10 Thoughts about Game 16: Carolina

1. Somehow linked to playing one of the worst teams in the NHL, the Columbus Blue Jackets "50 Minute Men" made a reprise appearance...in reverse...last night, offering roughly 10 minutes of inspired play and still beating the Carolina Hurricanes, 3-2.Your highlights:




1a. The win catapulted the Jackets back into first place in the NHL Western Conference's Central Division with 20 points. It's only a 2-point lead over Chicago, who plays the Kings on Monday night, so there's a likelihood that the CBJ will slip back out of contention.

1c. Despite their performance, I'm glad that Carolina came to town as I love their jerseys.

2. Steve Mason kept the Jackets in the game while the rest of the team decided whether to play last night. He stopped 24 of 26 and made at least one highlight reel save which was, fittingly, the Fox Sports Ohio-designated "Save of the Night." Mason credits his improved play to spending more time with goaltending coach Dave Rook (always a good thing to work with your coach) and CBJ goalie Mathieu Garon, and the practice is showing. I think it's safe to say that he's shaken off the slump that was evident in the second West Coast swing.

2a. Mase even got an assist on the Boll goal.  I love it when goalies get assists...you really know the machine is humming on all parts of the ice!

3. With only 7:26 of ice time to his name - though it sure seemed like more, Nikita Filatov got the CBJ's first score of the night and his second of the season.  Playing fourth line minutes with fourth line talent doesn't give you the best opportunity to shine, but Filatov is pushing through and getting noticed.  He won't ever be the Nash-like power forward that Ken Hitchcock clearly covets (going back to Mike Modano in Dallas), but he has the tools and spunk to be a goal-scoring step up from Kristian Huselius in the not-too-distant future.




4. Speaking of, did anyone really feel the absence of Huselius from the roster last night?  As in, "But for the Huselius injury, the game would have gone in a totally different direction?"  I didn't.  And Juice is worth $5 million against the CBJ's already-restricted salary cap.

4a.  If I was Scott Howson, I'd see if Hitchcock could push Filatov along a little more aggressively and market Juice as trade bait.  The CBJ could get some impressive talent at $5 million per year, talent that might be of bigger utility to playing Hitch-hockey.

4b. Is Freddy Modin planning on coming back?  Any time this season, perhaps?  And do the CBJ want him to come back?

5. On the subject of coming back, Mike Commodore returned after recovering sufficiently from what has to be the worst charley horse in human history.  At 14:26 of ice time, 3 shots and a -1 rating, he appears to have done OK for a recovery/rehab game.

5a. When I hear the term, "charley horse," I still think of a calf cramp caused by lack of potassium.  A banana or two fixed it in about an hour.  Clearly, Commie had something different, but I can't help but think, "Just eat a banana and get back on the ice!"

5b. Happy birthday, Mike.  It was your 30th yesterday, and your being one of the "older players" on the roster reinforced how old I really am.

5c. Mike's interviews on Fox Sports Ohio last night reinforce my thinking that that the man should have a job in the booth when he gets out.  Plain-spoken, clear-spoken and kinda fun to listen to.  You just want to hang out with Commie after listening to him.

6. Continuing the "Who is this person and what have you done with Jared Boll?" theme, last night spotlighted the "Boll the Sniper" persona (as opposed to the "Boll the Feared Pugilist" persona of the other night).  Taking a feeder pass from Stralman (via Mason), Boll skated virtually untouched down the ring, did a couple dekes that I'm still trying to master on NHL 10, and top-shelfed against the Carolina backup goalie.  Dang.  If he can do that consistently, put that man on the shootout crew!




7. In the DBJ  media critic section, let's start by giving the fine folks at Fox Sports Ohio a hearty applause for playing with their format and using a throwaway game (Carolina isn't setting the world on fire) to try out some different approaches to their broadcast.  I will never criticize those who say, "Why not?" and attempt to innovate.  You never know when something great will happen as a result.  We got some hits and misses, which I will catalog below:

7a. The opening of the "All Access" game broadcast put a camera in the locker room and followed the team out onto the ice.  It used an innovative angle to show the team taking the ice and gave the viewers the feeling of emotional investment through the entire sequence.  I LOVED IT and hope that this becomes a staple of all Blue Jackets broadcasts.

7b. The behind the scenes looks at the broadcast trailer and the booth shots were novelty, to be sure, but good for only one such display per season.

