Life as a Bottom Feeder

Adjusting to Life as A Bottom Feeder

Last night's game in Nashville was eerily familiar to the 2009-10 games played during the great December swoon.  A good effort against a good team at the top of its game and a goal tender who is trending Vezina, lost in the end on a crazy jam play at the net.  What lessons can we draw from that familiar feeling?

The first lesson is that the start of the season doesn't count for that much.  The 2009-10 team had a franchise record for success by Thanksgiving, faltered hard in December, and within two months, Hitch was gone.  The second lesson we could learn from that 2009-10 team was loving our young talent too much.  In this, Jarmo fell into the same trap that Scott Howson did.  We let MacKenzie and Comeau walk so we had room for our young players.  We didn't force our young players to kick the door down with their play, we gave them spots.  History repeats itself.  Dang.  I'm not saying MacKenzie and Comeau would have saved our season, they would probably be out with an injury the way this season has gone.  My point is that it is a mistake to 'leave room' for young players.  We should 'force unproven NHL players to beat proven NHL players' before they move up from the AHL.  In the playoffs against Pittsburgh, our comparative strength was in the bottom 6.  Put this year's team in the same match-up, and I don't think you can say the same thing.  And MacKenzie and Comeau had a lot to do with that.

The third lesson from the 2009-10 team is the, at the time, acknowledged weaknesses of the team, which were at center and in defense.  We were 'set' in goal with Mason.  We had scoring punch with Nash.  We didn't want to pay Manny Malhotra what he thought he was worth at center, and he walked, leaving us weak up the middle.  How does this help us now?  Look who is still on injured reserve.  Two of our best centers, two of our best defensemen.

The return of Dubinsky and Letestu will have a real impact on the team.  Unfortunately, it may not be felt for several weeks after their return as they get back to playing shape.  I think the loss of Fedor Tyutin is greater than we think, and Murray was one of the best defensemen on the team last year.  BTW Jarmo, Murray should definitely start out with a rehab stint in the A before he comes up to the big club.  We all know he can play at this level, but he is still very young, and some time down in the A wouldn't hurt his development at all.

What is the take away lesson from all of this?  Sometimes you just have to take the punishment like a non-gender specific humanoid with the male characteristics of gritting your teeth and "not sayin' nuthin" no matter how much it hurts.  The problems of the 2009-10 team were inherent in it's structure.  The problems of the 2014-15 team are due to injury, not the team structure (for the most part).  This year's team is going to play some good hockey before it's over.  Unfortunately, a lottery pick seems a certainty at this point.  Keep rubbing that rabbits foot Jarmo.  We finally need a little luck at the draft lottery.

These are tough times in CBJ land, but there is a lot of entertaining hockey left to be seen yet this year.  How it looks on paper now is not necessarily how it is going to play out.  That's why you play the games.  The problems with this team right now are not in its structure, it is in the circumstances of the situation.  Right now they are learning some bitter lessons on how hard it is to win in the NHL.  Those should pay dividends down the road.

GO JACKETS!

Keep Calm and Carry the Flag

Yesterday in the Columbus Dispatch Mike Arace opined that the Blue Jackets need stirred up.  I agree with him on that assessment.  However, I disagree with him on his suggested method, which was a trade of some kind.   I think the impending return of Brandon Dubinsky will stir things enough to make a trade unnecessary.

Strangely enough, the best quality Jarmo Kekalainen could bring to his job now would be patience.  If this season goes off the rails, all you have to do is look at the injuries.  This team has shown that it can win with the people we have, we just need to get them on the ice.  The story of this season is not yet written.  We are still in 'Book I' where the seeds of the tragedy are sown.  How the rest of the story plays out remains to be seen.  Now is not the time for action for the sake of action.  The pot will be stirred whether we will or no, at a pace dictated by the healing of Dubinsky's groins.  If they keep working, they will be okay.

Thanks for taking the time to read our blog.  We here at the Dark Blue Jacket wish all of you a happy and prosperous Thanksgiving!

GO JACKETS!!!

The Scientific Method

The Captain?

Last year, our President of Hockey Operations, John Davidson, and our General Manager, Jarmo Kekalainen often stated the opinion that the Columbus Blue Jackets had plenty of leadership in the locker room, and that naming a Captain was premature.  Let me be clear, I do not doubt their judgement in that.  For last year.  But for this year, I wonder.

