The rise to 7th - Pred and Jacket Post Mortem

By Hip Shot Blog

Rock the Pink - July 17th - Phoenix Mercury

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Whodathunkit?

Lil Kyle Turris had the game of his life on Thursday night. Handing us 8th place with the help of his trusty Russian sidekicks Bryzzie and Lisin. Don’t be hatin, a few more games like that and KT will have proven TGO right. No one else could solve the very hot Dan Ellis (who is playing extremely well right now and is a big factor in Nashville hanging around in contention). The Preds have been habitually low scorers this season and KTs timely goals were just enough.

It seems like the rest of December is MUST WIN games… 4 pointers or some wanna be team tryin to creep past us so any loss (w/out a point) would truly impact us.

Thank goodness Bryzzie matched Ellis for intensity and played solid if not brilliant in this one. Enver Lisin just keeps gettin better and better. The lil Russian Rocket flat out makes things happen out on the ice, each and every shift he seems to break things open on some level. His linemates are starting to recognise it very well. The break away on the first goal was beautiful (thanks to Lucky Lindy for recognising Ellis’ weak spot and spreading the word to KT and to the REAL Jovocop for the pokecheck) but the second goal was one of those ugly ones and with out Lisin popping Ellis like a taser, this opportunity doesn’t happen.

Funny how one of the league’s bad boys shied away from any extracurricular activity w/ the Wild Thang (apparently Danny did everything but triple dog dare Jordin Tootoo to go. After the 6th invite… a ref stepped in and made Carci back off with the threat of a 10 min) too bad we’ll never see a game w/ DC mic’d up…

DC and Tootoo again by you.

DC and tootoo by you.

So we send the Preds home and hop into the 8th spot like we own it. We timeshare well but with the Wild’s current foundering I feel like we own 7th all by ourselves. So we stay home, rest up, hang out and prep for what could very well be the game of the season so far…bring on the Bluejackets!

gdt columbus sweep logo by you.

Can I say whodathunkit again?

I mean, srsly…The Coyotes in 7th place… all alone… no timesharing? Sound like peyote dreams? Well think again… 2 - 0 SHUTOUT! 4 game series SWEEP!

Bryzgalov was so solid, so hot and so in the moment that the Jackets had nowhere to go. With a stunning set of defensive corpsmen in front of him, there didn’t seem to be anything SuperBryz couldn’t do… including shutting the closet door on those poor, tired looking Blue Jackets. This was a major milestone for us. playing a game that had so much meaning (7th place in standings, pushing a close competitor down the standings ladder and closing the mouths of all who drag out that nasty Nash goal to taunt us with every game against these guys). “A shutout is like a dessert,” said Bryzgalov, who has allowed only three goals in his last three games. “Most important is we are in a playoff race right now and Columbus was two points behind us. It doesn’t matter if we win 2-0 or 6-5, it’s a huge two points for us.”

A series sweep over the Bluejackets by a ragtag group of kids, an ailing #1 goalie and a coach that many have been begging to step down. Oh yeah the motley crew stepped up and swept the Jackets with a cagey mix of old shooters and new shooters with Rhino drawing first blood and Boeds puttin the insurance goal to bed.

Mules to Ksquared to Doaner rocked Mason just enough for that tough ol dog Rhino, who tucked the rebound past Mason to give us the lead and what would eventually be the GWG.

That Lucky Lindy seems to be makin things happen ever since he got here. “(Lindstrom) made a good play taking the guy on the wall a little bit and the puck bounced to me, ” said Boedker, who has 16 points in 33 games in his rookie season.

Forehand Nope gonna be backhand by you.

“It was supposed to be Enver (Lisin) on the ice, but he was getting his skate fixed so I took a chance and jumped on and was lucky the puck was right there.” May the force continue to be with us and hopefully Boedker can clump a few together after that beauty.

Can you say JOVOCOP!

You don't want none of the Jovocop by you.

Well I can…the monster cop was back and dishing out extreme stopping power all night long. One of those stand-em-ups nearly cost that Jacket his tailbone, (hittin the ice, bouncin, then sliding several feet is hell on the coccyx). Hello! the blueline was committing assault w/ intent to win, all night long. Sig Sauer

Are you crazy by you.

and the Iron Czech

Iron Czech by you.

had Breezy’s back and sides and any other angle the Jackets could dig up.

Oh look! Klee was makin York sammiches too w/ a lil Zebra on the side. Klee n York zbra sammich by you.

Even Enver ‘Feivel’ Lisin got his licks in.

Carcillo finally got a bout with Boll and to me there was no clear cut winner but some decent knucks were chucked in this one. One thing about DC is there is just no quit in the boy. Boll was tryin to tie him up w/ an equipment strip but DC was havin none of that… he kept battlin even as parts were fallin to the ice. Gotta love the Wild Thang.

Carcillo Boll by you.