7c. If you're going to mike up a player, make sure you use more of his live commentary than, "Let's go, boys!"   one hundred times.

7d. The in-game interviews with Ken Hitchcock at the conclusion of the intermissions were gold.    Keep it if you can.

7e. The behind the scenes look at the game ops?  See my take from 7b.

7f. This is a philosophical discussion, so bear with me.  There appears to be two basic schools of thought on how to broadcast a sporting event.  One school suggests that one should broadcast it as a journalistic endeavor, reporting objectively on what happens on the ice and throughout the game.  The Columbus Dispatch takes that approach in their writing, for example, and the major broadcast networks do, too, in their tv broadcasts of sports of all types.  The other school of thought is that the broadcast is promotion of the event as entertainment, which reduces the journalism and plays up the glitz and glamour.  Both are reasonable arguments.  The "All Access" game clearly emphasized the latter over the former.  The problem was, the devastating Cam Ward injury warranted a shift on the fly to the journalistic mode.  Fox Sports should have had a camera following Ward down the tunnel to the locker room and on the ambulance pulling out of Nationwide.  They should have inserted a Cam Ward question into every interview of the night (in this case, making sure to interview Carolina players and coaches as well as CBJ'ers).  This was one of the biggest stories in the NHL last night, and Fox Sports was interviewing the organ player.

8. Anton Stralman is in a quiet groove, getting his 15:11 of ice time, grabbing an assist and not making a showing performance.  Is this a European thing - the quietly efficient, professional hockey outing?  Anyway, I miss seeing his authoritative control of the point and the slap shots on the power play.  But that's nit-picking...I'm just glad he's on the roster.

9. You can't talk about the game and not discuss the Cam Ward injury.

9a. I feel horrible for the guy - the injury might knock him out of the Olympics and - more importantly for his employer - keep the Hurricanes far away from viability for quite a while.  He's a talented goaltender regardless of his team's record, and he should be on the ice.

9b. The Rick Nash skate cutting his leg (knee?) was a fluke.  A really, really unfortunate fluke.  But as Mase mentioned, Ward doesn't wear knee guards under his big leg blockers.

Ward is one of the goaltenders who doesn't wear knee protectors under his padding, Blue Jackets goaltender Steve Mason said.

"We have the option to wear them, and he chooses not to," Mason said. "You hope everything is OK and it's not too serious, but there was a lot of blood. That's a pretty scary situation and it could happen to anybody, but that's why I wear the knee pads, and (Mathieu Garon) wears the knee pads."

Might want to rethink that, Cam.

9c. I've already mentioned how Fox Sports Ohio fell down on covering this, but it's a big enough point that I'll mention it one more time.

9d. Kudos to Twitterer "derdrache" for being the first to mention that Ward was being taken away in an ambulance.  You scooped the "real media" - a hard thing to do when the Dispatch does such a great job in covering the CBJ.

9e. I'm not sure I've ever seen so much blood on the ice, nor have I ever seen it take so long to get all of that blood off the ice.  That hockey, it can be a dangerous sport...

10.  This was a classic game in the "Only we can beat ourselves" mode.  The Hurricanes really didn't play that well.  The Jackets played to their level for 40-50 minutes and used the 3-minute, 3-goal spurt to push themselves over the top.  They won't get away with this type of play every night, so enjoy it while you can, guys.

Next up, a heavily wounded Red Wings club comes to Masonwide on Wednesday.  (Here's hoping Jason Williams gets better soon.  He was good to us as a Blue Jacket.)  Should be an interesting challenge - to see if the CBJ can play with some snarl against the team that swept them from last year's playoffs.

(Action images from Yahoo! NHL, Commodore image from SBNation)

"The Sweater"

What a wonderful story of youth, life...and hockey.



Do you think that, someday, someone will make a similar film about their Rick Nash #61 and being made to wear a Red Wings jersey? (More likely, in Columbus, it would be about a Herbsreit-wearing kid forced to wear a Grbac jersey...)

10 Thoughts about Game 15: Atlanta

1. Before their hair could dry from the postgame shower following a shootout loss to San Jose, the Columbus Blue Jackets were on a plane to Atlanta for a game the following day with the Thrashers.  They played a reasonably stout first two periods, leading 2-0 after 1 and 4-2 after 2.  The third period appeared to witness a loss in energy across the team, but the Jackets held on, winning 4-3 in regulation. Highlights follow:



1a. With Chicago's loss to Phoenix tonight, the Jackets and their 18 points assume first place in the Central Division.  No word yet if Hell did indeed freeze over, but we're efforting to get a confirmation on that.

