East Hatred: Buffalo Sabres

With tonight's game against the Sabres we get our next edition of why we should hate this-team-we-barely-know.

With the Sabres comes a team that we have a little bit to build on to get to hatin' them. Mainly due to the bus loads of drunken Sabres fans that have spilled onto Front St. for their few visits to our fair city.

Before we go full on "DIE SABRES!!" this evening, some notes on their fans: These people are loyal to a fault. Unlike some other fan bases that we'll get to later in the season, Buffalo fans don't jump on and off the bandwagon with each win or loss. These people love their Sabres and have for years.

Credit where it's due is over...

Six hours of drinking on a bus for a road game is a lot of fun, I've done it. Buffalo fans have it down to a science and arrive at maximum inebriation an hour or so before puck drop. The last time they visited, it lead to some very interesting, um, encounters in the concourses.

But, drunken visiting fans isn't enough to go full hatred on them. A good start, but every team has drunken fans.

Hating the team itself will take some work, and some time. But, we have a few places to start.

1999's "Toe in the Crease." They didn't call it, changed the rule the following year, and we're still hearing about it 14 years later. It was Game 6, so it wasn't like the Sabres would have skated the Cup that night. Besides, if you're going to be upset about inconsistent officiating in this league, you won't have time to do anything else. No, this isn't a Blue Jacket specific reason to hate the Sabres, more a general thing, but we need something to work with here.

OK, maybe this is a good reason to dislike the Sabres...

Since RJ is now a Blue Jacket, we'll count this as a good reason. Even though...GET YOUR HEAD UP RJ!!! And Campbell is long gone. Either way...that's former Sabre crushing current Blue Jacket, work up some disgust folks.

Finally, the biggest stretch of all to dislike the people of western New York, they were probably the biggest beneficiary of MacLean's bone head draft pick in 2003. You remember the 2003 draft, right? The one where you couldn't make a bad pick? Yeah, that one. The one where MacLean made the brilliant choice of Zherdev. Falling directly into the Sabres lap was Thomas Vanek. You're welcome, Buffalo.

Which brings us to...

TWO captains? Really? This is more of a reason to laugh at them than hate them, but we'll add it to the pile of shenanigans we're compiling here. Why not.

So, easier to hate than the Islanders at this point, but still tough to work up some good bile against the Sabres. This move to the East is going to need some extra help to really get upset with our opponents.

Oh, look, there's the Bruins on the horizon...

Put me in coach, I'm ready to win

The 2013-2014 NHL season is about a week old.  The Blue Jackets season in particular is only two games old, playing their third game Thursday night in Buffalo.  To make any long term predictions about the team based on the meaningless preseason and two regular season games is asinine.  But looking at the coach, and how he's managed his team in that same time span, does lend itself to the ever-so-subtle eyebrow raise.

There hasn't been any earth shattering roster moves in the off-season.  The team from last year is still largely intact.  The only new faces of note are Murray and Jenner, while the 30 year-old rookie McElhinney backs up CBJ life blood Sergei Bobrovsky.   "Horton hatches a bone graft" is still a couple months away.  As a coach, you know the skill set you have on your team early on.  You know who is going to work hard, you know who you can trust in each situation, and you know who takes being a professional to heart.  You know who can handle speed, you know who can play physical, and you know who doesn't turn the puck over.  Most importantly, you know who can do the scoring.

On "League of Denial"...and the NHL

I watched PBS' two-hour "Frontline" documentary, "League of Denial," last night.  If you haven't seen it, the whole show is available for streaming here.

Not surprisingly, seeing my interest in the growing story of traumatic brain injuries in contact sports, I have a few thoughts to offer.  This is a blog largely dedicated to offering thoughts and opinions, so I can't think of a better place to do so.  

If you've come this far only to hear an alarm go off in your head screaming, "HOW DARE YOU INTERRUPT MY ENTERTAINMENT WITH REAL LIFE?"...well...not sure I can help you.  You might want to move along.  If you're interested in what hopefully will be a reasoned discussion of a serious topic with a number of different aspects, read on.