There is a funny thing about science.  You have those hypotheses that you are able to advance prior to your experiment.  Those are called by a funny Latin term, a priori.  Those that you are unable to formulate after you have conducted your experiment are called by a funny Latin term, a posteriori.  See what happens when your parents pay for an education?

Scientific method calls for you first to identify a null hypothesis.  This, in laymen's terms, means you are an opinionated schitt head person who doesn't know what you are doing.  So, for the purposes of our current discussion, I postulate a null hypothesis that the Columbus Blue Jackets do not need a captain.  That the current leadership in the room is adequate to get the job done.

Scientific method also calls for you to articulate an alternative hypothesis.  This, in laymen's terms, means you are an opinionated schitt head person who actually knows what they are talking about.  For the purposes of our current discussion, I postulate an alternative hypothesis that the Columbus Blue Jackets should name Brandon Dubinsky their Captain, and that he will drag them into the battle whether they will or no.

As my first piece of evidence, I offer the goal scored by the Winnipeg Jets 9 seconds into tonight's contest.  Since we only score 2 goals per game, I suggest that giving one up in the first moments of the game is not such a good thing.  I postulate that Dubinsky will not tolerate that.  Therefore, he should be named captain.

In order to test my hypothesis, the CBJ's record after Dubinsky returns should be carefully scrutinized.  The record BD (before Dubinsky) and AD (after Dubinsky) should be evaluated by every fancy stat the league has available to see if he makes a measurable difference.

My a priori alternative hypothesis is that Brandon Dubninsky makes a measurable difference in CBJ performance as measured in the win column.  If the data supports such a notion, he should be made Captain.  End of discussion.

GO JACKETS!!

Wisniewski Suspended 8 Games Because Lucic Can't Cope

Today James Wisniewski of the Columbus Blue Jackets was suspended for eight games by the Department of Player Safety.  NHL spokesman Steve Questor noted that Milan Lucic's inability to cope with negativity was becoming a serious embarrassment to the NHL, and that the Department of Player safety felt that suspending Wisniewski was a reasonable response to the problem.

In an incident last year, Lucic made a death threat against a victorious Montreal player in the handshake line after the Bruins loss.  Last week, Lucic vowed to get revenge after Dalton Prout dropped him with one punch, stating 'the next time a linesman is holding Prout I'm going to throw two gloves at him!'

Questor said that it was time for the Department of Player Safety to act.  "By suspending Wisniewski we feel we can really send a message to Lucic that his continuing petulance is an embarrassment to the league, distasteful for the advertisers, and an affront to the ticket holders and must stop."  Questor noted that the Department of Player Safety had experienced great success with suspending Wisniewski.  Questor noted "Just look at Shanny!  He's President of the Maple Leafs!  I figure if I suspend Wisniewski, I can be President of Hockey Operations in Edmonton inside of two years.  It's a great career move for me."

When asked his opinion of the issue, Kris Pronger, newly minted member of the Department of Player Safety said 'Did you see that!  Prout dropped him with one punch!  Hell, they should have given Wisniewski 10 games because Lucic couldn't get his left glove off while he charged Prout.  It looked like he was trying to get a ball point pen to work!!  He didn't want to fight he said.  Ha, ha, ha, what a sucker play.  I love that kind of stuff.  But I'm a consensus building kind of guy, so I decided that 8 games was punishment enough for Wisniewski!"

John Davidson, when reached for comment, uttered an unintelligible remark while gazing to the heavens.  Puck Daddy commented thusly.  Yup.

GO JACKETS!!

Awww, Did Wittle Wucic Get His Feewings Huwt??

Dalton Prout and Cam in 2013 Development Camp

In today's Columbus Dispatch Aaron Portzline dropped this article saying Milan Lucic has vowed to get revenge on Dalton Prout for dropping him with one punch.  More antics from Lucic, to go along with threats to kill another player in the handshake line after a playoff loss, which he seems to feel is perfectly in line with hockey's 'code'.  Right.

