Now What?

I used this Bobrovsky illustration by @PREDSmyth again cause I like it.

Here we are, unexpectedly, certainly against all hope, in the off season.  The finale of the season was an incredible high.  Not making the playoffs is a low, but not of the same magnitude for me.  I was reading through the season re-cap in the Columbus Dispatch this morning (I like to have that newspaper in the morning), and I was reminded how many times this season that choices or direction hinged on the results of one game.  The amazing thing about this team, is they nearly always won that game.

Thinking about the time leading up to the trade deadline, and I felt 'gosh, they win a game or two here, and they might be buyers at the deadline'.  Well, they won those games.  Then there was the incredible road trip to end the season in which they went 5-1.  I don't know how many times before that road trip that I said 'stick a fork in them, they're done'.  But the teams resiliency and belief came through time and again, to build up to the fantastic crescendo at the finale.

So now what?

Never forget: Sergei Bobrovsky

The DBJ team, like much of the Columbus Blue Jackets fanbase, is still recovering from the roller-coaster season and climactic ending to the 2013 campaign.  I'm sure we'll come up with some appropriately insightful  post-mortems, but I wanted to make sure that I shared this video of surefire Vezina contender Sergei Bobrovsky from Saturday's Nashville game.


Seven shots in rapid fire succession.  None passed by him.  I've never seen anything like it.  Such an incredible display. I hope to see something like this again but can't take what we saw for granted.

@Morgan_Ward_140's Six-Pack for Game 48: The Nashville Predators

Columbus Blue Jackets 3 - The Nashville Predators 1
9th in the Western Conference

Full many a flower are born to blush unseen and waste its sweetness upon the desert air
                      - Thomas Grey from Elegy in a Courtyard Church

It's the best reference I could come up with to describe how I feel right now.  The Jackets played 19-5-5 since March 1st and miss the playoffs by virtue of a tie breaker. The hockey the Jackets have played the last 8 weeks is nothing shy of phenomenal.  The NHL's second season is about to begin, and the blossoming Jackets will have to be heartbroken bridesmaids one more.  It's easy to be one of the 19,002 at Nationwide Arena tonight and bemoan the 'what would have been' if there wasn't a disallowed goal here, or a hosing by the officials there.'  Truth be told, February cost the Jackets the a chance at post season glory and nothing else.  Still I, like so many others, can't help but feel nostalgic about the this past season as it is merely minutes from being over.  But the focus of this post is tonight's game, and not a weepy eyed "back in 82" retelling of this season.

It's Time to Bring the Thunder

Sergei Bobrovsky by @PREDSmyth, stick tap to @RedditCBJ for
passing this along

Saturday the most recent crop of BlueJackets fans will get a unique opportunity in Nationwide Arena.  In all likelihood you have heard some of the older, core group of fans speak longingly of Game 4 of the 2008-09 playoffs, of the thunderous noise in Nationwide Arena, and the unbelievable experience that the game was.  Blah, blah, blah, yawn, 'Yeah but I wasn't there so it doesn't mean that much to me'.  This is your chance to experience that atmosphere folks.  However, there are some important differences between Saturday's game and Game 4.

First and foremost, it is important to remember that Game 4 was a lost cause.  Yeah, maybe we would win a game, but the Redwings were going to win that series.  There wasn't any doubt there.  Tomorrow's game could not hold a greater contrast.  The game on Saturday is all about winning.  It is a win or go home game, and there is no chance of making the playoffs if we don't win.  We may be disappointed in the end, but we must win tomorrow.  It is time to sell out folks, it's now or never.

I went to that Game 4 of the 2008-09 playoffs with a firm resolve not to be cheated.  No matter how the game turned out, I was going to let it all out for the CBJ.  Saturday's game is not about fearing that you may be cheated.  Saturday's game is about a huge, monstrous celebration of what the 2012-13 team has accomplished.  But, there is business at hand as well, and a hockey game to be won.  So a few things to consider before you go to the game.

1. There is nothing that you might want to use your voice for on Sunday that is more important than this game.  The last home game was nice and loud.  About average for a pre-Arniel crowd.  We are looking for another order of magnitude.  You don't need that voice on Sunday.  Send a text message.

2. One of the striking things about the Game 4 experience was that the team quickly fell behind by two goals, but the crowd just got louder.  We MUST have this on Saturday!!  If the Preds should score a goal, we need to take the noise to another level. Trust me, the team will respond to it.  When the going gets tough, the tough get going.  We need to be a loud, raucous, tough crowd tomorrow.

3. Enjoy this with every fiber of your being.  Saturday's game is a gift from the players and coaches, wrought with hard work and faith.  A playoff showdown that will go down to the wire.  As a fan, you can't really ask for more. Get loud!  Get rowdy!  But carry a sense of joy with you as you do so (thanks Claude).  This is the good stuff, a time to be enjoyed.

This is playoff hockey.  It is time for the thunder to return to Nationwide Arena.  It's up to the fans to bring it.

GO JACKETS!!!

DBJ's six-pack for Game 47: Dallas

Columbus 3 - Dallas 1
23-17-7, 53 points, 9th in the Western Conference

The Columbus Blue Jackets wrapped up the Six Game Roadie From Hell with a 3-1 regulation win against the host Dallas Stars at American Airlines Arena.

