Games 1-2: My Take

Game 1: San Jose Sharks 3, Columbus Blue Jackets 2
Game 2: CBJ 3, Sharks 2 (OT)

Is is OK to say, "Thank God, it's over," in relation to the Columbus Blue Jackets' NHL Premiere games in Stockholm against the San Jose Sharks?

I never had a good feeling about this whole trip.  Too much travel (and jet lag), a screwy preseason schedule to accommodate playing in Europe, so many potential distractions, inability to move/claim players easily...in my mind, opening the season this way was a recipe for disaster.

To be fair, the team wisely used the time as a chance to do some team bonding and apparently made the most of it.  (And, like most CBJ fans, I got a kick out of how Mike Commodore was apparently goofing around with Derick Brassard all throughout the trip.)  And perhaps the most valuable aspect of the trip was the international exposure that Columbus received.  It seems as if the local sports folks got that - for the sake of central Ohio's economy, let's pray that the local economic development folks did, too.

As for the games, the CBJ largely looked like a team that was learning a new system -- against one of the top teams in the league.  Oh, we were?  Huh.  Who knew?

Watching games with mobile young'uns running around as I was means that you get bits and pieces and often miss a spot here and there.  But as I saw it, that was the Jackets play on the ice...bits and pieces of solid execution and a few spots where they were lost in the Lutfisk.

Post-Minnesota thoughts (Plus 2 more)

So the Columbus Blue Jackets squeegied the Xcel Energy Center ice with the Minnesota Wild last night in what appeared to be, more or less, a battle of NHL-caliber rosters.  Surely not as exciting as the scrubs pulling out the shootout win at Nationwide this past week, but one has to remember that this is a town that revels in the glory of a (mind-numbingly boring) 70-3 Ohio State football win over MAC cellar-dwellers East Nowhere State.  So a wire-to-wire dismantling is good for the fine folks of Columbus.  Kinda cleanses the pores, if you will.

As for the game performance, I was like everyone else and had to listen live on radio.  (And I have Insight for my cable now, meaning I didn't get to watch the replay on NHL Network because...Insight doesn't carry NHL Network.  Sigh.)  My impressions, like nearly all of those who have offered online commentary of the game, thus is filtered through the eyes and words of George Matthews and Bob McElligott.  Fortunately for CBJ fans, George and Bob are pretty good at calling a game - especially once one gets used to George's awesome play-by-play quirks.  (But Bob really doesn't need to do John Madden impressions.)  I've found that I more or less agree with a lot of what they're saying, so let's take their impressions as gospel.

Sounds to me like the Sammy Pahlsson-anchored third line will be shifting from a liability to a strength this season.  Pahlsson has his game on, perhaps spurred the addition of Ethan Moreau.  Moreau also appears  to be playing well (despite my lousy call from the other Minnesota game).  Both guys had goals and assists.  This bodes well going into the regular season, but coach Scott Arniel hopefully will take caution with whomever he pairs with those two as to augment - and not break up - the chemistry that is growing.

Time to step up: Sammy Pahlsson

• Center
• Alternate captain
• 32 years old, 10th year in National Hockey League
• $2,650,000 cap hit 
• 4.5% of Columbus Blue Jackets salary cap
• Contract expires at end of 2011-2012
• 2009-2010 CBJ numbers: 79 games played, 3 goals, 13 assists, 16 points, -9, 32 penalty minutes, 16:16 avg. time on ice

How do you measure this type of defensive play?
That's the challenge when evaluating Sammy Pahlsson.

It's a challenge for someone with as minimal a playing background as I to construct a meaningful critique of Sammy Pahlsson.  His role on the Columbus Blue Jackets is clear: Center the 3rd line - the line that shuts down the opposing team's top line.  But how can you tell that he did it from a stat sheet?  Hockey statistics largely reflect on offensive performance, and the one that suggests defensive performance (plus/minus) reflects not just on a single player's effort but on their linemates as well.

Pahlsson had 16 points last year, two off his NHL career average of 18.  His -9 rating was slightly worse than his NHL career average of -6.  And he played on a team last season that suffered from anemic scoring and a penchant for letting other teams score goals, so did he have a down year or was he simply consistent with past performance on a personal level?

10 Thoughts about Game 17: Detroit

I don't have it in me to do a normal analysis of this pathetic excuse for a game.  Thus, I'll crowd-source these 10 Thoughts through the lively Twitter network of Columbus Blue Jackets fans, journalists and other folks:

1. BlueJackets_NHL FINAL SCORE: #RedWings 9, #CBJ 1. Abdelkader got his second of the game late.

1a. DarkBlueJacket Recap: #CBJ prove that they probably should be playing some defense in losing 9-1.  Sigh.

