DBJ's 5 Thoughts on Game 41: Anaheim

Anaheim 7 - Columbus 4
11-25-5, 5th in Central Division, 15th in Western Conference

[Edited by DBJ to correct the time/date stamp and get the blog in proper chronological order.  The author for this piece was Greg May.]

In the third game of this four game road trip, the Blue Jackets lost to the Anaheim Ducks by a score of 7-4. It was a wild one on several levels.

1. Why? That is the question many Blue Jackets fans were asking when they learned Steve Mason was getting the start over Curtis Sanford, who had just posted the team's first shutout of the season one night earlier against a red-hot L.A Kings team. Counting the San Jose game, his first game back since injuring his right hip two weeks ago, Sanford had stopped 68 of 70 shots on this roadie, a .971 save percentage.

Mason, on the other hand, hadn't started since riding herd on a kick-in-the-gut 4-2 loss to Washington at home on New Years Eve, a game in which he surrendered all four goals in the third period to eviscerate a 2-0 Jackets lead. For whatever reason (and who really cares what it was), Arniel opted to go with Mason against the Ducks. If Mason's New Year's resolution was not to give up four goals in a period again, it only lasted eight days.

Mason got beat every which way in the first period, giving up four goals on 16 shots. After letting in a high glove-side snapper by Andrew Cogliano off a juicy rebound, Mason proceeded to get beat high glove side again by Corey Perry, on a wrap-a-round by Teemu Selanne after it appeared Mason quit on the play and lost the puck behind the net, and finally on a five-hole wrister by Saku Koivu. I will add the usual caveats: the team came out flat, turned the puck over charitably and got outshot 16-8 in the first period. Still, even Arniel had seen enough of Mason at that point.

So, for those counting at home, that's 8 goals against on 24 shots for Mason in his last two periods. With Mark Dekanich now rehabbing in Springfield, the Blue Jackets might finally have a viable alternative to keeping Mason on the roster. As for the long term, here's something to consider that DBJ himself dug up (which he tweeted to me from his "undisclosed location'). Seems like a reasonable expenditure of a million and some change at this point, doesn't it?

Part V: The Dark Blue Jacket's Definitive History of the CBJ

The Howsonian Era -  The Later Stagnation Period to the New Reformation!

The Columbus Blue Jackets Cannon Logo

Arrrggghhh!  This thing has me by the throat, and the puck drops tomorrow!!  Must....blog......harder....    OK, ok, focus.

We last left this tale at the end of the glorious 2008-09 season, when the Columbus Blue Jackets lifted the playoff stigma from their resume, and made the post season for the first time.

By virtue of their strong showing, they picked 21st in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, selecting Defenseman John Moore.  In the off season they parted ways with Freddy Modin, Michael Peca, and Jason Williams.  Optimism was high, the pundits largely picked the squad to finish where it had the previous year, much as they are picking the 2011-12 CBJ to finish where they did last year (shocking newzzzz!)

Game 66/St. Louis: My Take

The Columbus Blue Jackets played the St. Louis Blues for the second time in three nights and lost, 4-3, in overtime tonight at Nationwide Arena.

After a scoreless first period, the Blue Jackets went on a 3-0 tear in the second with goals by Voracek, Umberger and Mackenzie. The Blues then scored 3 unanswered goals (1 in the 2nd, 2 in the 3rd) - and took the game in overtime.

That's right, up 3-0 and then losing 4-3. Not much more needs to be said.

NEXT UP: The Blue Jackets host the Los Angeles Kings at Nationwide Arena on Friday night.

Game 61/Nashville: My Take

The Columbus Blue Jackets started the last significant western road trip of the season this afternoon in Nashville and the host Predators beat the CBJ, 3-2, in regulation.

There are 82 games in the season...there are 82 games in the season...there are 82 games in the season...

Now that I have that blood pressure-lowering Moment of Zen out of the way, let's proceed.  In my opinion, this game was lost on two plays:

The first is the easy one.  Derek Mackenzie followed up on an R.J. Umberger shot by slamming the puck in at the corner of the net for an apparent goal.  Or was it?




[Special thanks to @RyanReal for his letting me know about the television feed.  While it's choppy, it gets the point across pretty clearly.]

Game 57/Los Angeles: My Take

The streaking Columbus Blue Jackets welcomed the streaking Los Angeles Kings to Nationwide Arena tonight and, in the first playoff-caliber game in a long while, lost in the shootout to the Kings, 4-3.

I'm a tad under the weather and will keep this short.  Perhaps Gallos, who was on hand, could add some thoughts in the comments.  Everyone else, you're welcome to contribute as well.

• Rick Nash is a man possessed.  He is pulling every string possible to will this team to win.  Tonight, it wasn't enough.  Other nights, it will be.  All I can say to the rest of the NHL is "He's Rick Nash - and you're not."  
• R.J. Umberger left the ice injured (a knee/leg on knee/leg hit), came back, and threw his body around like he was the only Blue Jacket on the ice.  Whereas Nash was flying high based upon skill, Umberger was on sheer will and guts.  Helluva combination.