2. This is going to be a tough 10 Thoughts.  I had family in town and did not get to watch as much as I'd like.  I did catch some of the 2nd and most of the 3rd period, though, so I'm not totally uninformed.

3. Mathieu Garon got the start on the back end of the 2 games/2 nights stretch.  He stopped 32 of 35 and offered a very solid performance.  Two of the three Atlanta goals were on the power play, which makes Garon's performance that much stronger in my opinion.

3a.  I need to do some legwork to see if Garon's on track to start the 25-30 games that coach Ken Hitchcock suggested at the beginning of the season.  I think he is going to be challenged in getting to 25 games...

4. VIVA RAFFI!  
Raffi Torres dropped two goals on the Thrashers and further cemented his place on the CBJ roster.  With 8 goals on the season thus far, Torres is second only to captain Rick Nash and his 10 goals.

4a.  Raffi plays tough, night in and night out.  He gets in close to the net for most of his shots.  He hits hard, doesn't back down from anyone and just plain makes things happen.

4b.  I did it again...when I saw Raffi score, I thought to myself, "This game is over."  Raffi scores, Jackets win.  

4c. Did I hear correctly that Raffi is a free agent after the end of the season?  I guess that Scott Howson needs to get to work!

5. Not hearing much of the television broadcast, I don't have a ton to say about Fox Sports Ohio's performance.  Other than my wife heard Bill Davidge say "resiliency."  She did not hesitate to remind me that "resiliency" is not a word.

5a. I did get a chance to listen to the radio guys for a few minutes and was again impressed with Bob McElligcott.  I tuned in during the middle of the 3rd, and Bob Mac suggested that the reason that the Jackets were getting all of the hooking penalties was because they were gassed and couldn't keep up in the Hitchcock-dreaded track meet.  Nice insight, something that made sense but not something that I immediately thought.  (Davidge or Rimer could have said the same thing, I wouldn't know.)

6. Derick Brassard popped in a goal with an injured hand.  He's one tough hombre.

7. Jake Voracek might not be Jaromir Jagr, but he did drop a goal on his buddy from Czechoslovakia.  (Great Puck Rakers blog entry, definitely worth a read if you haven't seen it yet.)

8. WOW - Jan Hejda returns from injury to anchor the defense and no one on the CBJ logged over 18:30 of ice time for the game...and that was Hejda!  Fedor Tyutin was pulling over 20 minutes a night when Hejda was out.  This spreading out of minutes bodes very well for the long, long season.

9.  Derek Dorsett was injured during the game.  Not sure what happened, or what his condition is.  Gosh, I'd hate to lose that firecracker from the lineup.

10. The attendance in Atlanta may have been as bad as in Denver the other night.  Announced attendance was 10,878, and the Avs announced 11,012.  Methinks that near-empty sections of seats makes for a franchise with real problems.  The Jackets may have financial issues, but at least their attendance is up 13 percent over last year.

Next up, the Carolina Hurricanes blow into Masonwide.  (Bet they've heard that joke before!)  Fox Sports Ohio goes "All Access" and hopefully will explain how they can show John Michael and Raffi Torres on camera at the same time.  CGI wizardry?

10 Thoughts about Game 14: San Jose

1. The Columbus Blue Jackets manned up and played the San Jose Sharks to a 2-2 stalemate with stout defense, physical play and quality goaltending through 3 full periods and the 5 minute, 4-on-4 overtime period. They came up short on the shootout but still gained a point in the standings.  The CBJ currently sit in 9th place in the Western Conference with 16 points, only 1 point behind Calgary and playoff qualification.  Here are the highlights:

2. Let's get this out early: If anyone had told me ten days ago that the CBJ were going to play the Penguins, the Capitals and the Sharks in succession, take ALL of them to overtime and get 4 out of six possible points, I'd be thrilled. With the way the Jackets had played during their most recent road trip (or not played, depending on how you look at it), I never would have expected such a remarkable turnaround.  I know that the Jackets dropped off against the Pens and Caps, letting both teams back in during the third periods of those games,  but consider the radical turnaround in team attitude and performance over this murderer's row of a scheduling job.  Unbelievable.

