Post Game Thread: Columbus Blue Jackets at Minnesota Wild – 10 Oct 2024

37 comments

1. Great to see some fight at the end

2. I’m impressed, I saw some glimpses. This year is gonna be fun

3. KJ breakout season confirmed

4. The penalty on Monahan was so fucking weak that led to a ppg for the Wild

5. KJ looked GREAT, y’all

6. This team certainly has some potential, just raw and young but it’s clearly there.

7. Proud of our boys tonight…showed heart and hussle and was (technically) 100% on the PP…just kid mistakes but this is the year to get those out of them…

8. This team 2 years ago would have been blown out, last year we would have never even been in the game. Lots of positives to draw from.

9. 1. Was very impressed by KJ all game.

   2. We actually looked really good in man advantage situations.

   3. Would rather see Jiricek or Harris playing over JJ if they’re healthy, which they are.

10. Well we didn’t win BUT they looked competent all game? And didn’t crumble when they were down 3-1 so thats good! Baby steps

11. Honestly can’t really be mad about that loss. Should’ve been a tied game if JVR was just a bit further up but guys looked good. KJ looks so much better and was noticeable every time he touched the ice. Looking forward to seeing the team grow as the season progresses!

12. You can knit pick this and that, but that was a good game overall. Compared to the past few years, you really can’t complain about that effort.

13. Hey, our team is watchable! It’s a miracle! Almost like hiring a real NHL coach is a good idea!

14. Impressive game. A lot better than I expected and definitely more competitive. They didn’t score an empty netter on us, think that impressed me most.

15. Nice to see a power play goal. We’re obviously missing some major pieces, but we didn’t look bad.

16. I’m just glad to see the team playing and giving a good account of themselves given everything that’s happened. I don’t expect playoffs this year, it’s just about playing hockey.

17. The glimpses were absolutely there. Damn, wanted that one bad though. On to Colorado.

18. I have hope! Lots of things looked good tonight, and if that goal didn’t get called back it was a tied game.

19. We look so different compared to last year already. Gotta do some work, but I don’t think this season will be as bad as most think.

20. You know that feeling for the last 20 years, save the tortorella teams, that we were watching our guys play a different game than everyone else? Whether it was dump and chase all game, zero crisp passing, inept special teams, whatever. This looked different. It looked like a team playing NHL hockey. If this is what we bring every night, we may have a ways to go, but it will be fun to watch.

21. Not even mad, we looked fucking competitive for all 3 periods and KJ looks like he’s finally for real.

    Wanted to see more out of Marchenko and Fantilli needs to shake the rink rust, but the other young guns played really well.

22. That was our best game in a long time. Still gotta adjust to the growing pains of the new systems and iron out the unnecessary errors but wow we actually looked decent for the roster we had tonight. Also Kent Johnson looks way more confident in himself so far this year and I really hope this is finally the year he can put it all together.

23. Some great looks at the end, i ain’t even slightly upset.

    I can clearly see the kind of Hockey Evason wants to play and holy shit shoutout to the boys for playing a complete 60 on a tough night emotionally. The forechecking and movement was a really enjoyable change of pace.

    I truly enjoyed watching that and am pleasantly surprised. KJ, man. Please continue that effort because that was simply an awesome performance.

24. Honestly we feel like a much well structured team, glad we finally have a coach.

25. Can’t be upset at that game, I think they looked better than they ever did under Vincent. Only complaint is Jack Johnson did not look good at all, hope we get to see Harris instead on Saturday.

26. You know, they did pretty good. I thought we were overall the better team. What messed us up was the refs and we weren’t good on the PK.

    We looked great defensively 5on5. Great on offense. Got a lot of shots off and their goalie was just really good. Elvis wasn’t bad. Not a whole lot of dump and chase either which was a staple under the last two coaches. There was clear structure and we were not easy to beat.

    I think that’s the identity we need to chase. Whenever we’ve been bad (so, most of our history), we lacked identity. Torts gave us a clear identity of being hard as nails bastards and tough to beat. And we were finally good.

    Evason I think will pursue this. We don’t have the on-ice talent but we will outwork everyone with strong fundamentals and a good system. That wasn’t easy for Minnesota.

    I have good confidence that even if we won’t have a winning season or anything, we’ll set really good foundations under this new regime and we’ll reap the rewards in a few years.

27. Posted this in the GDT, but will repost here:

    Man… such a great game, even though we came up short. What a difference having a competent coaching staff makes. PP looked good, no quit in the boys, KJ back checking hard a couple of times, showing a lot of growth.

    This will be a season of “What if”‘s, but if they can keep up the effort like they did tonight, this should be a fun season to watch.

    Goodnight all!

28. Not bad honestly, a lot of heart and fight .. once the chemistry gets going we’ll be even better but I’m impressed with today .. just keep building on it

29. That was almost everything I’d hoped for, very pleased even if the end result is a bit of a bummer haha. These sure look like the start of the steps i was hoping we’d see guys start to take last year.

    KJ came ready to fucking play this year and I love that for him.

    Happy hockey day all!

30. Wild are tough. I enjoyed the 3rd period despite losing.

    Zach was trying to will it.

    I am excited to see the players develop this year.

31. Pros:

    * KJ played like a MAN
    * Z looks like he picked up right where he left off and even got better somehow
    * The entire team looked energized
    * New aggressive play style that took time and space away
    * No line blender!
    * We didn’t lie down and spread our legs in the third!!!!!!!!!

    Cons:
    * Ok we need to blend the lines because Fantilli is trapped between two plugs (heal fast Vronk!)
    * PK let in 2
    * No win for Evason

32. it’s going to be a fun but frustrating year. a couple icky young tram mistakes, but you can see the talent and potential. really like the Labanc and Austin pick ups Zach W is really looking spiffy. he has really matured the past few years. JJ is slow, but he has the old vet experience, he knows where the pucks will be and gers his creaky self (mainly) where it’s going to be. he will be valuable foe the young D to learn from. Mo HAS to be kicking himself after flat out Missi g the puck along the boards on that goal. KJ is really going to be a stud. Elvis looked calm and collected. a few years ago he would ha e really overplayed the puc or over anticipated a few shots and blew it. all in all I am going to be excited to watch these guys REALLY grow this year. ashamed we lost a few years to janky coaches

33. We were the better team. Rookie mistakes cost us this one, shit happens. Relentless start with Colorado on Saturday but as long as we give this kind of effort, I’m good. This is a culture building year, anything on top of that is just icing

34. Jury out on Lebanc still, but I’m not hating the defensive play by Aston Reese

35. Consistent. All game long. So refreshing. Some mistakes sure, but overall a really good game. Very encouraging.

36. After today’s game, Werenski is already filling Boone’s captaincy shoes. KJ is looking amazing. Excited to see where this team goes! It’s just the 1st game, we have 81 more to go so let’s just enjoy the ride.

37. https://x.com/hockeystatcards/status/1844570411251511793?s=46

    Severson Christiansen should stick together

    Seriously though good for Jake