Don't Mess With The Metro

Konecny, Giroux sink Rangers in Overtime

After a thrilling 3 periods the Rangers and Flyers entered overtime tied at 3. Late in overtime Travis Konecny threw a rebound on net, which snuck past Ondrej Pavelec giving the Flyers a 4-3 win. Sam Morin and David Desjardins were the most notable players tonight, both put in very respectable performances. For the Rangers, this marks the end to a solid Preseason where Filip Chytil and Neal Pionk impressed and made cases for roster spots. The Flyers have 1 game left to play but they’ll be happy where they’re at with their young players.

3 Stars 

3. Claude Giroux (2 Assists)

2. David Desjardins (1 Goal, 1 Assist)

1. Travis Konecny (GWG, 1 Assist)

Biggest Winner: 3 on 3 Overtime. Seriously, nothing is better than 3 on 3 overtime and tonight was another example. 

Biggest Loser: Rangers Twitter. We all know Dan is gonna have a FIELD DAY with DeAngelo’s last overtime shift tonight. Please prepare your mentions if you try and defend him. As for Tony... well blocking Dan on Twitter was his best defense all night.

Blue Jackets eJackulate Their Way to Victory

What a game for both sides in this one. You have the Blue Jackets final home preseason game with a great crowd of 5000 to witness a 5-2 drought of the blues. Some players really stood out to me in this one....Tage Thompson and Ivan Barbashev were two I was very impressed with. Tage Thompson the Phoenix born and raised center that amasses at a 6’5 height put a good show out there today. Drafted 26th ovr. In 2016, he gave his own tallying a goal and playing some power play minutes. Ivan Barbashev, who got his 3rd assist this preseason on Tage Thompson’s goal was another player I was particularly impressed with. Playmaking skills mixed with raw talent and some hockey IQ make up this boy who has a real shot at making the big team full time this season. The Blue Jackets piled on a whopping 5 goals in this one and Korpisalo even got an assist. 5 different goal scorers on this one, and they were some beauties...and then there was Markus Hannikainen’s goal that was just pure atrocity at its finest. Dean Kukan, in which who had the 5th, and final goal of the night had the most impressive in my eyes. A Nikita Kucherov type one-timer from the top of the circle for a kid who may not make the team, heck, he might be better then some of the NHL guys on the Blue Jackets. The Blue Jackets have a very deep Defensive core, players upon players, they have 10-12 NHL ready guys that can step in next day and not miss a step. Enough about the Blue Jackets aspiring D-corps, this game was all about new players, new faces, and new strategies. Oliver Bjorkstrand who has had a great camp, and a great preseason pretty much had a roster spot before camp started, but in this one he proved why by showing his dynamic skills and how he can transform a game. Pierre-Luc Dubois, I feel like I’m gonna be saying that name more and more as the year goes on. He had a tremendous game. Racking up a goal and showing why he was selected 3rd overall. However, he was playing wing, we will see over the next few days what cuts are made for both sides and I have a feeling Ivan Barbashev, and Pierre-Luc Dubois are two names you won’t see on that list.

3 Stars

3. Ivan Barbashev (1 Assist)

2. Oliver Bjorkstrand (2 Assists)

1. Pierre-Luc Dubois (1 Goal)