The Blue Jackets went 5-1-0 on the road trip, which in itself is impressive.  Even more impressive, however, is how the Blue Jackets are single-handedly keeping themselves in the Western Conference playoff chase while pretty much every single other game that needs to go Columbus' way isn't.  Detroit capitalized on their game in hand and leapfrogged the Blue Jackets into 8th place (They since have jumped over Minnesota into 7th.).  Absent help, the Blue Jackets have just kept winning.

Winning won't be enough, however, to make the step into the playoffs.  They still need to win on Saturday against Nashville, but they'll also need:

•  Detroit to lose in regulation on Saturday against Dallas, or 
• Minnesota to lose their final two games - with at least one loss in regulation.  

No small order.  

But enough of the looking forward.  Let's crack open a six-pack and reflect on what we just saw.

Always feeling this happy

Some of the things that set this blog apart from its contemporaries is our ability to have open and honest conversation about the Columbus Blue Jackets.   We love the team as much as everybody else, but have a different set of expectations.  The last 12 years have been exceedingly frustrating for me as a Columbus Blue Jackets fan.  I looked around the league and saw the things that successful franchises were doing and, to me, it never seemed like the Blue Jackets were interested in doing those things – until this season.

Hi, I'm the Blue Jackets, can we come in?

@Morgan_Ward_140's Six-Pack for game 46: Sharks de San Jose

Lumbus 4 - San Jose Sharks 3 - F
8th Place in the Western Conference

I went ahead and put my twitter handle in the title of tonight's post.  I feel bad when Tom's DBJ twitter account gets peppered with response's to my posts, so there it is. 

The Blue Jackets enter tonight's game in San Jose needing to win all three games (preferably in regulation) and combined with the Stars and Wings to gain no more than 4 points in their remaining game to make the playoffs.  That formula gets the Jackets in the playoffs without having to worry about tie-breakers.  It's also means there are a lot of other games to watch that impact the Jackets.  How the Wings, Stars, and Wild play all impact the Blue Jackets, so by proxy we become fans of the Blue Jackets and "whoever is playing the Red Wings."  But tonight our focus is on the Blue Jacket's roadie in San Jose, a team that the Jackets have played well this season.  And well they did on this night.

Gallos' Six-Pack for Game 45: L.A. Kings

The Columbus Blue Jackets lost to the host LA Kings for the first time on this road trip tonight 2-1 breaking a 5 game winning streak.  The teams came at each other pretty hard in the first period.  In spite of it being a back to back for the CBJ, they seemed to have some jump in the first period.  The Kings were showing why they were champs last year, and brought a lot of pressure on the CBJ.  With a player for each team off for roughing, Dalton Prout took a hooking call, and in the ensuing 4 on 3 power play LA scored, and the period ended at 1-0 LA.  

In the second period, LA came out pushing hard.  In the middle of the period, the CBJ seemed to get some traction, and Blake Comeau forced a turn over in the LA zone.  He sent the puck back to Prout, who scored his first NHL goal with a shot from the point, which may have deflected off a Kings player. Nonetheless, this tied the game.  Unfortunately, LA came right back and scored within a minute and a half and restored their one goal lead.  The second period ended with the CBJ down 2-1.

As the third period progressed, the Jackets brought more and more pressure, but they were unable to solve the Kings defense, and the Kings win 2-1.

1. My first cold adult beverage goes to Sergei Bobrovsky.  How could it not?  The CBJ are leaning hard on the young net minder, and he is answering the bell.  The Kings got a goal in off a defenseman's skate and one that Bob did not see.  What he could see, he was stopping.  Incredible performances down the stretch here, no matter how things turn out.

Dalton Prout and Cam Atkinson in Development Camp

2. My second cold beer goes to Dalton Prout, who scored the first goal of his NHL career to represent the total scoring by the CBJ.  Prout played a solid all around game, and benefited from a great pass by Comeau and a couple of deflections of his shot on the way to the net.  He has been very solid since coming up from Springfield.  

The Jackets have done a great job on this road trip, and I'm not about to start awarding skunk beers. But I do have a few thin, watery Natty Lights to pass out.

3. My third beer, a fine Natty Light, good for the waistline and all that goes to the defensive pairing of Savard and Erixon.  Admittedly, this is a tough position for these guys to be in, but it seemed clear that they were not ready for playoff hockey, especially on the road.  More development work in store for these two,and hopefully a big summer to get them more ready for next year.

4. My fourth beer, a tepid Natty Light goes to the power play.  You can't do anything in the playoffs without a power play, and the lights look out on the power play.  Its not a real threat.

5. My fifth beer, a warm flat Natty Light goes to the defensive effort after Prout scored the goal to even up the score.  Guys falling down, a really half-hearted, glide up, wave your stick in the general area of the defenseman check by Gaborik which gave the time and space for the shot on the net that lead to the game winning goal.  A little bit of pressure on that shot would have made a big difference, but that would require the feet to be moved.

