Game 21/Detroit: My Take

With undisputed ownership of first place in the National Hockey League's Western Conference on the line, the upstart Columbus Blue Jackets fell to the Detroit Red Wings, 2-1, last night at a sold-out Nationwide Arena.

Call it whatever you want - a "statement" game, a "bell-weather" game, an "Oh My God, We Have to Play on a FRIDAY" game.  There was no disputing that it was a big game.

And while there are no such things as moral victories, I gotta tell you folks that I am pretty impressed with the  Blue Jackets from last night.  If you had told me after the gut-wrenching home opening loss to the Chicago Blackhawks that the Blue Jackets were going to be not just playing for first in the West at the quarter pole but also largely playing stride for stride with the Stanley Cup-contending (favorite?) Detroit Red Wings, I'd GLADLY take that.

Personalized CBJ 3rds for $98 - TODAY only!

[Just to be clear, this offer has expired.]

From a DBJ reader, another Black Friday promotion of interest to Columbus Blue Jackets fans:

GREAT deal today on shopNHL.com! You can get the new 3rd jersey with FREE customization today only. Enter the coupon code NHL15OFFINSERT at checkout and the third jersey PERSONALIZED becomes 98 bucks plus about $7 shipping. Unlikely to find a personalized 3rd at a better price this Christmas season. Thought you may want to know and let your readers know. 

Thanks for your coverage! 

Go Jackets! Beat the Red Wings!

DBJ Shop or no DBJ Shop...a deal is a deal...and it appears that shop.nhl.com straightened out their inauthentic (is that a word?) lettering and numbering and is giving customers the real thing.  The reader is right...it's a great offer.

DBJ's Black Friday post

 It's that time of year, Columbus Blue Jackets fans, when thoughts turn toward hockey, hockey and getting hockey stuff for your loved ones (and maybe a little something for yourself) for the holidays.

As you're reading this blog, I'm guessing that your hockey shopping preferences tend toward our favorite team, the Columbus Blue Jackets.  So please permit me to offer a small suggestion before you brave the crappy weather and long lines: Check out The Dark Blue Jacket shop.

With over 350 bona fide, unique CBJ items, odds are you can find most anything there.  Either via the links at the top of every page or through the store itself, you've got a treasure trove of gift possibilities with the affordable prices and convenient shopping that Amazon.com is known for.  (The store does not have the new 3rd jerseys, but rest assured that I'll let you all know when they're available.)

It's also worth mentioning that every time you shop at the DBJ Shop, I supposedly get a very small commission on your purchase (I have to cross a specific revenue threshold before Amazon releases any money to me).  Shopping at my store gets you the same prices as shopping at Amazon.com directly, so you still get the same great prices.  It's just a small gesture, then, to support the DBJ blog while taking care of your holiday shopping.  The Dark Blue Jacket blog takes a lot of time and effort to do as reasonably well as I can, and your support - be it through blog comments, clicks on the blog's ads or shopping at the DBJ Shop - is always appreciated.  Oh, and don't forget about buying your tickets through my Seat Geek link.

Many of you haven't had a chance to look at the DBJ Shop yet, so let's check out just a few of the items that you can get through the Dark Blue Jacket and my affiliation with Amazon to give you some flavor:


Happy holidays, everyone!  And Carry The Flag!!

Game 20/New York Islanders: My Take (plus 3rd jersey/mascot thoughts)

The Columbus Blue Jackets turned their four-game winning streak into a five-game winning streak with an overtime win, 4-3, over the New York Islanders at the Nassau Coliseum.  The CBJ are now tied for first place in the NHL's Western Conference with the Detroit Red Wings, setting up a showdown between the top two teams in the West on Friday night at Nationwide Arena.

As I indicated last time, I've got family in town and was unable to watch much of the game.  Like maybe a minute.  Thus, any insights I might have on that front are not worth sharing.

I was, however, front and center in front of the television to see the new third jersey unveiling during the first intermission.  Yeah, I know that I should have been more closely attuned to - I dunno - the actual game on the ice, but I think readers of this blog can appreciate that I've had a strange curiosity about the third jerseys ever since the CBJ announced that one was coming.  Here's the jersey:

Photo from BlueJackets.com

For those who haven't seen, here's the introductory video that aired:

Calling all graphic designers

My buddies over at The Cannon report that they've run afoul of copyright issues with their current blog logo.  To fix the problem, they're holding a contest for a new logo.  Click here for info.