Okay, let's be up front.  I never 'played the game'.  Rather, I'm a season ticket holder, dropping good coin to pay for your occupation Lucic.  You're a good player.  I can understand harsh words in the emotion of the moment.  I'm not one to be calling the kettle black.  But when you come at a guy, grab him by the collar, and he drops his gloves, just what did you think was coming??  Given your history, I can understand whey another player might not believe you when you say 'you don't want to fight' as you grab him by the collar.  Really?  Maybe you should try the code of 'keeping your mouth shut', like you suggest in the Puck Daddy article above?  Sheesh.

These antics, while entertaining, tend to overshadow the Blue Jackets continuing lack of cohesive play.  That wouldn't be so bad, but the 5 point gap to third place in the Metro has now stretched to a 7 point gap.  Which is still not that daunting with a little over 4 months remaining in the season, except that we have to try to jump over ALL the teams, not just A team.  I'm not really surprised by the 4-2 loss to Philly last night.  We aren't really playing that well, and I just couldn't see Philly losing 5 straight games.  I've seen some of the ones Philly lost on TV, and they just aren't playing that bad.  And then there was the GM, Hextall, going all Doug MacLean on his players.  Pretty funny really.  Honest, and genuine in Hextall, but ill-advised and funny.  So after a tough shoot out loss the night before, I just wasn't that surprised that CBJ didn't have a lot in the tank.

The Blue Jackets are having serious trouble scoring.  They really tend to score just 2 goals a game, and our defense on most nights is not good enough to turn 2 goals into a win.  We have Winnipeg, Vancouver, and Nashville this week.  They need to win two of those three games to keep from losing much more ground.  The CBJ haven't shown they are playing well enough to beat Pekka Rinne, so it would be good to head to Nashville with 2 home wins under our belt.  But we'll see.  We'll have a better feel of our status as a 15th place team (real or imagined) by the time next week is over.  I have an uneasy feeling about the answer we are going to be staring at as we launch into December.

GO JACKETS!!

Let the Wookie Win

Dalton Prout

In the strike shortened year of 2012-13, a classic DKM hockey podcast was attributing Star Wars names to CBJ players.  Naturally, Dalton Prout was dubbed 'the Wookie".

Tonight, in a 4-3 CBJ shootout loss to the Bruins, Milan Lucic of Boston ignored the sage advice offered by C3PO to R2D2....Let the Wookie Win.  Nope, Lucic had to do his thing, so suffered a one punch loss in a fight well chronicled in this Puck Daddy article.

Not wishing to risk his precious hide, so he could kill certains habitants later in the year, he waited until a linesman had Prout wrapped up before he managed to take a swing.  Manly Lucic.  Manly.

And totally worth the price of admission.  Boston played a classic Bruins game, and came out with the 2 points.  Our guys played well, didn't close the deal, but came from behind to tie it.  Not what we were looking for in the third period.  Tomorrow, you'll have to put up with more Wennberg love from me.  But tonight, it's all about the Wookie.  Way to go Dalton!

GO JACKETS!!

A Poor Systems Game

Stinger Looks Mean, So I'll Put Him in There

Tonight the Detroit Redwings waxed the Columbus Blue Jackets, 5-0.  The Redwings played the way Mike Babcock drew it up.  The Blue Jackets did not play like HCTR drew it up.  I'm going to pick on Brian Gibbons a bit here, but seriously?  You were brought in to compete for a fourth line spot.  You are playing on the top line because of your speed, and the incredible string of injuries.  Our coach says their defensemen are going to confront you, so get the puck deep in the offensive zone.  In the first period, you bring the puck across the blue line, stop, and fiddle with the puck.  Really?  Mentally, I even said to my self 'get it deep'.  Nope.  You had other ideas, Detroit came and took the puck from you, and before the scramble was over, Detroit was ahead 1-0.  WTf  Seriously?

Anyway, tonight was Detroit's night.  Since we've kind of owned them lately, and we are certainly down right now, it makes a certain amount of sense.  They beat us at our game, by winning the puck races, but played their system well.  Jimmy Howard made one brilliant save, a couple of pretty good ones, and the rest were routine to record the shut out.  The Jackets played HCTR's system pretty good in the first period, and then abandoned it for the quick shot, or the quick cycle out to the point for the open shot that Howard yawned before he stopped during the rest of the game.  Two players seemed to resolutely play the Jackets system, Boone Jenner and Alex Wennberg.  And Nick Foligno, of course.  And Hartsy, but he plays that a bit different, since his role is to get in front of the net.

