Sunday, March 7, 2010

Game 65/San Jose: My Thoughts

Sigh.

I was out of town last night, and my hotel internet died at about 8PM.  Thus, I missed the 10:30 start of the San Jose game out in Silicon Valley.  Which was probably OK as I've been exhausted (end of the quarter with school and all) and needed the sleep.

So I woke up to learn that the Columbus Blue Jackets lost 2-1.  Go figure, we play them tough enough to stay close but not pull it out.

Tom Reed's analysis indicates that Steve Mason carried a shutout into the 3rd period, but he had next to no goal support.  Shocking.  You trade away one of the prime setup men/scorers on a goal-anemic team, and we can't score goals.  That the Nash/Vermette/Huselius line apparently didn't perform at all out there is a huge cause for concern.


Had (interim) Head Coach Claude Noel pulled out the miracle in San Jose (playing a brand-new d-man at wing/power play qualifies a win as "miracle" status), perhaps I'd say that he's bought a little more rope with me.  But he didn't, and the Jackets have clearly overcome the pre-Olympic honeymoon and settled back into their .500-ish play from the end of the Hitchcock era.  Is it coaching?  Is it the talent combination?  I don't know, but I'm guessing that GM Scott Howson has some ideas.

Monday, late night in Los Angeles to face Fearsome Freddy Modin and the LA Kings.  Should be a barn burner.

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