1b. jacketsrequired Jackets limit Detroit to three field goals. Well played.

1c. nhlcyclesophist You're wasting my time tonight, #CBJ

1d. arose213 Just saw the #cbj score, #threwup in my mouth a bit. #fb

2. Aportzline #CBJ suffers 9-1 loss to Detroit, tied for largest margin of defeat, matching 10-2 L in San Jose (3-30-02) and 8-0 L vs. Boston (2-4-02).

2a. techknowgn @Aportzline This is worse than both those games, because this team has the talent to not get beat like this. The 01-02 team didnt

2b. BethanyM85 I dub this game "The Worst Game in Franchise History" #cbj

2c. DarkBlueJacket If not the most brutal #CBJ game I've seen in the Hitchcock era, definitely in the top 3.  Ugh.


3. raycrawford shocked look on cbj faces in locker room.. hitch with rare meeting with players after he addressed the media.

3a. DarkBlueJacket @raycrawford Any paint left on the walls in the locker room?  Man, I'd hate to be in there...

3b. DarkBlueJacket Hitch: "This has been building for 3 games now."  Hmmmmm  #CBJ

3c. DarkBlueJacket Hitch: "We don't have the buy-in.  We aren't checking.  We look light and slow." True...   #CBJ

4. DaveSeaman94 RT: @BlueJacketsBuzz Steve Mason said he wasn't happy about the bronx cheers he was getting tonight from the fans. #CBJ  |  He deserved it.

4a. LoriSchmidt CBJ Captain Rick Nash on the fans who gave G Steve Mason the Bronx Cheer: "Those had to be Detroit fans. Our fans are more loyal than that."

4b. DarkBlueJacket And here I honestly thought that Mason was getting back in the groove.  Tonight was a big step backward. But where was the defense? #CBJ

4c. bcluxton Remember last year when Mason had 10 shutouts? Boy, those were the days. #CBJ

4d. hise Mason is horrible this eve. Why is Hitchcock keeping him in the net? Is there some point to make? #CBJ

4e. Aportzline No Garon injury. Hitchcock wanted Mason back in to absorb a beating w/ rest of club. RT @mirtle: @Aportzline Was Garon injured?

4f. DarkBlueJacket We really don't need for the #RedWings to be in Mason's gourd... #CBJ


5. BlueJacketsBuzz Don't know if it's safe to go outside. Jan Hejda was minus 4 tonight! Could be the end of times! #CBJ


6. thelaughlins Nice to see Hitchcock's team showed up for him for his 1000th game! #cbj #redwings


7. britjenna I'm sick and tired of wings having puck control oh and little important thing called scoring. #CBJ


8. DarkBlueJacket thinks Raffi Torres may haf lost a toof.  Ouch. #CBJ

8a. seventyeight @DarkBlueJacket He left a nice puddle of blood not far from Cam Ward's thigh muscle on the ice.


9. DarkBlueJacket I hear that there's plenty of time left... @FOXSportsOH #CBJ

9a. techknowgn @DarkBlueJacket LOL. And Pahlsson plays bigger than he is, Wings are defending western conf champs, and Rimer was just in Tronna

9b. DarkBlueJacket @techknowgn And start with the best!

9c. DarkBlueJacket Psst @FOXSportsOH - @DirecTV forgot to turn on our HD feed for the #CBJ game tonight AFTER telling me it would be on.  Epic #FAIL.      #NHL

9d. derdrache @DarkBlueJacket Dude, it wouldn't have been any better in HD.

10. DarkBlueJacket Live it up, #RedWings.  We'll be back.  And we don't forget.  #CBJ

10a. LeeAuer It could always be worse... We could live in Detroit #cbj


Next game: PuckeysMom Brutal night, #CBJ... learn quickly, shake it off, beat the #Ducks. [on Friday]

---

Bonus Thought 1: DarkBlueJacket is mining Twitter posts to cobble together 10 Thoughts for tonight.  #CBJ

Bonus Thought 1a. timwingfield @DarkBlueJacket Remember the 7 words you can't say on TV? There's 7 of the 10 thoughts you need...

[No editing was performed on the Tweets.  All photos from Yahoo! NHL except for the shot of Mason letting the beach ball through.  That's DamonChristen's work.]