3. Let's pile on a little.  If anyone had told me that the CBJ would take the Sharks, arguably the best team in the NHL right now, to overtime while keeping Mike Commodore, Derick Brassard, Andrew Murray and Kristian Huselius out due to injuries - AND welcoming Jan Hejda back after an abbreviated, injury-related, absence, I'd be thrilled.

4. I guess I kinda previewed myself with #3.  WELCOME BACK, Jan Hejda!!  The Big Guy (Hitch's phrase, post-Washington) logged over 22 minutes of ice time in his first game back in three weeks, got a shot off and (sadly) logged a -1 on the night, dropping his +52 over the past two years down to +51.

4a. More important than the +/- and shots was the settling effect Hejda had on the CBJ defense.  Remember, these guys were missing Mike Commodore, and Hejda probably had some rust to shake off.  Still, the Jackets locked down on defense and gave up one fluke goal (off a skate) and one power play goal.  That, my friends, is Confidence (with a capital "C").

4b. Don't forget that The Big Guy was supposed to be out 4-6 weeks.  He came back a full week earlier than the doctors and trainers projected and then led this incredible charge.

5. Steve Mason turned away 36 of 38 shots in regulation and overtime, a .947 save percentage against the same team that lit him up like a roman candle in game 3 out in the Shark Tank.  Whether it's the home cooking of Masonwide, the presence of a real goaltending coach in Dave Rook or the calming (and I mean this in the best possible way) effect of Jan Hejda's return - or probably a combination of all three - Mase appears to be getting his groove back.

6. The Canadian Olympic team's management of Steve Yzerman & Co. was in the building and saw one heck of a heavyweight bout by two tough teams.  They also saw Rick Nash get a fantastic power play goal on pure grit...and saw Steve Mason pull off some incredible saves.

7. Who is this man, and what have the Columbus Blue Jackets done with Jared Boll?






"Down, boy! When you're done licking my skates, go lick Li'l Russ's skates, too! And say, 'Thank you, Mr. Boll,' when you're done!"

Seriously, it looks like the Boll of old is back. If that's what we can expect out of Jared, I say keep him around. But once is a surprise, twice is nice, and three times is the beginning of a trend. Keep it up, Jared.

8. There perhaps is no better summary of Nikita Filatov's performance in the Sharks game than what Michael Arace said in his Puck Rakers game summary:

"Nikita Filatov had 11:33 of ice time, a modern Russian record for the Jackets. (Tyutin doesn't count because he married a Canadian)."

Classic.  Seriously, Filatov was not only given ice time, but he got ice time deep in the third period when the Jackets needed to hold onto the tie first and look for the lead second.  He also got a chance to play the hero in the shootout, but I think the nerves seemed to take hold.  Not nerves about the crowd or the shootout but rather the nerves about pleasing Coach Hitchcock so he can get more ice time.

8a. If you can't tell, I think that Hitch has seriously embedded himself in Filatov's head.  That's for better and worse.

9. In my media critique segment, Fox Sports Ohio is noticeably improving its coverage.  (Funny how things turn so optimistic when the CBJ are playing well!)  Jeff Rimer is calling a reasonably even-handed game considering he's broadcasting to Ohioans.  Bill Davidge is only occasionally lapsing into coach-speak ("This is the time when you look inside yourself and dig deep...").  John Michael is keeping his composure while interviewing Sammy Pahlsson and getting sprayed by a pre-game snow shower.  Nice to see things clicking.  Given alternatives, I probably would swap out some moving parts of the broadcast team (Why oh why did they not make a move on Darren Pang when Panger left Phoenix?).  But this team has improved, so let's give them their due.

9a. The strong Fox Sports Ohio performance is also notable because their feed was broadcast nationally over the NHL Network.  Kudos!

9b. FSO also is hyping their "All Access" game over the weekend, when the CBJ takes on Carolina.  Cameras everywhere, 'sounds of the game,' the whole shootin' match.  Good to them for trying this out - hopefully this live test of broadcasting capacity gives them some nuggets that they can integrate into their broadcasts on an ongoing basis.  I'm all for innovation, if you can't tell.  But remember, guys, the focus should be on the team and the action on the ice - not the broadcasters!

9c. FSO, if you do ONE thing, please give John Michael a shot at doing some in-game 'sideline' reporting.  There's a lot happening on the benches and in the locker room, and sharing those stories would be a terrific improvement in coverage.

10.  1-0-2 over the last three.  4 out of 6 points.  I still like that A LOT.