Look.  You have these games in the season.  Detroit did their thing flawlessly.  In spite of my miserable record of prognostication, it's unlikely that Detroit can sustain that for the rest of the season.  But tonight was their night, and credit to them.  They were a step faster in all aspects of the game.  The score showed that.

The CBJ have now scored two goals in two games.  Take the Philly game out of the picture, and we are averaging less than two goals a game.  Other teams are saying, 'take Ryan Johansen out of the game at any costs, and we can beat the rest of those guys'.  We need to make other teams pay for that, but until we do, Joey is going to be shut down.

A response from the team to this game is critical.  They have gone through some tough times, but all they really need to do is respond to the loss with a win in the short term.  Over the long term they need to accumulate some wins, but that is not necessary at this juncture.  Playing .500 hockey is the immediate goal.  We'll save racking up wins for when we ice a reasonably healthy team.

So in the end it was their night, but that does not define our season.  Respond, win, and move on.  Start another losing spiral, and we'll start thinking McTank for McDavid.  But it's early for that yet, way early.

GO JACKETS!!

Regarding Erixon

One of the positives of the brutal run of injuries the CBJ have faced early in the 2014-15 season is the play of Tim Erixon.  He was slotted as a bit of a 'tweener coming into this year.  Jarmo and company believed he was an NHL defenseman, and one of the ways they showed that was signing him to a one year, one way contract.

Erixon had yet to 'kick the door down' to the NHL, yet it was time, and this was to be a make or break year for him, much like it was for Savard last year.  While he looked sorta scrambley earlier in the year, he has settled down into his role as Wisniewski's partner.  Erixon has more of an offensive upside than does Murray, our young defenseman with the wonky knee, and I think he has now established himself in the lineup.  It is hard for me to imagine him coming out of the lineup when Murray returns after watching him on the power play with Wiz last night.  When those two are on the points, you have two defensemen with good shots, good puck handling skills, and a great deal of mobility.  They were pretty lethal last night,

So the upside to this whole injury problem has been young people like Erixon and Wennberg who have been thrown into the fire, and appear to be emerging on the other side.  The mistakes have been made, the lessons have been learned, and both are playing well right now.  This could get interesting as the season progresses.

Strangely enough, a win tonight would take a lot of pressure off the CBJ going forward.  They are not really that far out of being in the mix in the Metro.  The Sharks are a really good club, that we beat late on the west coast already this year.  They will be looking to make a statement.  This would be a really good time for the home crowd to behave like a 5th line, and try to make a difference in this game.  It's still early, but the hill that must yet be climbed has been defined.  So come out to the game and be ready to get loud, even if we fall behind early.  It's our chance to make a difference this year.

GO JACKETS!!

A Good Step

Nick Foligno

In a four point road game against a Metropolitan Division rival, the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the Philadelphia Flyers by a score of 4-3.  Had Philly won, they would have been doubling up the CBJ point total in the 2014-15 season with 18 to our 9.  With tonight's win, they remain at 16, while we move to 11.  The CBJ have a lot of work left to do to reach a level of relevance in the Metro, but they have a lot of time to do it.

Tonight's win, of course, broke the franchise record tying losing streak at 9 games.  Like last year, before they really started to win, the CBJ have been playing better, but yet losing.  Tonight they put together a fairly full game, and more importantly, played that distinctive brand of Blue Jackets hockey, with all lines working hard on puck possession in the offensive zone.  The third line of Wennberg, Cracknell, and Tropp was particularly disciplined and effective at this style of play, and it caused real problems for Philadelphia.  Over these last 3 or 4 games, and particularly in the last game, the light has gone on for Alex Wennberg, and he has figured out how to drive that type of play as a centerman.  He and his linemates were very effective tonight.

Finally breaking loose, and scoring more than 2 goals, the CBJ broke the trend from the losing streak of scoring 2 goals but giving up 4.  Both Wisniewski and Foligno scored twice, while Ryan Johansen had 4 assists in the game, a career high.  McElhinney looked much more comfortable in goal tonight.

