The Blue Jackets season may be over but the Lake Erie Monsters are giving the fans something to cheer about. They not only made the playoffs but look poised to go on a deep run, after sweeping the Rockford Ice Hogs on Saturday.
The Monsters were strong all season, finishing second in their division and second in the Western Conference with 97 points. It was a very impressive season considering the team went long stretches without its top goalie in Joonas Korpisalo and key forwards, Kerby Rychel and Oliver Bjorkstrand. With all those players now back in the fold plus the addition of Zach Werenski, this team can do some serious damage.
That talent was on display in the team’s first round match-up. The swept the best of five series and none of the game were particularly close. The Monsters scored five goals in each game and only allowed a total of six.
The best part of this series was that Lake Erie was winning not on the backs of veterans but on the youth, the guys that will play key roles for the Jackets in the future. Josh Anderson was the teams go to scorer in this series. He picked up four goals including this one on the power play.
Right behind Anderson with four points was Oliver Bjorkstrand. He looked good in his time in the NHL and it’s good to see he's continuing to have success in the AHL. He has the talent to take over games and win a series for his team. A strong playoffs would go a long way for him in earning a spot in the NHL next season.
On the back-end it was again the kids leading the charge. Top prospect Zach Werenski veteran of seven AHL regular season games, was great with two goals and an assist. He also fired seven shots on goal which tied for third on the team and tops among defencemen. It has not taken Werenski long to get adjusted to the AHL, it’s hard to believe he is still just 18 years old. He is really showing just how strong he is as an offensive player. In those seven regular season games, he had just one goal, but he fired 19 shots on net. That’s a little under three shots a game, very impressive for a defencemen. He like Bjorkstrand, could increase his chances of making the Jackets next season if his strong playoffs continues.
Also having a good series from the back-end was Dillon Heatherington. Heatherington is a defensive defencemen but found his grove offensively this series picking up three assists. Heatherington only had 19 points in the regular season so this outburst is unlikely to continue. He's a player who needs more development time in the AHL. He’s not likely to see any time in the NHL season barring injury.
As of this writing the Monsters second round opponents is still unknown, though it looks like it will be Grand Rapids, who lead their series 2-0.
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