Dispatch's Game 1 video

What a cool video...a little crowd work, some still shots, some interviews...they do a great job covering the entirety of the opening night of the Columbus Blue Jackets.  I can't imagine any newspaper doing a better job in their NHL coverage and am glad to be a subscriber.

Western Conference playoff race, 4 October edition

Every Sunday through the NHL season (Olympics excepted), I plan to post an updated chart showing the NHL Western Conference playoff race and where all 15 teams stand.  The chart is a little convoluted right now with so few games being played, but bear with me...the relative placement of teams will make a lot more sense in a couple of weeks when they separate from each other.

I also added a "playoff threshold" line showing where the top 8 teams are at/above.  It's the bright green line.

I hope you enjoy this feature at The Dark Blue Jacket.  Eyes on the prize!

The Hitch Speaketh: Post-Minnesota edition

OK, this stuff about Russell playing awesome is rah-rah stuff like Eric says.  Outside of that, I think he's having a genuinely good time. It was the first game, and he knows that there are some kinks to work out...

10 thoughts about Game 1: Minnesota

Hi, I'm back.  Busy weekend, and little time to do more CBJ-wise than watch the Saturday night opener against the Minnesota Wild.  Official highlights:

My 10 thoughts:

1. The first-liners look ragged.  I think losing Huselius to the flu has done nothing to help the top line's timing.
2. Rick Nash is going to do whatever it takes to win.  Reference the block at the end of the game.  He overflows with awesome.  
3. Filatov has incredible talent, especially with puck-handling.  There were a couple times that he did things I haven't seen at Nationwide Arena since Nik Zherdev left town.  You can love Z or hate Z, but there's no arguing that he was a virtuoso with the puck.  
4. Back to Filatov: There are times when the "weight" of the game will require that our waterbug stay off the ice, most likely to protect him from injury.  The end of the game was an excellent example.  Raffi Torres can bring the heft; Nikki probably can't (yet).
5. Voracek needs to figure out how to control this massive body that he built up over the summer.  Too many wipeouts on the ice.
6. The 3rd line is bestial.  Putting R.J. "I know how to score goals" Umberger on that line may have been a consequence of Filatov's quick rise, but it's genius that should make opposing coaches freak out.  3 VERY solid lines.  Now, Jason Chimera needs to recognize that the NHL doesn't award points for winning wind-sprints.  
7. For the life of me, I cannot see why Jared Boll played over Derek Dorsett. Actually, I cannot see why Jared Boll is on the roster.  Maybe it's because Hitch wanted to avoid a distracting fight with Minnesota cheap-shot artist Eric Belanger on opening night.  Or perhaps it was the sweet poster shot:
8. I saw a little of the opening night festivities on Fox Sports Ohio, and I'm sure they were good.  Most likely a little more toned down than opening night in Edmonton (long video, but ay caramba!).  Ummmm...is a hockey crowd a  likely Cirque du Soleil crowd?  On the bright side, the pipe and drum corps makes you appreciate the Canadian/British culture.  The old farts singing that odd song about Edmonton does not.  Enjoy:
9. Good for Rusty - new contract and a game-winning goal.  Between the Minnesota game and his Chucky-like approach to Tomas Holmstrom in last season's Stanley Cup playoffs, I am cautiously optimistic that he will be deserving of every penny.  (Side kudos to GM Scott Howson for getting the deal done, then for making all the right noises about organizational loyalty going both ways.  Comments like that endear you to your warriors and fan base.)
10. Hitch is a happy, happy man.  I can't tell if he's totally bluffing (his comments about Kris Russell lead me to think that at least part of his postgame comments were a bluff), but the combination of his pre-game appearances on local radio and on XM's NHL Live show tell me that he's happy as a clam that it's hockey time in this emerging hockey town.  Check the party out here - I love how he's hanging out with the peeps, grabbing snaps:
11. Bonus thought: At least for one night, Mason is back to Calder form.  Considering how focused he is, I can't see how this will be out of the norm for the season.

On to Vancouver!  Mike Commodore made the flight, so perhaps he'll get some playing time before the road trip ends.

This is what we call respect.

Who's the last player pictured in the NHL's season opening TV ad? Oh yeah, that's right...the Captain.

Drop The Puck!

Sorry, kids...lots of schoolwork to do and college football to watch in advance of the Blue Jackets' opener against Minnesota tonight.  (Go Team Sparty!  w00t!)

Suffice to say, I'm plenty pumped for a great start in the 2009-2010 March to the Playoffs!  Let's go Jackets!

Awesome CBC season opener montage!

What a GREAT montage to open the 2009-2010 NHL season.  The CBC always does such a great job at these:

The song is "Human" by The Killers.

One small suggestion: Keeping in mind that this is the CBC, and it's Hockey Night in Canada, and you have to expect that Canadian teams and native star players would be highlighted....maybe you could show NHL Foundation award winner and Brampton native Rick Nash or Calder Cup winner and Oakville native Steve Mason?  That Crosby character isn't the only Canadian playing in the United States, you know!

Aw, heck with it.  Nasher got the article on Seventeen.com.  Must count for something!

2009-2010 Season Preview: The Central Division

Down Goes Brown is an often-hilarious Toronto Maple Leafs blog (gotta smile to hide the pain, I suppose) that has been doing a division-by-division preview of the NHL for the 2009-2010 season.

While all of the entries are good, I especially like the Nash reference. Yes, it will be a little harder for the Leafs to sign him in the offesason...

2009-2010 Season Preview: The Central Division

Rick Nash profile on Seventeen.com

I can't bear to reproduce this ("teddy-bear cute"?), but here's the link to the profile... "Hockey Season Starts Tonight!"

You would think that if they were looking for buff CBJ players that teens could post on their walls and admire all night long, they would've talked to Nikita Filatov.  Not that I've seen Rick Nash halfway naked, mind you.  Actually, I haven't seen Filatov halfway naked either, but the photos on the web...oh gee.  Is there a good way out of this one?

Drop the puck already!!

@NikitaFilatov: #NHL #cbj #fake #punkkids

The person (kid?) who pretended to be Nikita Filatov on Twitter for the last week or so finally "came clean" and admitted that it was NOT Filatov who was Twittering.  All hail to Eric Smith at HockeyBuzz for sniffing it out.

The whole Filatov Twitterring thing was somewhat cute/fun, even bringing Mike Commodore (who IS Twittering) into the web of deception.  What crossed the line, however, was this post - which was just as false as every other one:

"Interesting, Sergei Nemchinov (coach of CSKA Moscow) called and offered me largest contract offer I have seen so far. Maybe KHL not so bad."

Considering that Filatov's August interview with Russian sports media and the KHL discussion therein caused some unnecessary consternation in Columbus (at least amongst the fan base if not the front office and locker room), this posting was real bad form...especially from a supposed fan of the Blue Jackets.

The Dispatch's Tom Reed posted on the matter on Puck-Rackers, and the perpetrator offered an apology there.  The masses were unsympathetic; good for them.

Here's my repsonse to that person, copied over from the Puck-Rackers comments:

@Coming Clean - It's one thing to mess around and impersonate a person (the Adam Foote impersonator is hysterical).

Now that we know that you're a CBJ fan, however, why you would post the KHL contract offer reference boggles the mind. All that accomplished is raising suspicion and reducing trust in the organization...even for a couple of days.

Sit back and ask yourself: Would a REAL fan do that?

At least you came clean. Let's hope that no damage was done to people, their motives or their reputations.

Ah well.  Case closed.  Let the regular season begin (PLEASE!).