6. My sixth, warm, found under the truck seat a year later, flat, Natty Light goes to Jeff Carter for being a big #Boomer.  That's one of the privileges of passing out the beers!

Were the CBJ outworked?  Meh.  This is a really tough game on a back to back.  They brought a pretty good effort considering the number of games they have played.  The loss doesn't hurt too much, the Jackets are still in eighth place.  It puts more pressure on the other games, but since they started the road trip winning three straight, they took the pressure off this game.  But they still need to win some games down the stretch.

Ugh.  Todd Richards just announced that Matt Calvert  has a broken finger.  He'll be out for awhile.  Boone?

Next up the Sharks on Thursday.  Another tough game, but a day of rest in between.  They CBJ have to get some points.  

GO JACKETS!!!

DBJ's six-pack for Game 44: The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim

Columbus 3 - Anaheim 2 (OT)
21-16-7, 8TH PLACE IN THE WESTERN CONFERENCE

The Columbus Blue Jackets' twenty-first recreation of Sherman's March through Georgia continued tonight in California, where the visitors stole two standings points away from the host Anaheim Ducks in overtime at Honda Center.

And with that, my friends, the Blue Jackets have leapfrogged the Detroit Red Wings (!!!) and assumed sole possession of eighth place in the Western Conference.

That's right.  8th place.  If the season ended tomorrow, the Blue Jackets would be playing Stanley Cup Playoff hockey for just the second time in its history.

Wow.  Wow.  Wow.

Four games left in the regular season...

Thanks, Calgary, for everything.
And for beating Detroit tonight.

I crowdsourced this six-pack, so congrats to everyone who helped make this possible!

1. Beer number one goes to uber-CBJ optimist John Kemp's favorite Blue Jacket, Blake Comeau, for goal number one.  The first half of the game was a slog, with Anaheim playing the CBJ card and dropping everything but the kitchen sink back into defensive coverage to stymie the Blue Jackets' shooting.  Comeau tips a James Wisniewski shot in to loosen the game back up.  Huge goal.  Kemp weeps with joy.  (But he still won't tell his kids that Nash was traded.)

2. Beer number two goes to Matt Calvert. Union Marc suggested that "cause no one has left his heart on his sleeve" like Matty Ice.  I give him all sorts of credit for keeping the motor running, but the beer comes for production:

We're going to beat this photo like a dead horse.
It is nothing but meme fodder.  

3. The third beer shall go to your personal friend and mine, Detroit Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard.  "Jimmeh" let three pucks slip by, and that's all it took for Calgary to help Columbus vault into playoff contention.  (Hat tip to RedditCBJ and RobSal53)

4. My man, Fedor Tyutin, tipped in the game winner in overtime off a Nick Foligno shot - so let's give 'em one of those $9 Nationwide Arena tallboys to share.  Nobody apparently loves Tyutin, but trumarvel, jahykes, TheAngryJacket and MasonAnimation all love them some Foligno, the overtime specialist.

I like Tyutin.

There's something beautiful about an overtime winning goal.  It's like a walk-off home run.  We score, and that's it.  Start the party.

5. For enduring overtime hockey in Southern California, the fifth beer goes to The Blue Jackets Fans.  This 1AM wrapup stuff is for the birds, but it's the playoff chase and we stay up regardless.  Mellington73, stefanbneeley, WhalerJacket (who, I'll have you know, was one of the crew at the late, great CBJ blog, "Tea with Mrs. McGill") and danamctigue all made it to the finish line and reminded me that it's not about the team...it's about the fans.  True dat.

6. Yes, Erik, you can have a pity beer.  Poor soul.

@darkbluejacket My stream cut out about 15 sec before the GWG.Pity beer?
— Erik Bobbitt (@erikBobbitt) April 18, 2013

WERE THE BLUE JACKETS OUTPLAYED TONIGHT?  I felt all along that the Blue Jackets were applying the pressure...it was one of those games where we simply had to stay at the level of the opponent and stick around until the end.  They did, and they won.  So no, they were not outplayed.

NEXT UP: Because one night of late night hockey wasn't enough, we're going to do it all over again tomorrow.  Or I guess it's today by now.  How about, we're going to do it all over again later...say, at 10:30PM EDT?  That's right, the Los Angeles Kings will be hosting the Blue Jackets at Staples Center.

Bob Says Nyet (a kinda-sorta advertisement)

Before the season, this guy out of Philadelphia wrote me to congratulate me (and, presumably, my favorite hockey team as I really had nothing to do with it) on bringing goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky to Central Ohio.  He then offered to sell me his unsold inventory of Bobrovsky fan shirts.  I'm not into running an merchandise shop out of my pantry closet, so I passed.  Plus, I wasn't sold that Bobrovsky was going to unseat Steve Mason in net.

Get your gear to honor Columbus' First Czar!

But time passed as well, and Bob wound up being something special in Columbus.  Now I felt bad, not for me as I still don't want a bunch of unsold T-shirts and hoodies in a box under my bed but rather for the Columbus fans who have been deprived this nifty looking shirt.  I suppose I also felt a tad stupid for not jumping on the bandwagon earlier.  Thus, I wrote the gentleman back and offered to give him a blog post to hawk his wares.