Beyond the fact that The Cannon is a premier CBJ-centric blog in my opinion, and staffed by some great guys, it's also worth knowing that The Cannon is part of the SB Nation group of blogs...and SB Nation blogs get a very healthy share of traffic.  (A winning logo will get seen by a lot of eyeballs.)

Good luck to everyone who enters the contest!

Game 19/Nashville: My Take

The Columbus Blue Jackets returned home after their romp through California to shut out the Central Division rival Nashville Predators, 2-0, at Nationwide Arena.

The win kinda makes this post look cute, dontcha think?

Before I say too much more, a caveat/apology:  I've got lots of family in town already for the Thanksgiving holiday, and I'm just not going to be able to watch the games or CBJ news as closely as I'd like until the crowd disperses next weekend.  Expect that my posts will suffer accordingly.

In this case, however, I'm not sure it matters.  Rick Nash scored again, a sign that Arniel's reconstituted top line is Jack Adams Award-worthy.  That trio of Nash-Brassard-Voracek is, to borrow the sportscaster's phrase, "En Fuego."

A Predators blogger's take on the Blue Jackets

Unless you've been living under a rock (or found this blog Googling for "blue jackets" and thought you were going to find a Brooks Brothers wannabe site), you are aware that the Columbus Blue Jackets hockey club is back from a rockin'-great West Coast road trip and will be taking on the Central Division rival Nashville Predators tonight at 7PM at Nationwide.

Considering the inconsistent performance that the CBJ have had at home, and that Nashville clearly needs to be conquered in order for the Blue Jackets to have a clear road to the Stanley Cup playoffs, I consider this a Very Big Game in the grand scheme of things.  Not a "must win" or a "should win" (considering that the CBJ have had trouble beating Nashville over the years), but a legit Very Big Game.

DBJ's last stab at the CBJ third jersey

Yup, another Columbus Blue Jackets third jersey speculation post.

I'm like a moth around a lightbulb with this topic.  I know that if I touch it, I'm gonna get fried - but I keep hovering around.  So here goes.

Let's review what we think we know.  Keep in mind Rumsfeld's counsel:





Sage advice, indeed.  So this is what's out there thus far:

1. The front will likely have a cannon-themed logo
2. The design will be "old school"
3. The Blue Jackets have had this "crossed cannons" logo floating out there for a while.  
4. Chris Clark likes the colors.  (No link on this one, but I recall it from coverage of his visit to a local library.)
5. Oh yeah, the colors and "artillery" reference of this - from the Blue Jackets themselves:

Then, thanks to the info-hounds at HF Boards, we have this nugget:

Here's been my guess for the whole early part of the season. You know those new cool [CBJ Foundation] Hats for Heroes hats, that are really dark blue, with the star on them, with the little striping on the very front middle of the bill? That striping color is the new main color. It's a brighter blue than 'union'.

Here's the hat in question:

Hmmm...I think we're onto something.  But, of course, I could be wrong.  I have been almost all the way through this parlor game, you know...

Game 18/San Jose: My Take

The Columbus Blue Jackets wrapped up what could only be described as a magical West Coast road trip by defeating the San Jose Sharks, 3-0, at the dreaded Shark Tank.

Rick Nash scored all three goals, with two ball caps hitting the ice after his empty netter in the closing minute of play.  It's becoming more and more evident that the coaching staff had a talk with Rick, telling him to stop being a playmaker for his teammates and start working toward a Rocket Richard Trophy.  Guess that's what happens when your team can't score more than three a game.  Matters not, the scoring is a treat to watch.

Game 17/Anaheim: My Take

The Columbus Blue Jackets stared down the grim face of history on Friday night, never giving in (or giving up) against a tenacious Anaheim Ducks squad at the Honda Center.  The Blue Jackets won, 4-3, marking their first Friday win of the season.

Or was it Saturday?  I mean, the victory wasn't sealed until after midnight Columbus time.  Curse these West Coast trips...

Anyway, onto the game.  It seems like only yesterday that I wrote this:

All the CBJ will do is come into your house, track mud onto the carpet, empty your fridge, eat your chips, turn on all the lights...and send your fans home unhappy. 

That's what the Columbus Blue Jackets do this year.

And again, it rings true.  Those plucky Blue Jackets just don't seem to realize that they're supposed to lose their way through these West Coast trips, that it's the Los Angeleses and San Joses and Vancouvers who are supposed to threaten the Detroit/Chicago (but certainly not the rest of the Central Division) hegemony in the West.  This crystallized for me in the final 1-2 seconds of the game, where Corey Perry realized that his team was going to lose to Columbus and, in a fit of exasperation, hauled off and sucker-punched Antoine Vermette.