I would have agreed with you about Luke having a solid game, if it wasn't for that 3rd period. Everyone was bad, and Luke in particular was abysmal. It felt like every single time he'd get possession of the puck in the defensive zone, he'd blindly throw a weak pass up the middle, which would instantly get picked off by CBJ, who would then extend their offensive zone time.
The whole team seemed to be gripping their sticks too tightly, until we got the two goal lead. But then everyone reverted back to handling the puck like a hand grenade in the 3rd - I have never seen so much panic in a team trying to defend a lead. The idea of making them come 200 feet was out the window - it felt like a major victory anytime we were able to get the puck over the blue line.
I hope this team learns from that, and develops a bit more mental fortitude. But my hopes aren't very high.
I would have agreed with you about Luke having a solid game, if it wasn't for that 3rd period. Everyone was bad, and Luke in particular was abysmal. It felt like every single time he'd get possession of the puck in the defensive zone, he'd blindly throw a weak pass up the middle, which would instantly get picked off by CBJ, who would then extend their offensive zone time.
The whole team seemed to be gripping their sticks too tightly, until we got the two goal lead. But then everyone reverted back to handling the puck like a hand grenade in the 3rd - I have never seen so much panic in a team trying to defend a lead. The idea of making them come 200 feet was out the window - it felt like a major victory anytime we were able to get the puck over the blue line.
I hope this team learns from that, and develops a bit more mental fortitude. But my hopes aren't very high.
Columbus were also desperate. That 3rd period was basically their season, so not too surprising they came out firing