It was a really great team effort.  Now they need to come back and face a San Jose Sharks team that is already in Columbus.  That should make for a really fun game tomorrow night.  I'm looking forward to it.

GO JACKETS!!

The Hangover, Part IX

Hee, hee.  Couldn't resist.

I wasn't sure where I was going with this post when I found the picture from previous use.  It was downhill from there.  The losing streak is like a bad hangover, lingering long after it should have stopped.  The goal tending is a throbbing headache that seems to defy medication, the injuries are the unexplained black eye that greets you in the morning.  It will get better, but it will take some time, and until then its ugly.

And, like a bad hangover, the current state of the CBJ is something to be endured.  Fortunately though, the cure to all our problems becomes clear!  Hydrate, hydrate, and hydrate some more!  And while we're at it, forecheck, forecheck, and forecheck some more!!  OK, time to get a little more serious.

One thing I keep forgetting about the current crop of AHLers that occupy the lower lines of the CBJ, just about none of these guys (except Chaput) spent the year or two with Brad Larsen down in Springfield learning this system that last year's team had available.  The house afire alacrity that Derek MacKenzie always brought to a good old 'cycle down low' is something that this crop of players needs to learn.  The good news is that they showed last night that they are learning the lesson.  As the game progressed, they really started to play the unique Blue Jackets style that last year's team perfected, but has escaped these guys to date.

Late in the first period, already down 2-0 of course, Nick Foligno put on a real time clinic on puck possession below the other teams net.  Moving his feet, protecting the puck, making the opposition come to him.  And darn if late in the third period, there is Alex Wennberg doing the same thing, moving his feet, protecting the puck, taking the banging that it entails.  That, my friends, is good stuff.  Wennberg's skill is going to be there.  The will to play 'keep away' along the boards in the offensive zone of another NHL team is a learned attribute.  But it pays big dividends, which is why it's so hard.

I felt I saw some really good things in that Caps game.  Things you can build off of.  I'm not really seeing an end to this streak soon, and won't be surprised if it continues for a few more games.  I'm not being a negative nancy, just not being unreasonably optimistic.  They will emerge from this at some point; just as no team has won them all, no team has lost them all.  But the lessons the young players are learning from this will pay dividends down the road.

This current streak is something to be endured, like a bad hangover.  So you find the humor where you can, and soldier on.  Because the combinations are almost limitless in this situation.  McTank for McDavid.  McFlop for McDavid.  McDive for McDavid.  You could do that all day....

GO JACKETS!!!!

Six Questions for Russian Machine Never Breaks

The guys over at Russian Machine Never Breaks (RNMB) approached us about swapping a Q and A session.  Unfortunately, life (i.e. work) got in the way, but I had already launched my questions.  Doug was kind enough to respond to my questions, even though he was unable to launch his own.  So we owe them one, and will reciprocate later in the season, when hopefully we have something to talk about other than injuries.

So here were my questions for RNMB:

1. We here in Blue Jackets land have been playing against Barry Trotz coached teams for our entire existence.  Those Nashville teams typically featured good goal tending and solid defense, as that's how the teams were constructed.  What has been Trotz' approach to a much different personnel set in the Capitals so far this year?

RNMB:  You put your finger on exactly why Trotz was brought on, and why so many people here are hoping against hope that we can turn this squad around this season. The Ovechkin-era Caps were from the start a reflection of Ovi and his play: explosive offense, wildly unpredictable, a bit shaky on defense. Those 2008-2009 Capitals? I've never seen such maddeningly exciting play.

But that's clearly not been enough. When Boudreau was jettisoned, the squad veered into "Hunter Hockey" - where they tried to reign in this team's natural scoring skill and turn it into something it just isn't. Hunter and Oates always felt like trying to squeeze the square peg into the round hole. So far, however, it seems Trotz has started to find the right balance between respecting what the core of the squad is and adding D to it, rather than shaving away the O.

2.  How do you see the relationship of Trotz and Ovechkin?  I think it's fair to say that Trotz never had a player like that in Nashville, so it must be a novel experience for him.

RNMB: I think it's fair to say there haven't been many players like Ovi anywhere, so any coach coming in was going to have that. Ovi is the tent-pole in this circus; everything else frankly hangs off that; including, it seems, the coaches. When each of our last three coaches left, there was all sorts of murmuring about whether Ovi had anything to do with it, or if he simply quit on his coach. I'm really not convinced about any of that, especially anything malicious, but Ovi is a force unto himself, and converting him into something else may just be a fool's errand.