Observation from practice

For the first time in way too long, the Dark Blue Toddler and I ventured down this morning to Nationwide Arena to check in on the Columbus Blue Jackets' open practice in anticipation of tomorrow's tilt with the streaking (7-1-2 in their last 10 - Yow!) Los Angeles Kings.

When reached for comment about practice,
the Dark Blue Toddler stopped on the stairs to say,
"Up! Up! UP! Down! Down! DOWN! Hockey! Boom!"

The visit was punctuated by a pre-practice breakfast with DBT at the Arena District's Sunny Street Cafe on Nationwide Boulevard, where we redeemed a Groupon and he gnawed on perhaps the largest "dinosaur" pancake that I've ever seen.  (They apprently pour the batter into a 8-inch long dinosaur mold, kinda like a cookie cutter for pancakes.)  Of course, the DBT is the discriminating type, so he ate my home fries instead.  At least I got coffee.  And Sunny Street is a great way to kick off your CBJ practice morning.  Nice folks, fast service.

As for practice, I got pretty much what I've come to expect with the little man.  DBT runs the stairs and the rows nonstop (only stopping to tell me what row letter I've parked in to monitor him while he tears around sections 114 and 115), and I get about 15 minutes of actual observation during a one-hour practice.

Most notable from practice was who was NOT out there: Steve Mason.  We now know that Mase has bronchitis and a "minor" pulled groin (how such a muscle pull can be "minor" is beyond me).  With that, and no goalie callup from Springfield, we were treated to the CBJ equipment manager in net.  I think I got a taste of what the diminutive Darren Pang would have looked like between the pipes for the Blue Jackets.  Actually, the guy did OK considering they weren't pushing him too hard out there.

Game 37/Toronto: My Take

Making their once every two years pilgrimage to the Air Canada Centre on Thursday night, the Columbus Blue Jackets emerged victorious against the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-2, in regulation for their second straight win.

At risk of being a buzz-kill, this was a matchup of two 13th place teams.  I appreciate that 13th in the West means you're almost qualifying for the playoffs (by virtue of being 4 points out of 8th) whereas 13th in the East means...well, you're not very good.  But this was most definitely a "should win" if not a "must win" (to get back in the playoff hunt, you start by picking off the weaker teams).  And they won, two points for the good guys, bumping the CBJ up to 11th by the end of the evening with a 19-15-3 record (41 points).

Sestito returns to Springfield

Gone but not forgotten - Tommy Sestito left his mark...
literally...on the NHL in his nine games with Columbus.

The Columbus Blue Jackets gave the AHL Springfield Falcons a huge (literally) Christmas present in the person of 6'5", 228-pound forward Tommy Sestito, who apparently was the odd man out in a roster squeeze that resulted from the imminent return of Derek MacKenzie from injured reserve.

In nine games with the Blue Jackets, Sestito tallied 2 goals and 2 assists for 4 points.  Looking at the perspective of the scoring-anemic CBJ, those four points are nothing to sneeze at.  Sestito not only used his size to barrel his way through the defense, but he also appeared to be the "missing link" in the power play, setting up shop in the crease with such force that even the vaunted Roberto Luongo started complaining.  One of the long-envied aspects of the Detroit Red Wings' game is the ability of Tomas Holmstrom to control the crease and make goalies' lives miserable.  For nine games, it looked like we might have our own such player.

Who stays? Who goes?

Interesting little tidbit from the Dispatch guys today on Twitter:

[The Columbus Blue Jackets] said the magic words to MacKenzie and Wilson: "Get a place." On 2-way contracts, but told they'll be staying w #CBJ.

First, and let's not minimize this, let's congratulate Derek Mackenzie and Kyle Wilson.  Both guys are former AHL lifers who have busted their tails off to stick in the NHL and, for both guys, it's the first times in their careers that they will actually do so.  I waxed (reasonably) eloquent about Wilson after his shootout winner on Monday night, and my "Time to Step Up" piece on MacKenzie says all I need to say on him.  Presuming that the two guys perform at an NHL level, more power to them.  It's great to see merit getting rewarded, something that both Scott Arniel and Scott Howson are doing despite the strange world of the NHL collective bargaining agreement, with issues involving waivers, one-way/two-way contracts, salary caps, etc.

Pleasantries aside, let's get to the heart of the matter.  Why is the front office telling these two guys to plan on sticking around for the season at this specific moment?

Game 22/Detroit: My Take

The Columbus Blue Jackets traveled to Joe Louis Arena to salvage half of a home-and home weekend series with the Detroit Red Wings and left empty-handed in a 4-2 loss.

