What's the Difference?

A few months ago I found myself sitting at a Blue Jackets game next to a guy who said he was the brother-in-law of one of the players. For any of you who saw me on TV during the Bruins game when I was sitting in front of Derek Dorsett's mom and grandma, I am speaking of a different game. So, for the record, the guy sitting next to me, who I will hereafter refer to as Guy, was not related to Derek Dorsett. Other than that, I'm not going to reveal Guy's identity and it isn't important to the story.

Guy was a friendly . . . umm . . . guy, especially during the second period after he had "loosened up a bit," shall we say. From the outset the game wasn't going so well for the Jackets and I engaged Guy in a brief conversation about the state of the team. 

We discussed goaltending. We discussed the offseason acquisitions. We discussed specific players. But whenever Guy's comments would turn to the negative, he would pause and then add, "I really shouldn't say anything more." I didn't push him. I thought it would be uncool.

But to this day the one thing that sticks out in my mind about the exchange was when I mentioned Scott Arniel. It was at the very end of the conversation. I said something like, "I think Arniel will rally these guys. It's a long season." At first Guy didn't say a word, but the look he gave me read like a book. I did push him on this one. And this time he didn't hesitate.

"The players hate him," he said. "He treats them like minor leaguers. There's no respect."

New Sheriff in Town

Todd Richards was an authoritative voice in his 1st practice

Todd Richards ran his first practice for the Columbus Blue Jackets today.  The difference was palpable.  Richards was firm and authoritative throughout the practice, and he clearly has some things he wants to change.  If a drill wasn't started the way he wanted it, he'd stop it and make them start over.  He worked the players hard.

It seems clear that he has changes in mind in defensive zone coverage, as well as on the offensive side.  A 5 on 5  D zone drill late in the practice got spirited, and he jumped in, insisting that the players on offense not concede anything.  The pace quickly picked up.

From my seat half way up the lower bowl, I could clearly hear him (and my hearing is nothing to write home about) telling the centers to 'get out there, no lazy circles' and telling them that the coverage he wanted was going to be hard work.  I don't know how the players felt about it, but it was music to this fan's ears.

DBJ's 5 Thoughts on Game 42: Chicago

Chicago 5 - Columbus 2
11-26-5, 5th in Central Div., 15th in Western Conf.

The Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Columbus by a score of 5-2 on Tuesday night in Todd Richards debut as the interim head coach of the Blue Jackets. For the Blackhawks, it snapped a four game winless streak. For the Blue Jackets it was the end of brutal four game road trip.

1. Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes Reeling from the firing of Scott Arniel and injuries to Mark Letestu (broken hand) and Jeff Carter (separated shoulder), the Blue Jackets limped into Chicago for the debut of Todd Richards behind the bench. Richards first order of business was to announce that under his watch playing time would have to be earned. The problem, at least for his first game, was that given the circumstances of losing two top six guys on the tail end of an extended road trip he didn't have a lot of options.

Richards' pairings shaped out like this: Nash-Brassard-Prospal (seems reasonable), Vermette-Johansen-Kubalik (yikes!), Umberger-Pahlsson-Dorsett (love it), and Boll-D-Mac-Russell (sure, why not). Clitsome was the healthy scratch on the blue line (hmmmm) and the pairings were Tyutin-Nikitin (no brainer), Moore-Methot (seems reasonable) and Savard-Johnson (and prayers). The results were about what you would expect. The Jackets were adept at moving the puck out of their zone and through the neutral zone, but once past the blue line they lacked cohesion and chemistry. Still, they showed some quickness and battled hard, keeping the Hawks from registering their second shot until 12:30 into the first period. They would go on to out-shoot the Hawks 34-25 for the game, but quality scoring chances were too few and far between to stay competitive with the Hawks.

Very early season musings

The coaching Man of the Hour in Columbus,
goaltenders coach Ian Clark

In looking over the first couple of games, I've had fleeting thoughts that don't necessarily warrant entire blog posts (right now) but might be worth considering going forward:

• In the "Don't Set the Bar Too High" department, I'm happy that the CBJ didn't get blown out at home on Friday night in front of a sold-out crowd against Nashville.  They probably bought themselves some time with the ever-fickle locals as a result.  
• Could CBJ Assistant Coaches Brad Berry (defense) and Ian Clark (goaltenders) kindly report to Nationwide Arena?  The NHL 2011-2012 season is underway, and your players need coaching.  Badly.
• To be Mark Dekanich right now is to be a study in anticipation and frustration.  Steve Mason's performing OK-to-poorly (with no comment on the defensive help Mase may or may not be getting) with a painful .870 goals against average.  And when Mase is pulled in game two for AHLer Curtis Sanford, DexShow has to be thinking, "If I wasn't injured, that would be ME!"  Let's hope that either Mase gets his game together quickly or DexShow is ready to roll once he returns.  At this point, I don't care which.  (Or that GM Scott Howson doesn't have to give up too much in the trade market to get a consistent goaltender...)
• I can understand how the CBJ would have trouble getting the puck into the offensive zone against Nashville, especially when Nashville locked down after going up by one goal.  But Minnesota? Minnesota?  Ack.