Right from the get-go, Trotz has both worked to build good communication with Ovi, and the rest of the team, but not at the expense of making clear who's in charge. I think it's very possible one or two of our recent coaches were more focused on the latter than the former. One thing that is notably different so far, however, is how assertive a coach Trotz is during the games. He clearly sees his job as coaching every minute of play, and does not shy away from doing his job from the bench. Most important, I think, is that the entire team, Ovechkin and every one else, is ready to listen and follow Trotz, and he's highly respected by the entire organization.

3. Jason Chimera was a much loved player here in Columbus, and a lot of us were unhappy to see him go in the trade for Chris Clark.  How is he doing?  Does he meet fan expectations?

Looks Like I Picked A Bad Week To Quit Sniffing Glue

The classic Lloyd Bridges line from the old Airplane movie summed up how it felt to be at the wedding reception, pop open the CBJ app, and see it 2-0 before the game was even 10 minutes old.  Down 4-0 at the end of one, I was fortunate to be in a place well supplied with strong spirits.

Go ahead.  Go through any NHL roster, scratch out 3 of the top four centers, and their starting goal tender, and you are looking at a squad in trouble.  Injuries are not an excuse, this is true.  They are a reason.  I am reading in other blogs that defensive coverage was not good.  But this is a pretty darn good Tampa team, and if I read the score sheet correctly, it wasn't so much Stamkos, a bona fide sniper tearing us up, it was further down in the lineup, where the injury losses are more significant.

I like the fact that the team pushed back.  That's a good sign.  But at the end of the day, it's not such a stretch to think that a Tampa squad hitting on all cylinders might beat an uninjured CBJ team by 2 goals (discounting the empty netter).  Giving up a touchdown is a whole different thing.

These are grim times in CBJ land.  It looks like we have another week to ride before reinforcements arrive.  Time to pin your ears back and dig in.  Probably not a good week to start some self-improvement project though....

GO JACKETS!!

This is How the NHL Wanted It

No, they didn't want Columbus to McTank for McDavid, they wanted games ended in overtime.  The combination of an untimely penalty and the long change from switching ends conspired to do in the CBJ in overtime, as they lost to the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2, to be a mere point ahead of lowly Buffalo for last place in the NHL.

A quick thought before I bail, as this is a crazy weekend, and I will be on the run.  The old school philosophy for building a competitive team in the NHL is to build up the middle, starting with goal tending, and then centermen.  Who remains on IR for this team?  Goal tenders and centermen mostly.  Until the middle of the ice is beefed up, it's going to be tenuous.  On the other hand, we now have the annual 'drop to the bottom of the league before running to the playoffs' out of the way, and we can focus on the running to the playoffs part of the equation.

Gotta run.  Big night tonight for Columbus on a lot of fronts.

GO JACKETS!!

Why the CBJ Misses Derek MacKenzie

DMac in 2013-14 Training Camp

The CBJ have no running game.  That is because we no longer have a center who understands the value of the running game, and was willing to do the things necessary for a good running game because of their intrinsic value.

But hockey doesn't have a running game!  Well yes, and no.  My Dad is a sports nut.  Loves football, baseball, and college basketball.  Hockey is okay live, but he doesn't live in Central Ohio like I do, so is pretty ambivalent about it, and doesn't understand the game well.
Last year I was talking to him about hockey, and about cycling the puck deep in the offensive zone.  And the analogy I used to explain why that deep cycle was good, was the running game in football.  They are very similar.  If you want to possess the puck and cycle it behind the other team's goal, than you had better be prepared to work darn hard, and be pretty physical.  Our fourth line last year was exceptional at establishing this type of possession (which tends to yield no Corsi advantage), and Derek MacKenzie understood and drove that type of possession game.

Having your fourth line play 'keep away' below the red line in the offensive zone is very analogous to the running game in football, and conveys the same benefits.  It is hard to do, so you are accomplishing something when you do it.  You make your opponent expend extraordinary amounts of energy recovering the puck, and that has a cumulative effect in a game.  And their offense doesn't have the puck.

