Observations From Section 321 : The Big Bobrovsky

The Blackhawks pretty much outplayed the Blue Jackets for most of the night and the Corsi numbers prove that. Columbus was able to take the game to a shootout and extend their point streak to nine games solely behind the efforts of goalie Serei Bobrovsky. The Flyers castoff was fantastic in net last night and is having great stretch of games to get the Jackets back into the playoff discussion.

The first period did not have too much excitement as the teams headed into the locker room scoreless. Columbus out shot the Hawks 11-10 in the period and both goalies made some nice saves. Andrew Shaw and Matt Clavert decided to add some spice to the period with a late fight. I love it when they add midget wrestling to the card! It was a rather entertaining scrap and many fans wondered why the Blackhawks did not get a power play since Calvert wears a visor. Since he did not instigate the fight in the ref’s eyes he did not receive the penalty. I still think it is a bit bush league to not take the helmet off before throwing down.

Johnny Oduya opened the scoring, at 16:45 of the 2nd period, with his first goal of the season set up by a spectacular saucer pass from Patrick Kane. The Hawks kept possession of the puck for quite awhile before Kane was able to bounce the pass between three Columbus defenders to find Oduya. Jimmy Hayes did a nice job providing a bit of a screen in front of Bobrobsky and Niklas Hjalmarsson picked up the secondary assist on the play. The Jackets were able to tie the game less than a minute later thanks to a flat out stupid penalty by Sheldon Brookbank. Jack Johnson scored on a slap shot from the top of the left circle after Jonathan Toews lost the defensive zone draw. Marian Hossa was rather lazy in getting to his defensive responsibility of covering Johnson. Brandon Dubinsky and Derick Brassard assisted on Johnson’s 4th goal of the year.

The Hawks spent most of the 3rd period in the Jackets zone but couldn’t get one past Bobrovsky. They out shot Columbus 13 to 3 in the final frame but the game went into overtime still tied at one. The five minute overtime period was the most exciting extra frame we have seen all season long. The action was end to end and both teams had their chances to end the game. Dave Bolland had the best chance when he had Bobrobsky down and out but he couldn’t get any air under the puck and shot it right into to the goalie’s paddle. It was a shame to see such an exciting OT period have to end and the contest be decided by a game of Blades of Steel. Both Artem Anisimov and Toews converted on their opening round shots. Corey Crawford made the save on Ryan Johansen’s attempt, which was followed by a full minute of Pat and Eddie wondering where the puck went, when the replay clearly showed it going into the netting above the glass. Patrick Kane continued to show goalies around the league that they have no chance against him when he slows it down. Crow was able to poke check the puck away from Brassard, in a move he might have picked up from Marty Turco, to secure the extra point in the standings.

* Coach Q did a good job last night handling his lines. If you look at shift charts, Q did a lot of short shifting through most of the game. This paid off in the 3rd period as the Hawks were a step quicker than the Jackets and it showed up everywhere except the scoreboard.

* What a weird week for our buddy Gorilla Salad who goes from the cover of Sports Illustrated to being a healthy scratch. Hats off to Q for making the move too, because despite of the game winning goal last week, Carcillo has been pretty ineffective since his return to the lineup. Brandon Bollig showed that he isn’t a complete waste of skates sometimes and played good enough to keep him in the lineup. Bollig got 8:10 in TOI, dished out a couple of hits and had four shots on goal. Yes, four shots on goal and a couple of them even had a chance of going in the net too!

* I am done with Sheldon Brookbank. It is time for him to join Kim Johnsson in the land of lost left socks and go away. I have to think Michal Rozsival is not 100% otherwise he would be out there.

* Does anyone in the Blue Jackets organization realize their goal song, “The Whip” by Locksley, is used by American Family Insurance who is a big competitor of Nationwide Insurance who just happens to sponsor their arena?

* Not that we didn’t know this already, but apparently Johnathan Toews is the only center that can win a faceoff on a consistent basis. Dave Bolland was just 1 of 7 through two periods but did improve by winning 5 of 6 faceoffs in the 3rd period and beyond. Marcus Kruger finished at 41% (7/17) and Andrew Shaw was 3 of 6 at the dot.

* Does anyone else love the irony of the Jackets and Sergei Bobrovsky moving into the same division of the Flyers next year? Should make for some great internet fodder starting in the fall.

* It was very good to see Corey Crawford have a solid bounce back game. He continues to prove that the shaky Crow who lacked confidence last season is dead and buried. All goalies will lay an egg every once in awhile, but it is how they bounce back from these stinkers that shows how good you really are.

Chicago Blackhawks Corsi numbers

Columbus Blue Jackets Corsi numbers