Next up: Tonight in Atlanta against the Thrashers, who are on a two-game win streak.  Mason apparently has the night off (a good thing), and we can keep our fingers crossed that Brassard and Commodore will be back.  (Commie must've had one heck of a charley horse!)

[UPDATE:  I can't believe that I forgot to mention that I noticed Jason Chimera's growing a mustache of Parros-ian proprtions!  Silly me...]

Chamber's CBJ study released; Is there another solution?

[DISCLAIMER: Like all entries in this blog, this is conjecture on my part.  It is, however, conjecture built off of actual events that happened in the last few days.  I have no special knowledge of the situation and only look at it as a very interested, outside observer.  If this doesn't come to pass, don't call me a total idiot, OK?]

First, a little proof that one hand isn't talking to the other in this town.  Yesterday in the weekly Columbus Dispatch "Puck Rakers" noon chat, Columbus Blue Jackets beat writer Aaron Portzline said this about the long-awaited Columbus Chamber (of Commerce) study regarding the Blue Jackets, Nationwide Arena and the long-term financial strength and stability of both:

[portzline] I've heard the "independent study" is close to being released, perhaps later this week.

That "later this week" was yesterday. Here's a link to the Columbus Chamber's press release, its study and the study's executive summary (the section that everyone reads and then says, "I've read the report," without having to read the report).  In addition, they offer a background piece on the Blue Jackets and Columbus' Arena District.  Fans of the CBJ and the economic vitality of the Arena District would be well-advised to check those links out.

That aside, I sat down to write this for an entirely different reason.  I opened up the front door this morning to grab my Columbus Dispatch, and three stories on the front page simultaneously hit me.  They were:

• Saving The Jackets - The article that tipped me off that the report was out
• Casino Foes Vow to Fight
• How would a casino affect Arena District?

I'll readily admit that the rather simple logic of the situation evaded me until this morning.  I'm not a proponent of casinos nor gambling in general.  Gambling is bad news,  It is a regressive tax on the poor and, in the long run, will only serve to further strain our state's already-frayed social safety net.  So I never really considered the other impacts of casinos in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Toledo and Columbus.

Taking out the second of the three articles listed above, consider the other two.  First, the "Saving the Jackets" piece.  The timing of the report's issuance is rich; it's very safe to presume that the Chamber sat on it until after Tuesday's election.  This could be for two reasons, maybe more:

1. The Chamber did not want to make the Blue Jackets any more of a political issue in the Columbus municipal elections than it had to be, especially considering the tough economic situation across the State of Ohio.  Ty Marsh, the Chamber's President, is a savvy character, so I'd mark this as a "yes."
2. The Chamber wanted to see what happened to the statewide casino referendum, as the "Yes on Issue 3" website suggests that annual NEW revenue to Franklin County from casino activity would be $40.4 million, with $16.2 million of that going to Columbus directly.  

The language of the constitutional amendment says, "Tax collection, and distributions to public school districts and local governments, under sections 6(C)(2) and (3), are intended to supplement, not supplant, any funding obligations of the state."  This is new money for cities and counties, and the State is not allowed to lower its other obligations to them in recognition of this new funding stream.  And to the best of my understanding, there is no restriction in how the city and county can spend this money.  Manna from heaven, if you will, in the world of municipal finance.

But wait! Didn't the "Saving the Jackets" article quote Marsh as saying that the necessary financial package would require $5 million for arena rent and $4 million for operating subsidy?

And Columbus is in line to get $16.2 million in new monies from the casinos?  Franklin County another $24.2 million beyond that?

My friends, I'm willing to bet that the Blue Jackets are going to make a serious play to fix their long-term financial problems through the new casino money.  (Pardon the pun.)

Keep in mind that the "Casino Foes Vow To Fight" article suggests that the Columbus casino won't be on-line until the end of 2012.  That probably means that the Blue Jackets and their supporters have to develop a Phase 1 plan to get them from November 2009 to December 2012, and then a Phase 2 plan that would capitalize on the casino money.  That's where the Chamber report comes into play - to scrounge around the margins, get enough money together and provide a financial bridge to the casino cash.  (If you want a brief summary of the 19 options in the Chamber's report, click here.)

Note that the report suggests bonding, or issuance of debt certificates, for (I think) three of the 19 options.  If you only had to issue debt paper for three years, knowing that the casino cash would pay it off reasonably quickly, wouldn't you go in that direction?

