Jackets win Stanley Cup opener at home in double overtime thriller

[Ohio Jones]

http://www.hfnhl.com/playoffs/2006/hfnhlPLF-R4-1.html

Not much time for full coverage, I'm afraid, but it was an exciting game. Great play by Thibault, two goals from Hartnell, but it was not enough to overcome solid play of the Jackets' second unit.

Henrik Sedin was elevated to hero status with Columbus fans for beating Thibault at 4:48 of the second overtime, with the Jackets' 37th shot. The Sabres proved yet again, however, that they have the edge on special teams, going 1-for-2 and blanking hte Jackets on three penalties. The Jackets will have to continue their disciplined play in order to keep winning.

Can't wait for game 2.

Click to read more...

 

[Donga]

Time to put the jinx on the Sabres...

Can the Sabres continue their trend of losing their first game and going on to win the series in 6? It would be uncanny if that happened. A battle has been won but the war is not over.

All i can say is CARN JACKETS!!!!!

 

[Ohio Jones]

Fans in Columbus have started referring to the Blue Jackets' top line of Mark Bell, Mike Modano and Jeremy Roenick as "Wham, Bam, Thank you ma'am", following their performance in last night's double OT victory, where they unloaded a whopping 16 hits on the opposition. Add in the efforts of the defence tandem of Adrian Aucoin and Keith Carney that regularly skates with them, and it's 26 hits - more than entire rosters often provide.

Staff at Nationwide Arena have reportedly added David Bowie's "Suffragette City" to their playlist for tonight's rematch.

Columbus outhit and outshot their opponents in every period last night, but still needed a pallindromic 84 minutes and 48 seconds (84:48) to beat a determined young Sabres squad. The game highlighted the differences between the two teams.

Columbus is a team composed largely of veterans, with a handful of young players providing depth. Buffalo is a predominantly young team with a handful of veterans in key roles. Columbus, while fast, relies on its physical presence and suffocating defence to win games. Buffalo, while feisty, is even faster than Columbus and plays a counterattacking style that focuses on offence. In many ways, Columbus represents the HFNHL's past; Buffalo just as clearly represents the future. Buffalo had to climb through the top seeds in the East to advance, with each series going 6 games; Columbus was the top seed in the West, and knocked off lower teams, with each series ending in 5 games.

Some pundits have suggested that Columbus' experience (Brodeur, Modano, Shanahan, Kozlov and Maltby all have NHL Cup rings) gives it an edge; others say Buffalo's young legs give them the edge this deep into the post-season; still others say the Jackets are still fresh, having played three fewer games than the Sabres. We'll begin to see which of these positions holds true tonight, as the two teams hit the ice after a grueling Game 1.

 

[Ohio Jones]

...others say Buffalo's young legs give them the edge this deep into the post-season

Looks like this perspective won out, at least as far as Game 2 goes. A tired-looking Jackets squad managed to out-shoot the Sabres through 20 minutes, but still found themselves with a 2-0 deficit going into the second period.

The streaking Mark Bell scored his fifth of the playoffs to get the Jackets within one, but that was all they could manage as the Sabres turned their own game against them, checking hard, blocking shots and clogging up the neutral zone on the way to a 3-1 victory.

The Sabres' young captain, Scott Hartnell, is earning his C in these playoffs, and is looking like a Jacket-killer with 4 of his 7 post-seaosn goals coming in the past two games.

 

[Donga]

Experience may have gotten you game 1 Doug, but the lack of footspeed on your blue line could be your undoing in game 2 and possibly for the rest of the series...

Looking at both camps blue lines, the speed of the Sabres blue line averages 72.2 vs the Jackets 67.3. The almost 5point difference could be the deciding factor that may swing the Sabres way here.

You may have the better DF ratings but how can you used them if you can't catch the forwards when they are counter attacking.

It seems with stellar goaltending and the ability to get back to their own end, the Sabres may have found a formula to possibly win the cup.

Question now is, with T-Bo on 95 Health, will this affect his performance? Can Noronen hold the fort?? Only time will tell.

Just thought I might bring up this tidbit for this Stanley Cup intrigue..

 

[Ohio Jones]

Sabres v. Jackets - a comparison

Don't think I haven't noticed, Dion, and it's been a concern. The speed and offence from Josh's blueline seems made for the new sim... but then there are a number of other areas where the Jackets are clear leaders. It's interesting to consider all the other average comparisons:

Defence IT:
CBJ: 72.5
BUF: 69.5

Defence SP:
CBJ: 67.3
BUF: 72.2

Defence ST:
CBJ: 71.2
BUF: 65.7

Defence PA:
CBJ: 64.3
BUF: 69.8

Defence DF:
CBJ: 79.7
BUF: 72.0

Defence SC:
CBJ: 61.0
BUF: 65.5

Defence EX:
CBJ: 71.8
BUF: 46.0

Defence LD:
CBJ: 71.8
BUF: 50.5

Forward IT:
CBJ: 71.1
BUF: 67.9

Forward SP:
CBJ: 73.3
BUF: 72.1

Forward ST:
CBJ: 66.0
BUF: 65.7

Forward PA:
CBJ: 68.3
BUF: 60.8

Forward DF:
CBJ: 72.4
BUF: 68.3

Forward SC:
CBJ: 68.6
BUF: 66.3

Forward EX:
CBJ: 75.8
BUF: 44.5

Forward LD:
CBJ: 74.2
BUF: 47.0

In other words, the speed, passing and scoring from Josh's blueline are the only categories in which he has a ratings edge. Which just means he's done a great job of finding line chemistry (kudos!).

The real mystery, however, continues to be how Thibault has somehow had the magic elixir this year for two teams, with a higher save % and lower gaa than most goalies in the league despite ordinary ratings and regularly getting outshot. Baffling.

I see there being a run on speedy, offence-first defencemen this off-season...