The Big Story
If you’re a bit squeamish, proceed with caution. Last night’s Blue Jackets-Rangers game took an interesting turn when forward Matt Calvert inadvertently blocked a slap shot with his face. The result: He went down in a heap and left a large pool of blood on the ice before a trainer provided him with a towel.
Undeterred, Calvert went to the locker room, received 30 stitches, and came back out for the third period. Lo and behold, Calvert wound up scoring the game-winner while shorthanded at 11:35 of the third period.
Quite the turnaround if you ask me. If someone hits me with a puck square in the forehead like that, I’m getting some Chipotle and taking the rest of the day off. Hockey players are ridiculous.
In Red Wings Land
Instead of thinking about that awful effort last night, let’s talk about something more exciting: Tyler Bertuzzi’s time with the big club. Head Coach Jeff Blashill certainly had a lot of great things to say about Bertuzzi before last night’s game against the Capitals.
“What I like about Tyler is, I think he’s a hockey player, and by that I mean he’s got great hockey sense,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “He’s smart reading plays, he knows how to come up with pucks. It doesn’t always look pretty but he’s got a long stick which makes him faster than he even is. He’s got great poise when he gets the puck. He’s strong on his skates. He’s not afraid to take a hit to make a play, so that gives a guy extra seconds in today’s pressure game to make the proper play with the puck. And he’s got an ability to score goals from the hard areas of the ice.
It’s clear what they’re looking for out of Bertuzzi here, be the “glue” guy on a line who seems to bring everyone together and who does everything well.
So far, Lil Bert hasn’t looked totally out of place while skating on an awful 4th line with Steve Ott and Drew Miller. I’m anxious to see what he can do in a more offensive role, perhaps Jeff Blashill will be willing to try him further up in the lineup after last night’s embarrassing team effort.
