Game 77/Washington: My Take

The Columbus Blue Jackets took their show on the road to the Verizon Center in Washington...taking the Eastern Conference's second best team, the Washington Capitals, to overtime before succumbing, 4-3.

With this loss, the Columbus Blue Jackets are eliminated from 2011 Stanley Cup playoff contention.

THIS.

"A source on Tuesday told The Dispatch that the Blue Jackets -- fed up with losing and frustrated by yet another season out of the playoffs -- are planning to take a hard look at all aspects of the organization this off-season. Majority owner John P. McConnell confirmed as much to the Dispatch today..."

I cannot properly express how pleased I am about this development.

Sure, the Columbus Blue Jackets are closing in on their second-best record ever, but that means that (having only gone to the playoffs once in ten years) that they have nine years of sub-standard performance against which to compare. After the team gave up on Ken Hitchcock, I said that the sub-playoff year of '09-10 had to happen. But implicit in that acceptance was a quick turnaround in '10-11, one that would take this young, talented core to the playoffs. It didn't happen. In fact, the team double-dipped back into the suck.

As a ticket-holder, as a loyal fan, I'm angry about how this season has gone. There is no worthy excuse for this season. The CBJ didn't lose Rick Nash and R.J. Umberger for half the season (a la playoff-qualifying Pittsburgh losing Crosby and Malkin for half the season).  There were no roster-crippling injuries - remember, they won quite a few games without Kristian Huselius.  There were no lengthy suspensions.  No, this team lost it the old-fashioned way...players, coaches and management together.  Guess what self-defeating behavior gets you?  Defeats.  And the CBJ had way too many of them this year.

Now, learning that McConnell is going on record to say that he wants the mess straightened out...that gives me a measure of hope.  That's something I haven't felt with this team since... oh... probably November.

[UPDATE: The full story, with a number of quotes from McConnell, is here.  Bring. It. On.]

Game 76/Florida: My Take

The host Columbus Blue Jackets bested the Florida Panthers, 3-2, in a shootout at Nationwide Arena.

Like so much in this "dead man walking" period of the season, there are two very distinct perspectives that one can take on this game.  I'll try to be fair to both.

Let's start with the negative.  Florida is the number 14 team in the woeful Eastern Conference.  They have a whopping 70 points after picking up the loser point last night.  This was not a good team, and the CBJ should have beaten them.  Thank God that they did.

But enough of that.  Everyone wants to hear good things about their favorite team, and there actually are a couple good things to report out of the game.

The Off Season Cometh

A Hockey Junkie Stares Down Summer

Like many of you, I feel this has been a disappointing season.  The marathon of the NHL regular season started out with a brisk pace over the first few miles for the Columbus Blue Jackets, only to hit the wall at the one third point in the season.  The following slog to the finish line had many high points, and many low points.  We will take the off season to dissect a lot of those things, so no need to dive in now.  Better to look at those in the bright light of summer, when frustrations can be channeled in more concrete directions, such as the erratic flight of small white balls.

But with 7 games left in the season, I for one will take the time to enjoy them for what they are.  A hockey game is a good time.  We are blessed to have the opportunity to see hockey played at the highest level in the world.  And, on occasion, the home team holds up its end of the bargain.

Game 75/Vancouver: My Take

The host Columbus Blue Jackets avoided being the first team since the 1972-73 NHL season to endure three straight shutout losses at home by losing, 3-1, to the Vancouver Canucks at Nationwide Arena.

The tone for the late afternoon game was set in the pregame, where Fox Sports Ohio spent the first five minutes of their 30-minute show outlining how absolutely incredible the NHL standings point leaders were, including an interview of former Vancouver farm team coach Arniel on the awesomeness that is the Canucks.

The feelings of dread came early, and rightfully so.

Game 75/ Vancouver: Gallos' Take

So What DO Luke Richardson and Wade Redden Have to do With This??