The 2014-15 CBJ like to get the puck deep, but then tend to cycle it back out to the points for a shot that is often blocked, and possession goes the other way.  Last year, when the chips were down in a game like last night, DMac and company would come over the boards, and start to play keep away.  And more often then not, that lead to penalties, or other momentum changers that would allow the CBJ to get back in the game when they were being out skated.

While Chaput has done very well, he has more of a scorers mentality, when we need our fourth line center to embrace the cycle game, and use that to drive momentum.  You want to know if Jared Boll is being a successful player?  It's if he can get with his linemates, get the puck down low, behind the other teams goal, and play 'keep away'.  If they can't learn to do that this year, it will be an important indication that one of the factors that allowed us to make the playoffs last year is missing this year.

We need to get our running game back on track.  And is starts with Chaput and the fourth line.  Derek MacKenzie had the right appreciation for the value of this, and made choices as a center to drive that grinder possession game.  And we don't have that right now.  But we need to get it.

GO JACKETS!!

Uh-Oh

No Caption Necessary

Tonight's Officials were Greg Kimmerly and Tim Peel, and they were absolutely brutal.  Your job boys, is not to be right all the time, which is impossible, but to be consistent.  If the hit on a chip and chase is interference in the second period, it needs to be interference in the third period.   Piss poor job boys.  Hang your heads in shame.

That, however, had little to do with the extent that the Hurricanes outplayed the Blue Jackets tonight, as they prevailed 4-2.  Out shooting the CBJ 37-19, the Hurricanes deserved the win.  Nick Foligno personally dragged the Jackets back into the game, scoring both goals, but the 2 goal clip that the CBJ have been scoring these last 6 games, all losses, ain't gonna get it done in the NHL.  McTanking for McDavid is all of a sudden a very real possibility for this team.

As is often the case in a death spiral such as this, individuals are trying too hard, Jack Johnson, and thus breaking down the system.  When we need to play a tight cohesive system in the face of injuries and adversity, players that care become a liability when they try to do too much.  Which pretty much sums up the last, empty net goal.   Everyone trying to do too much individually, which results in poor team play.  The Hurricanes at least played a team game, and all of a sudden are playing well and with confidence.  The Blue Jackets confidence is shaky at best.  Curtis McElhinney has been poor in goal.  I think HCTR needs to give the net to Forsberg until Bob returns, or CMac wins it back some how.  Or sign Marty Brodeur to be the back up.  He's looking for work.  CMac is just not looking solid early in the games, and it's costing us.  We score 2, his GAA is above 4.  Do the math.  It ain't working.

There is a lot of season left.  I really like how Wennberg's game is coming along.  I think he has made real strides in the last two games.  He really needs to pot a goal to get him going.

Joey needs to get used to the Nash treatment.  Other teams are gonna put 3 guys on you until we make them hurt for it.  A 6 game losing streak means they ain't hurting.  If you want to be worth $6 million, you have to learn to play through that.  I think you can, but dogging it back up the ice after they put 3 guys on you isn't playing through it.  Yeah it's hard.  Duh.  That's why they put 3 guys on you.  That means someone else is open though, and you have to learn to make them pay for that.  Nash never resolved that, and finally settled on the butt first move off the boards that would allow him to at least get to the middle of the ice one on three.  A crappy shot usually resulted.  Better to find the guy who they are leaving uncovered, which is a hell of a lot easier said than done if you are covered 1 on 3 I might add.  Easy for me to say, but I ain't making $3 million this year.  Bah.  Enough of that.  You'll work through it Joey.

We are not a good team now.  This does not mean they will be a bad team all season long, but it does mean that we have to start playing like a team.  We are not passing well now.  That's a symptom of the jumbled lines, and poor team play.

Classic line from my Buddy Bill:  You're never as bad as you think you are when your losing, you're never as good as you think you are when you are winning.  Probably true.

This team needs a win in the worst way right now, but it looks a long way off.  Last year, the Islanders suffered an injury to their top goal tender, and it cost them a playoff spot.  That's looking eerily familiar right now.  Not sure what else to say.

GO JACKETS!!

