CBJ 5, Dallas 4
Great way to start the season, folks. The Jackets totally owned the first period; the Stars the second; both teams shared the third. With 20 seconds left in OT, Nash takes a perfect pass from Chimmy and executes a mach 1 snapshot to get the two points.
Nail biter? Yes. But overall, it was a very positive performance from everyone, especially the new faces. Voracek got the first goal of the season, and Commodore was an absolute force on the blueline, with a couple of all-star hits (the worst of which was laid on that scumbucket Avery). I like Commodore… he’s deceptively big (6’5″, 228 lbs.). I’m looking forward to watching him this year.
Now, the bad news: the Jackets again struggled, going 0-fer on power plays again. Peca was given a 10 minute and a game misconduct for arguing with a (blind) official, who did not call a penalty when Peca was slew footed in front of the net on a Dallas 5 on 3. Peca attempted to get re-set, but was unable to get back into the defense before the puck went into the net.
But hey, the Jackets beat the Stars for only the second time in the last 19 tries, and did it in front of a hostile 100% capacity Stars crowd. The only reason the game was close was due to the Jackets’ mistakes of the second period, with three PKs back-to-back (including two 5 on 3s) and losing Peca. Those types of discipline issues are coachable, though. And while the new faces were establishing their identities, it was the veterans who stepped in when the team needed it most (OT).
Tomorrow Hitch will take a tired team to Phoenix, and hopefully to another road victory.
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