Vancouver did not really come out and play hard against the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight.  They didn't really have to.  Realistically, I thought our boys gave it the old college try.  It was not one of those games where the effort was not there.  The CBJ skated hard, and crashed the net.  And every time they crashed the net, a Vancouver defender had their stick tied up or simply knocked them down.  I swear RJ shot the one goal through the pipe.  I was sitting up high on the side where he scored.  I've never heard a pipe so loud.

What we saw was a very balanced team, good on offense, good on defense, preparing itself to run for the cup.  Good luck to Vancouver.  They definitely have a shot.  On our side, there was a big contrast.  We do not have a balanced team.  Our forwards are ok, but they are not supported by adequate D.  The D can't jump up in the offensive zone because they are vulnerable to the breakaway.  When they do shoot from the point, it is usually blocked.  Vancouver blocked a lot of shots, because no one has a shot you are afraid to block.  A baseball analogy might be having a bullpen full of knuckle-ballers and junk ball artists.  After awhile the hitters start standing in and ripping away, because you won't get hurt if you get hit. 

The impact of this (back to hockey), is that the puck is unable to penetrate to where our forwards are, down low trying to generate offensive pressure.  The puck stays high in the O-zone, and forwards have to come out to retrieve it.  Once the puck does go through to the net, there is no support on the shot in the crease to pick up the rebounds. This is because the support is late due to the need to come out for the puck.

So what does this have to do with Luke Richardson and Wade Redden?  Or Adam Foote for that matter?

Game 74/Phoenix: My Take

In their last 10PM start of the 2010-2011 season, the Columbus Blue Jackets lost, 3-0, to the Phoenix Coyotes in front of 215 people at Jobing.com Arena.

Word is that Rick Nash and R.J. Umberger held a closed-door, players-only meeting after the game.  The DBJ blog had a mole in the room, and thus we offer:

THE TOP 10 COMMENTS OVERHEARD AT THE BLUE JACKETS' PLAYERS-ONLY MEETING

1. Rivet, Moreau, Clark, Murray, Hejda, Stralman - Out.  You're not going to be here next year anyway.

2. Guys, the season isn't over yet.  It's really OK to keep scoring.

Last chance workout

Max Mayorov's been hanging around the AHL since bringing
his game to America from Russia.  Is he a legitimate NHL prospect
for the Blue Jackets, or might he be better as trade bait?

The Columbus Blue Jackets appear resigned to their fate as a playoff also-ran and have called forward Maxsim Mayorov up from AHL Springfield.

Mayorov has had a remarkably consistent career in his three AHL seasons, scoring 31, 32 and 30 points in each of those campaigns.  More importantly, he has one year left on his entry-level contract before becoming a restricted free agent.

Mayorov is only 21, something that can't be overlooked, but the numbers suggest that he's treading water in the CBJ's minor league system.  He's not "bad" per se, but he's clearly not lighting up the minor leagues. This, of course, leaves the Blue Jackets in a pickle.  Is this youngster on a trajectory that will have him wind up in the NHL?  Is he an AHL lifer?  If he's neither, where might he fit in?

Beating the CBJ in One Easy Step

Goals against the CBJ in the last 5 games

Crash the Net!

Something that I observed in the Colorado game is that they crashed the net against the Jackets with gusto, and with no apparent consequences.  I had noticed this somewhat in the New Jersey game, and the Detroit game.  So I looked at where goals had been scored against the CBJ in the last 5 games.  The image does not include one blast from the point from Chara in the Boston game.  Other than that, it shows the goal locations for all goals except for shoot out goals.  So what does this mean for the CBJ?  Especially next year? 

Game 73/Colorado: My Take

The Columbus Blue Jackets visited the oft-silent Pepsi Center and snatched defeat from the jaws of victory with a 5-4 shootout loss to the host Colorado Avalanche.

Yeah, arguably the worst team right now in the West.  Yeah, the goalie who washed out of Ottawa.

And they once again proved that no lead is too safe when you're the Columbus Blue Jackets.  And don't get me started on the shootout.