Interesting times ahead in Columbus' capital city.  The report was supposed to present a solution, but it didn't.  And it made no mention of the casinos.  It's a new day, and hopefully something positive will come from this misguided vote by the increasingly desperate people of Ohio.

[UPDATE: The Dispatch's Mike Arace presents a nuanced view of the situation in his column today.  Probably should have read this first, as our thought processes are not entirely dissimilar.]

[UPDATE 2: CBJ president Mike Priest adds his two cents.  Kudos to the Dispatch for being on this issue so tightly now that it's out in the open again.]

Hitch....being Hitch

The Columbus Blue Jackets' head coach just cracks me up. I have never seen a coach so consistently, refreshingly honest as Ken Hitchcock. And he's been on a tear this week.

Exhibit 1 - The self-examiner

After the win against Washington, Hitchcock was asked about the CBJ's challenges in shutting teams down. His answer started with (and I'm paraphrasing), "We can't shut people down.  If you've watched us for the last few games, you'd see that." The Dispatch article about Hejda continues:

Following the Jackets' 5-4 overtime win over Washington on Sunday, Hitchcock cited Hejda in talking about his team's inability to hold leads.

"Until we get the big guy back there and it starts to spread out the minutes, we will have trouble because we're running out of gas," Hitchcock said.

"The big guy," of course, is Jan Hejda.  But it's the rare coach that doesn't sugarcoat their team's problems.

Exhibit 2 - The truth-teller

In the aftermath of Washington Capitals superstar Alexander Ovechkin's shoulder injury sustained against the spunky Columbus Blue Jackets, Caps coach Bruce Boudreau had this to say:

"I think the game plan was every time Alex touches the puck, that somebody hit him or run him. That's what it looked like to me."

When asked about it, Hitch was...well...Hitch:

Yesterday, Hitchcock pleaded guilty as charged to accusations made by Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau, who told the Washington Post that the Jackets were attempting to "run" and "hit" Ovechkin every time he touched the puck in Sunday's game.

"That would be correct," Hitchcock said. "That's the name of the game. Why, is that against the rules now?"

Classic.  No pussy-footing around with our coach.  Man up, Boudreau...your star player wasn't complaining in the media!

Exhibit 3 - The sugar dispenser

Hitch's plain-spokenness sometimes comes back to bite him in funny ways.  Take this exchange regarding tonight's San Jose game:

A lot of NHL coaches prefer not to talk about the opposition, or pay a quick compliment and let it go at that.

But Columbus Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock went on at length Tuesday about the Sharks team that his will face at Nationwide Arena tonight.

"There's a reason they win," Hitchcock said of a San Jose team that has climbed to No. 2 in the Western Conference and will be looking for its sixth consecutive victory. "It's not because they have a lock on the talent. It's because they play the game the right way.

"Their team is a product of the environment that's created by the coaches. It's a team that gets after you offensively, it's a team that gets after you defensively," said Hitchcock, whose Blue Jackets lost to San Jose 6-3 at HP Pavilion on Oct. 8. "They go to the hard areas to check, they go to the hard areas to score. We're always trying to get our players to fight for space rather than look for space. They're where we want to get to."

Sharks coach Todd McLellan took the compliment, then raised questions about its accuracy and suggested Hitchcock had another audience in mind besides the reporters he was addressing.

"I respect Hitch's comments, but we're not that way all the time," McLellan said. "We have our warts. We try to work through them just like every other team."

Hitchcock, McLellan added, "is one of the best motivators in the league" and praising the competition is "a very good motivating tactic."

Heh heh.  We'll take every advantage that our coach provides, thank you.

Western Conference playoff race, 1 November edition

The question on everyone's lips in NHL circles is, "How long can the Avalanche keep it up?" The answer, it seems, is, "Another week." They added another 4 points yet lost the chance for 2 more in getting shut out last night.

The star students this week, however, were the San Jose Sharks, who tacked on 8 points this week in closing a dominant Eastern Conference swing, running home to dispatch the Kings and Avs(!) and then starting another "eastern" swing by dismantling the reeling Hurricanes. (I put "eastern" in quotes this time because the swing will include visits to Columbus and Detroit.) I tell you, those Eastern Conference teams just don't know what hits them when a Western Conference team comes to town.

6-point jumpers include: Vancouver, Phoenix and Nashville. Phoenix, as CBJ fans know, plays solid, unremarkable hockey that keeps them in games. I haven't seen a lot of Vancouver but gather that they racked up the illnesses and injuries this week. Next week's jump will be interesting to see. As for Nashville, they beat Western Conference foes Dallas, Minnesota and Chicago. Might Team Vader be getting its act together? (I'll never count Nashville out as long as Barry Trotz is behind the bench.)

