CBJ 3 – PHI 5
No surprises last night in Philadelphia. The Blue Jackets gave up a goal in the opening 2:29 for the 5th straight game (remarkable that they’ve won games in that span), showed some fight, but withered in the end.
A night after having arguably his best night of the season, Center Derick Brassard (6-16-22, -14) won only 33% of his face-offs and took two obstruction penalties, one of which led to a Flyers goal in the waning moments of the 2nd period.
It was a bizarre game, not hard-bizarre as Hitch likes to say sometimes, but weird in many ways. I’m going to try to offer various thoughts, one bizarre, one not bizarre:
Bizarre: Mathieu Roy in a fight – Not Bizarre: Marc Methot returning to spectacular levels of suck after his injury absence
Bizarre: Giving up goals to 2 different goons (Asham/Carcillo) – Not Bizarre: Giving up 5 or more goals
Bizarre: Dorsett and Boll not agitating the crap out of the opposition – Not Bizarre: RJ Umberger and Rick Nash carrying the team
Bizarre: Jan Hejda posting a -3 – Not Bizarre: Marc Methot posting a -3
Bizarre: Throwing hats on the ice for the opposition – Not Bizarre: Honoring a former player beloved by fans
Overall the Blue Jackets had a less than stellar night, but the story of the night was had to be the play of RJ Umberger who carried the Jackets about as far as he could. In the 3rd period when it looked as if Umberger had scored his 3rd goal of the night, the Flyer faithful threw their newly acquired hats in what was a classy salute to the former Flyer. A couple links about the gesture and about Umberger’s time in Philadelphia:
Fans Show Appreciation for Umberger
Umberger – A Young Player Who Got It
A bit of other news about the CBJ:
A look at Man-Games Lost by Mirtle – The Jackets are 11th
West Side gets Casino nod – Possibly not going to be a part of the Arena District, time will tell.
Restoring the Rosters – A look at an “all-time” best players drafted at Forward, Defense and in Goal.
