Gameday, 12/27/10, Wild @ Blue Jackets on Versus! (Wild lose 4-3 in shootout)

That's right...I'm excited. Because I actually get to see José play on TV tonight! The game is being carried on Versus!!! It's been a long time since I've seen him on my TV. I usually watch online. So thank you, Versus! Now lets hope the whole team shows up, and it's a great game! Go Théo! Go Wild!

So I won't be able to get any screenshots tonight, because the game is blacked out on Gamecenter for 48 hours.

After one period, the Wild lead 1-0. José has faced 7 SOG and done well. It's been relatively quiet compared to some other games when the Wild goalies get peppered constantly. But I hate to write that and jinx him...

Here are some excerpts from Andresen's In-Game Commentary:

13:37 - We've got chaos in the Wild crease, but Theodore can't be fazed. Dealing with all kinds of traffic in front, he somehow sticks with a high laser off the stick of Ethan Moreau. The puck drops right down into the crease where former Clarkson Knight Chris Clark is lurking, but Theo somehow keeps it out during a mad scramble and finally gets the whistle when he lays down flat.

After 2 the Wild are up 2-1. It was 1-1 until 1.5 seconds to go in the period and Koivu scored. It was awesome!! Now here's hoping they can hang on to that lead.

José faced 6 SOG. The shots against tonight are very low for a Wild game. But there were some of those shots that took great saves to keep out. Some really great work by José in that period.

From Andresen during Period 2:

4:38 - This period really has been all Wild, but the Jackets are the only team to convert. Theodore's challenge is to stay sharp, and he does that here when a loose puck bounces around at the top of the crease and Tom Sestito ends up with a golden chance on the doorstep, but Theo is right there to take that bid away.

1:27 - Theodore comes up with another big stop on Fedor Tyutin's bid, and with the refs slow to blow the whistle, a scrum develops in front of the goal.

After 3 periods the game was tied at 3, so to OT we went.

OT
2:42 - The first great chance of OT goes to the Jackets as Rick Nash gets space on the left and lets a hard shot go, but Theodore comes up big.


This was a screen cap taken for me by thepatronsaintx while we were waiting for SO. Highlight of the night for me was when this shot of José was on our TV, and my husband said, "Holy #$%^ he's got big brown eyes!" Well, duh! ;o)

And then the shootout, and it kind of sucked. That's about all I can say about that. Columbus scored 3 against José. Minnesota scored one. Game over. José was not as sharp as he has been in the previous games, but he wasn't bad. Things just did not go his way. I'm especially disappointed for him, because this could've been his 250th career win. But he'll get it next time he plays.

He saved 19 of 22 shots. His record is now 4-5-2 with a .911 SV% and 2.71 GAA.