Low-jumpers, with only 2 points, are Calgary, Edmonton and St. Louis. No real insights here, other than Calgary is too talented to fail by any other means than mental lapses, Edmonton is a rebuilding team that will have good weeks and bad (I think flu was an issue up there when the CBJ last visited) and St. Louis has had issues getting on track since coming back from Europe. 7 points since returning would indicate as such.

Rick Nash is so good... (Part Deux)

Hey Mike Green, you might want to - oh, I dunno - work on your defense?

Seriously, there are few people in the NHL that can stop the Captain by themselves when he's bound and determined to score.  That video pretty much seals the deal, wouldn't you say?

Rick Nash is so good...

I saw this excerpt from Tom Reed's coverage of the Columbus Blue Jackets - Washington Capitals game and had to share:

In overtime, Jackets forward Jake Voracek drove to the net and drew an interference penalty on Brian Pothier at 1:33, setting up a 4-on-3 advantage. Umberger won the faceoff, went to the net and absorbed three whacks from defenseman Tom Poti before taking a perfect Rick Nash pass from the right corner.

"Nasher told me before the faceoff that if he got the puck that I should put my stick in the crease, I swear to God, and he put it there," Umberger said.

Some call their shots, Nash apparently calls his assists. The captain finished with a goal and two assists.

He called his own assist.  In the chaos on ice that is NHL hockey, amplified by the frantic defense offered up by the opposition during a power play, Nash called his own assist.  Wow.  That man is one special hockey player.

10 Thoughts about Games 11 & 12: Pittsburgh and Washington

1. Following a rare film and team meeting day on Thursday (no practice time on the ice), the Columbus Blue Jackets appeared to return to early season form on home ice against the powder blue-uniformed (some would say "baby blue," but I'll be generous) Pittsburgh Penguins for the first 50-55 minutes of the game and then suffered a total collapse.  The Jackets regained a sense of composure in the overtime period and went to the shootout, missing all three shots and watching Sidney Crosby's shot, which Steve Mason initially blocked, dribble past the goalie into the goal.  Pittsburgh won, 4-3. Here are the highlights:



1a. Pittsburgh fans can crow all they want about their stylish powder blues, which made their debut at the Winter Classic in Buffalo, but the best powder blue jersey, bar none, is the third jersey of the AHL's Milwaukee Admirals:

Aye, mateys, I covets me a skeletal, peg-legged hockey jersey...

1b. The Hitch Speaketh, and he was pretty ticked at giving the game away to the defending Stanley Cup champs:

2. Smarting from the shootout loss, the Jackets boarded their plane for the nation's capital city on Saturday for a late afternoon Sunday game against the Washington Capitals.  The Jackets largely stuck to the game plan that kept them in control of the Pittsburgh game and, eerily, repeated their "50 Minute Men" performance  that let Washington seize control of the game with 3:30 left in the third period, 4-3.  Raffi Torres, however, dropped his 2nd goal of the game (6th goal of the season) in with :30 left in regulation to send the game into overtime.  The Jackets again held their ground in the overtime period, drawing a critical interference game at 1:33 of overtime.  Less than 15 seconds later, R.J. Umberger scored the game-winner with his 2nd of the game (4th of the season) on the Jackets' power play. Chew on these highlights for a few:



2a. In case you were curious, coach Ken Hitchcock appeared a little more pleased after the end of the Washington game but bristled at the "50 Minute Men" questions related to being unable to close the game out.  Paraphrasing, he said that "the bug guy" (Hejda, presumably) needed to come back to spread the on-ice minutes back down to reasonable levels that didn't wear out the defense as had happened the past four games.

3. Steve Mason, to be clear, has not yet returned to the 10-shutout Steve Mason of last season that won the Calder Cup.  He has, however, improved significantly since returning to Columbus from the most recent West Coast swing.   He blocked 29 of 32 against a Penguins club that was missing Evgeni Malkin and a few other starters.  He also turned away 32 of 36 shots against the Capitols.

3a. A rattled Alexander Ovechkin did not score for the 3rd straight game against Mason.  Never mind that Number 8 left the game after just under 6 minutes of ice time with an apparent shoulder injury early in the second period (Puck Rakers alludes to a punishing check from Raffi Torres) - AO is 0-for-19 on Mason.  PARTY NOW!

