 |
| Columbus 2 - Vancouver 1 (shootout) 9-17-4, 5th in Central Division, 14th in Western Conference |
With the win, the Blue Jackets no longer are the worst team in the NHL. At least for one night, that honor goes to the Anaheim Ducks.
1. Ummm...Vancouver kinda sucked tonight - What a strange, strange game. For the life of me, I cannot understand how a team with as much firepower as Vancouver can play such a listless game. I spent most of the evening wondering when the Canucks were going to get a spark and go on a tear. Never happened. Not that I'm complaining, mind you.
2. A made-for-TV movie - The top on-ice story of the evening was the phoenix-like resurrection of Steve Mason's game. After twelve games away due to a combination of a minor concussion (which totally passed me by until tonight when Wiz dropped that in the post-game interview) and poor play...largely as a result of Scott Arniel's terrible "Who needs a defense?" scheme that opened the season. Backup Curtis Sanford finally ran out of gas against Boston in game 29, and Mason got the call tonight.
 |
| Steve Mason was back. Let's hope it was not a one-night-only performance. |
But then he fell. It initially looked like a groin injury, then the Fox guys suggested he may have been poked by an opposing stick under the pads. We learned after the game that Mason was fighting leg cramps all game long, and this was just a big flare-up. Matters not. All I could think of was this scene from Caddyshack, where the priest's incredible golf game in a thunderstorm is capped off by his being killed by a lightning bolt as he finished his round.
Mase, however, was a tad more lucky than the good Father. He came back and won the game for the Blue Jackets in the shootout. Good for him AND good for the team. If it hasn't been abundantly clear, the Blue Jackets need Mason to be strong in net.
3. Insulin shots at the exits - It was Free Food Night for the season ticket holders. Let the pictures do the talking.
 |
| The opening salvo. Rationale: "I brought my 17-year-old." I buy that. |
 |
| A box of pizza. In a tote bag. Yup, it's going home! |
 |
| Confession: I prodded the folks for a photo of nachos and cheese in a duffel bag. This was as close as we got. (Thanks, Howye) |
 |
| The take-home stash. Is that a Skyline chili-cheese dog there on the left? |
4. Do NOT touch the glass - Tonight, I learned that female Twitter-utilizing fans from British Columbia are really, really offended by Columbus fans banging on the glass during hockey games. It's like we've crossed some line of hockey civility or something. I'm not kidding; they were ticked. Who knew?
5. And here's where the jaws drop - What was more shocking in the shootout: A) The former Olympian Roberto Luongo blew all three save opportunities, or B) The Columbus Blue Jackets made three straight shootout goals en route to a win? Letestu, Nash and Wisniewski all put one past Bobby Lou. Not really sure what to say about it. I honestly can't remember the last time that the CBJ had three straight shootout goals and a win. What a strange feeling. Kinda nice.
NEXT UP: Thursday night, 7PM against the Los Angeles Kings. After grabbing the other half of the Philadelphia Duo of Carter and Richards in the offseason, the Kings have stumbled a bit and fired coach Terry Murray, leaving interim John Steven holding the bag. Rumors are that former Calgary bench boss Darryl Sutter is on the way in. Should be interesting.
I don't think the heavy stuff is going to come down for awhile yet...
ReplyDeleteConfession time - shortly after the picture was taken, the nachos were removed from the bag and eaten. No, I am not sorry I did it. Say what you will about the gluttony, but this is one of the bones being thrown to season ticket holders for sticking with a team that is happy to have climbed out of LAST PLACE. My family took home a bag of candy, which goes out as Christmas stocking stuffers. I won't disagree that it seems a little weird, but it is a fun perk for the team to provide.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, shootout win, three goals in the shootout. Whadda ya know, that was kinda fun too.
On number four, there is a guy that sits in 116 I'm guessing, that is right under one of the microphones attached to the glass. When watching from home, that does get annoying.
ReplyDeleteBut, we were there last night, and brought home a nice goodie bag.
Do you have a link to the lady from #4?
ReplyDeleteMy wife and I thoroughly enjoyed our free Timbits for breakfast this morning. I will enjoy my free popcorn snack sometime later today. :-D
ReplyDeleteReally though, it's a shame we couldn't figure out how to get free chili on free food day. Oh well.
The Nucks GDT on HF was full of complaints about the glass banging, too. Actually, it's the guys in the ref shirts in 120 that do it and it's annoying in person, as well.
ReplyDeleteWe consumed about $150 worth of food, yet I was disgusted by some people's behavior. To be totally forthcoming, I will add that we brought home two bags of peanuts and a bag of cotton candy. When I can't get a licorice or a timbits in the second intermission but I see people bringing home (not exaggerating) 8 pizzas or an entire duffle bag of candy and the guy in front of me asks for a bag to put his 20 coneys in, I think people have gone too far. It's free food night, not get your groceries for a month or take all the candy in the arena for your kid night. My kid didn't get a single thing of candy to enjoy during the game because of these actions. If I was the organization, this sort of thing would stop me from running the promotion in its current format. Being able to only order four things per person at a time seems a reasonable start
ReplyDelete