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| Los Angeles 2 - Columbus 1 30th in NHL - 1st overall draft pick (lottery notwithstanding) |
It's going to be a distinctly sleep-deprived six-pack tonight...
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| Sorry, LTL...these late starts call for caffeine. |
1. We'll let the first cup 'o' joe go to Tim Erixson and Cody Goloubef. Not too far removed from AHL Springfield, it could be argued that they played better than the only "regular" pairing on the ice tonight, Fedor Tyutin and Nikita Nikitin.
Wait, that's not fair to Tyutin. The kids played better than Nikitin, though, by a country mile. Nikki 6's turnovers were directly responsible for L.A.'s goals tonight.
3. Nick Foligno gets his coffee with an extra shot of espresso for the sole CBJ goal of the game, scored just before 1:00 AM Eastern Time. Ugh. (The goal is partial redemption for not getting a recordable shot off on a two-on-zero breakaway. Talk about "ugh".)
4. New CBJ general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen gets a cup, because I think tonight was a terrific case study in the challenges facing this team. Next to no scoring punch (13 shots on goal for the entire game?), somewhat decent defense that is prone to catastrophic turnovers, OK but not great goaltending. I bet he's just thinking, "I have three first-round picks in June."
5. I'm going to throw a McDonald's hot coffee all over the sadist who scheduled this game to be played as absolutely late as the NHL schedule allows. Starting a game at 10:30 EST is insane, and I don't care that it's being played in L.A. It's too damned late.
This again reinforces the point that the Blue Jackets simply are not a "West" team. Columbus is in the Eastern Time Zone - the furthest east of all Western Conference teams. It's killing the fans to have these overnight games. It's been killing us, and it doesn't get any easier. PLEASE, NHL, move Columbus to the Eastern Conference!
6. Take a moment to salute the warrior fans who made it to the bitter end despite a frustrating game from the Blue Jackets: bunktuzzi44, RGaren, Money0818, Edge261, Howye, alfred117, jcale1982, Matt44G, MasonAnimation, Mellington73, bzarcher, BenCohn27, CBJacob1, osujoe, mikeGerschutz, mike09at & SpicyCalzone. Coffees for all! (You're all certifiably insane.)
WERE THE CBJ OUTWORKED? Yup. Coach Richards said so, Brandon Dubinsky said so, bzarcher said so. The trifecta.
NEXT UP: Because it would only make sense to stick around town for a back-to-back and get the Anaheim game out of the way, the scheduling demons instead decided to send the Blue Jackets to Glendale, Arizona tomorrow night. Then they go back to Anaheim on Monday. Whatever. Coyotes are up next, and no complaining that Shane Doan is dirty (though he might be).
Tom:
ReplyDeleteThis cup of java from Tim Horton's is for you since you stayed up and put together the 6-pack. Three quick thoughts:
1. This game had no redeeming value.
2. You're g-damn right the NHL needs to move C-bus to the Eastern Conf.
3. I am getting a little peeved with Coach Richards on pinning losses on players alone. He, too, has a major responsibility of getting the Arch City boys motivated. I understand he isn't the one putting on the skates but what about lighting a fire in them? Playing listless hockey is unacceptable and I sure hope as soon as Keks arrives from Helsinki that he'll let that be known.
Doktor Z
Thanks, Tom, for staying up to compose this blog. It brings closure to another bad night for CBJ fans. As with the others who stayed up to watch this 'game', getting through Saturday will be a chore.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Doktor Z's point #3. Richards must do more than drive the team bus and turn on the DVD. The team has no effective compass once the game starts. When we see the train wreck in progress, no one intervenes. No coach; no captain. A deadly combination for this gang.