3b.  Anyone care to explain why Hitch temporarily pulled Mason from the Washington game for Mathieu Garon?  I have nothing against Garon, but Mase went back in within a minute of being pulled.  Must have had some strategic significance.

4. Rick Nash has picked up the pace once again as he is wont to do in big games against top-tier opponents. He had two goals on seven shots against Pittsburgh and a goal and 2 assists on 5 shots against Washington.

5. Personal note: I apologize for condensing the two games into one set of 10 Thoughts, but familial obligations got in the way of my full partaking of the Pittsburgh game, and schoolwork got in the way of parts of the Washington game.  First things first!

6. Post-Pittsburgh, Puck Rakers was filled with insane rantings suggesting that Hitchcock had lost the team and that he should be fired.

7. I think that the posters in question were just bitter that Nationwide Arena was about 40% filled with Pittsburgh fans.  What would you expect - between bandwagon jumpers for the reigning Stanley Cup champions and those who have loved NHL hockey since long before the Blue Jackets were a gleam in Mister Mac's eye...and couldn't bear to root for a team from Michigan, the team has reasonably healthy fan base in Ohio.

7a.  If there was a real Hockey God, he would create a division that included Pittsburgh and Columbus.  I honestly don't think the league recognized the level of natural rivalry between these two towns.  Detroit and Columbus, sure - the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry made that obvious - but gosh, those Blue Jackets-Penguins games are lively.

8. Two goals each for R.J. Umberger (who deserves every point he gets for being the consummate team player) and Raffi Torres against Washington....nice.  Strong secondary scoring from two of the team's hardest workers.

8a. When Raffi scored his first goal, the thought that we would automatically win crossed my mind.  When he scored the second goal with less than a minute to go, I figured it was fate.  I know, stupid, but I'm so conditioned to seeing the Jackets win when Raffi scores!

8b. Jake Voracek called Raffi Torres "Tico" in the post-game interview in Washington.  Excellent Bon Jovi reference by the pop culture-savvy young forward.

8c.  If I was a creative business person with something fun to sell, I'd hire Jake Voracek to do my ads. Dude's personality veers WAY off the awesome meter charts.

9. Greetings to our friends from Fox Sports Ohio and the Columbus Blue Jackets communications office. Are you guys reading this blog?

9a. After my griping that Bill Davidge was using too much coach-speak (meaning the 'repetive cycle of "compete"-"effort"-"toughness"-"high expectations"'), I am not sure that I have heard Davidge use any of those words in either of the last two telecasts. Bill still has to dial up the enjoyment/fun factor, but he's becoming much more listenable (Is that a word?).

9b. After my suggesting that the then-injured Mike Commodore would make an awesome 3rd announcer in the booth, the Fox guys shared the mike with injured Freddy Modin for the 2nd period of the Pittsburgh game.  Freddy wasn't quite the TV personality that Commie was, but I applaud the effort on Fox Sports' behalf for giving it a try. Actually, Freddy's presence - unique as it was - gave an already big game a little extra luster.  Freddy's a big boy, too!

9c. Since I appear to have an audience in the ones, let me offer another observation: The Washington game was as much about what was happening on the benches, in the hallways and in the locker rooms as on the ice. Ovechkin's injury, the many injuries referred to by Hitch in the post-game press conference...these things should be covered live. John Michael is a sharp character who, presuming that he has time considering his many other obligations, could be positioned a la Pierre McGuire between the glass or perhaps in the hallways or behind the benches. These injuries were huge developments for the game, and live coverage of them as they took place would further enhance the game broadcast.

10. Let's close this omnibus 10 Thoughts with a Hitchism: Weightiness.  The Blue Jackets went back to playing a weighty game against two of the top teams in the (weaker) Eastern Conference and emerged with 3 out of a possible 4 points. Lots of checking, lots of puck possession, a stifling penalty kill and (reasonably) strong defense. As long as the team can stick with Hitch's program and a player or two (read: Jan Hejda) comes back soon, things will be looking up.

Next up: San Jose and their brutal scoring line of Dany "Hat Trick" Heatley and Joe Thornton invade Nationwide on Wednesday night. It isn't Hockey Night in Canada, but the game WILL be broadcast across the USA on the NHL Network. Should be an enjoyable affair; let's hope the boys in Union Blue (not baby blue) are up to the challenge!