new memories tomorrow night as they look to build on tonight's success.
Milo Minderbinder
Coumbus Discoverer
The Jackets leaned on special teams and a fine performance by goalie Martin Brodeur to hold on for their first win of the season, a 2-1 road victory over a powerful Bruins squad.
Once again Columbus took the game to their opponents, outshooting the Bruins in each of the first two periods. Columbus opened the scoring in the first minute of the second while in teh dying seconds of a powerplay carried over from the first period. Slava Kozlov tapped in the rebound of a Mark Bell wrister for his third goal in 24 hours.
The Bruins answered midway through the second. Jeremy Roenick turned the puck over crossing into the Bruins' zone, and in the ensuing odd-man rush Wade Redden trailed as the third man. When Trevor Linden left a drop pass for him at the top of the circle, Redden stepped up and fired a laser to the top corner past a screened Brodeur to tie things up.
That goal took the wind out of the Jackets' sails, and they played very defensively for the remainder of the game. However, Martin Brodeur showed none of the shakiness that had characterized his starts so far this year, making 10 saves in the period and giving young blueliner Joni Pitkanen the chance to make up for the cross-checking major he took in the second period. With Brad Stuart serving a double-minor late in the third, Pitkanen teed up a one-timer on a nifty saucer pass from Mike Leclerc, and his shot deflected off a Bruins defender and behind Marty Turco to put the Jackets ahead for good.
No doubt Stuart and the Bruins will be hearing from their coach in teh post-game debrief about disciplined play late in games, but in fairness, both teams played very disciplined hockey, with each teams getting only two powerplays. The Jackets were able to make good on both their PP chances, and their PK continued its strong play, denying both Bruins chances with the man advantage.
The star of the night, however, was Brodeur, who stopped 22 of 23 en route to earning first-star honours, not to mention the Jackets' first two-point game of the year.
"About (expletive deleted) time", Brodeur was heard observing when his teammates rushed to congratulate him at the closing horn.
He qualified his comments afterwards.
"The guys have been playing so well in all of these games, and aside from the one game in Edmonton I just haven't been there for them. I've just been awful. I want to thank Coach (Mike Babcock) for sticking with me while I ironed some things out. I'm just glad I could be there tonight to do my part for the team. I hope I'm past all that crap now. I hate losing."
On the bright side, despite having been winless in their first 4, the Jackets have earned at least a point in 4 of their 5 games, and are now at .500.
The Jackets are back home tomorrow night for their second game of the young season against Central Division rival Detroit. In their first game of the season, Columbus made HFNHL history by being the first team to "earn" a point for an overtime loss. It's a memory they'd like to erase, and while the record will remain, they get a chance to make new memories tomorrow night as they look to build on tonight's success.
Milo Minderbinder
Coumbus Discoverer
- now I have to host the Sens tonight without my top LW. Ugh Doug - your Jackets are a pain - however, I am not totally disappointed with my Bruins - unfortunately I don't have much scoring depth on the left side and didn't get many shots away after the 1st which can be attributed to the loss of the Nedvedmeister.