It's Like Deja Vu All Over Again

Anton Forsberg at Development Camp this Year

That classic Yogi Berra line seems to fit the situation perfectly.  Much like last year's early season losing streak that forced the Jackets to play catch up in the new year, the CBJ lost last night to a veteran New Jersey Devils squad, to extend the Jacket's losing streak to 5 games. The Devil Wrenches pounced in the right moment with 2 quick goals in the third period to win the game.

Anton Forsberg made his first start as a goal tender in the NHL, and played well.  I thought he looked pretty solid, but he also got a lot more help from the guys in front of him than McElhinney got the night before.  The troops put in a pretty solid effort last night, but did not get rewarded.  Keep that going and the rewards will come.

Much like Vinny Prospal three years ago, Nick Foligno is emerging as the early season leader that is pulling the team forward by sheer will.  Nick had a goal last night, and another scary moment when he went to the dressing room after absorbing a Jack Johnson slap shot to the upper body.  He also got the second assist on the first goal (nice work by Gibbons to get it to Skille), and ended up taking a lot of faceoffs as well.

But two goals isn't going to do it on a lot of nights, <insert whine about officiating, either call the hooks or don't>, and it is unreasonable to expect a guy to pitch a 1 goal game in his first night out as a goal tender.  So problems remain.  A good defensive team focused on shutting down our top line last night, and they were successful, so while the secondary scoring picked up, the big dogs got shut down.

Tuesday we face a team that is perhaps even more hapless than we are at the moment, and it's at home, so that should help.  Reinforcements are coming soon, so as long as the effort remains things should be okay.

Wennberg won 57% of his faceoffs.  That is a marked improvement.  Well done.  He is going to be a pretty solid player, and I really liked the push back in his game last night compared to the night before.  All is not lost, but the wagons are definitely circled at the moment.  It's not about moving forward, it's about defending where we are for now.

GO JACKETS!!!

Still the Youngest Team in the League

On a Halloween night, the Toronto Maple Leafs beat an AHL + team of Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1.  Leafs fans, this is not the foundation of a run to the Cup.  It's a good road win against a depleted squad.  You'll get a chance to play NHL players later in the season.  That will be a better benchmark against how to judge your team.

For the CBJ, the incredible cohesiveness in the preseason that made one think of Red Wings teams of yore has disappeared, and rightfully so.  This is not the same group of players upon which that foundation was built.

I really don't want to go down the negativity rabbit hole.  There is so much available.  Rather I would like to focus on performances that I think set the stage for a late season run.  First is Ryan Johansen.  If ever anyone was earning every dime of their contract, than it is Joey.  I really think he has moved his game to another level faced with relentless one on three play.  When this team gets healthy and there are other threats, look out.  In spite of that he has points in 10 straight games.  Way to go Joey.  Outstanding work against incredible odds.  The only thing I can say to you is that other teams will not be able to afford to throw that kind of coverage at you later in the season when your team mates are healthy.  Bwah hah hah hah hah!  <evil laughter>  You have grown my friend, and I look forward to when you have some help.  So keep the legs churning, and your head down, because the worm will turn, and then we'll see.

The other guy I really want to call out in this post is Scott Hartnall.  We would be screwed without his combative attitude, leadership, and hard work.  When things are grim, you look for that guy that will stand in the breach, and Hartnall has done that in a big way.  A little heart to Hart here, from a season ticket holder, we are going to have a lot of fun yet this year Scott.  Thanks for your effort in this down time, but the season is long, and being down early is just an obstacle that can be overcome.  Thanks for your help in keeping the ship of state above water.

Tomorrow we play the devil wrenches.  Whoever gets the goal wins these games, right?  So let's go out and get the goal.

Tonight we were slaking the lime, and laying the bricks for the future.  I have thought that Dano and Wennberg were a little overwhelmed, which is totally natural.  Tonight I thought I saw them get a little pissed off by how things were going late in the game.  The game got out of hand towards the end, but I saw some spirit, and some fight in them before it was over.  At least they are playing big minutes, and we sacrifice this time for future good.  It is intriguing to watch their story play out.  Dano and Wennberg may yet rise up this year and make people take notice.

Tough times in CBJ land.  Stiffen your lip, bend your knees, chop your feet, and carry on CBJ fans.  We are building for the future.  It is worth every cheer.

GO JACKETS!!!