After taking a 1-0 lead on a Derick Brassard tip-in at the end of the first period, the CBJ gave up two goals in 14 seconds in the middle of the second period.  Clearly rattled but still determined, the Jackets mustered the necessary competitive effort to compete with the (in my opinion) prohibitive Stanley Cup favorites until the start of the third period, when Valtteri Filppula took advantage of a Steve Mason rebound that had zero defensive back-side assistance and flipped one in the back of the net to make it 3-1.  The game appeared over until late in the third when the second power play unit (in a desperation empty-net configuration comprised of Umberger, Vermette, Brassard, Voracek, Russell and MacKenzie) finally slipped one past the Red Wings' penalty kill  to make it 3-2 with 1:30 to go.




It ended up being too little, too late, with the Wings dropping an empty netter in to end the game.

One of the downsides of actually being able to watch the vast majority of the game when it's a loss is that it  allows me the opportunity to gauge the demonstrable mindset of the two teams and, when a game starts as a virtual stalemate, to identify the moment when the game swung out of control.  (Gee, why I can't a get a rousing home win to have nearly three solid hours in front of the TV?  Did it have to be this game?)

Game 5/Anaheim: My take

(Yeah, I went there with the graphic.  It was either that or George Parros' mustache.)

In an oddly satisfying game, a banged-up Columbus Blue Jackets squad beat a banged-up Anaheim Ducks squad, 3-1, in regulation.  The CBJ could reasonably be expected to beat the Ducks.  The JacketsBlog called it a "must win," an assertion with which I initially agreed until The Hockey Writers' Jeff Little tempered the language to be a "should win."  "Should win" -- I like that.

The CBJ should have won tonight's game, and they did.

Time to step up: End of training camp

After the Columbus Blue Jackets' 4-3 win over the (hapless) Atlanta Thrashers on Saturday night, the team boarded a 757-200 at Port Columbus airport and made the flight to Stockholm, Sweden to open the 2010-2011 National Hockey League regular season against the San Jose Sharks.  And with that, training camp and the pre-season functionally ended.

Sure, the CBJ will play an exhibition game on Tuesday at 1PM EST against the Malmo Redhawks, but it's hard to consider that game as an NHL-caliber pre-season game and thus won't be counted in my statistical analysis.  The game could have merit related to individual performances, player injuries (getting hurt, coming back from injury) or chemistry developments, not to mention the rumored yellow and red jerseys.  But let's keep it in perspective - it's not NHL competition, and it's not an NHL game.

I did a mid-preseason review after the first four games, and let's continue it with the last 4.  It's a mixed bag, to be sure, but I think I can offer some spots for optimism.

OFFENSE

Team	Total Shots	Total Goals	Conversion %	Shots/Game	Goals/Game
10-11 CBJ - Full Preseason	247	25	10.12%	30.88	3.13
10-11 CBJ - Preseason games 5-8	112	13	11.61%	28.00	3.25
10-11 CBJ - Preseason games 1-4	135	12	8.89%	33.75	3.00
09-10 CBJ	2,338	214	9.15%	28.51	2.61
08-09 CBJ	2,490	217	8.71%	30.37	2.65
09-10 Washington Capitals	2,693	313	11.62%	32.84	3.82
09-10 Pittsburgh Penguins	2,688	249	9.26%	32.78	3.04
09-10 Phoenix Coyotes	2,502	211	8.43%	30.51	2.57

The obvious area for excitement is the conversion percentage - the percentage of shots that become goals. The Columbus Blue Jackets started the preseason with a conversion rate that, while not horrible, wasn't going to set the hockey world's hair on fire.  In the back half of the preseason, however, the conversion percentage hopped up a few points and rivaled the percentage of the most prolific scoring team in the NHL last season, the Washington Capitals.

Time to step up: Derek Mackenzie

• Center
• 29 years old, 8th year in National Hockey League
• $600,000 cap hit 
• 1.0% of Columbus Blue Jackets salary cap
• Contract expires at end of 2011-2012
• 2009-2010 numbers: 18 games played, 1 goal, 3 assists, 4 points, +3, zero penalty minutes, 8:41 avg. time on ice

If you don't like Derek Mackenzie, you're dead inside.  

This is a guy who pretty much lives out of a duffle bag all season long.  He shuffles back and forth to Syracuse (now Springfield) to captain the Blue Jackets' AHL franchise and, as soon as the CBJ get their first injury hit, hops a plane/train/car to Columbus and plugs a hole.  Again.  And again.  And again.

In fact, I remember one point last season where the callup was extended beyond the usual cup of coffee, and Mackenzie had to buy another pair of jeans.  That's his life, and he just keeps on, keepin' on.  

Maybe there is some justice - perhaps the Blue Jackets let him keep the frequent flyer miles that he piles up while shuttling back and forth.  I bet that would translate into an awesome post-season trip to a beach somewhere.