"Frontline" on NFL/CTE airs tomorrow

I'd be remiss in not bringing this up, fellow hockey fan.  Tomorrow night, on PBS's "Frontline" news documentary show, the National Football League is going to get raked over the coals for the manner in which it has (or has not, depending on how you look at it) handled the issue of traumatic brain injuries.  Here's the trailer for "League of Denial":


It's a two-part series, and you can go to this link if you want to see a few more teaser videos about the subject matter.  The doctor who analyzed the late former Pittsburgh Steeler Mike Webster's brain and Leigh Steinberg, agent for oft-concussed Troy Aikman, offer particularly compelling first-person commentary on the state of affairs in football.

Game 2 in Review: CBJ vs New York Islanders

Columbus Blue Jackets 3- NY Islanders 2 Shoot Out

The Columbus Blue Jackets earned their first win of the 2013-14 season, as well as their first win in the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference in a third period comeback shoot out win.  A character win for sure, because they looked 'stick a fork in 'em they're done' cooked in the second period.  As much as the Islanders skated them off the ice in the middle of the second period, they stopped the bleeding trailing 0-2.  Then at the midway point of the third period, Mark Letestu punched home a power play goal to get the Jackets on the board, and the team gathered momentum throughout the second half of the third period.

Letestu, not Gaborik

Offensive cycling which had been nonexistent in the second period began to emerge, and then the tying goal came on an RJ Umberger rush, where he put the goal on net, and Nick Foligno bumped the rebound back at the net, and it rebounded off an Islander crashing the net, and the game was tied.

The teams traded chances down the stretch, and both teams had power plays in the last two minutes of the game.  The Islanders power play persisted into Over Time, but the CBJ seemed to have momentum.  OT remained scoreless, and the game went to the shoot out.

That's when 'snow-gate' happened.  Fox Sports did a good job of capturing the CBJ bench, as Craig Hartsburg noticed that the zamboni left all the snow in front of the Islanders' goal.  Todd Richards got the attention of referee Paul Devorski, and the officials inspected the ice.  The then made the zamboni come back out on the ice, and a HUGE pile of snow was removed from in front of the Islanders' goal.  Thus, the shoot out conditions were rendered fair.  Matt Moulson scored for the Islanders in the shootout, but Letestu and Cam Atkinson scored for the CBJ to secure the win.

My take is that this was what will be a typical Metro division game, a back and forth affair.  The Islanders scored on a heavily screened Bobrovsky on a power play that they earned with sustained offensive pressure.  On their second goal our weak side defense was mesmerized by Tavares' puck handling, and Moulson came all alone on the backside and Tavares hit him with a beauty of a pass.  But the CBJ shut down the rushes they were giving up at that point, and the game turned for them.  Once the CBJ got some offensive cycling below the goal line started, instead of launching pucks at the net from the perimeter, they eventually drew a penalty, and got the power play goal that turned the momentum.  Dogged hard work paid off in the win.  That bodes well for this team recapturing the spirit they had at the end of the season last year sooner rather than later.

The CBJ are on the  board for the 2013-14 season, with 2 Metro division points.  A good response from last night's disappointment.

Game Haiku:

First win in Metro

Tavares is the real deal

The test tube strikes

GO JACKETS!!

East Hatred: New York Islanders

Here we go!

We're finally in the East, and as promised in my first post, I'll try to get us Eastern Conference n00bs primed for hating a whole new slate of teams.

Since the NHL Schedule Gods opened us with the familiar Calgary Flames, we have to wait until game two to get to hating one of our new Metropolitan Division brethren: The New York Islanders.

OK, let's be honest, what is there to hate about the Islanders? That logo? Their four Cups? They won those back in the early 80s, those are historical now, not annoying. All those years chanting "Nineteen Forty!" at the Rangers? Hell no, that was AWESOME. (And sadly came to an end in 1995.)

Their owner? Their GM? Um, no...they've been more comic relief than anything else. Even through the MacLean and Howson debacles here, when Jacket Fan had to defend themselves, they could always come back with, "Yeah, sure...but did you see what Wang/Milbury/Snow did with the Islanders?!? Can you believe it??"

It is certainly not because they beat up on the Jackets over the years. We didn't lose to the Isles until December 23, 2006, our 8th meeting with them. Overall the Jackets are 9-4-1 against the Islanders and have lost to them in regulation since...wait for it...December 23, 2006. (If you're scoring at home, the Jackets have gotten a point out of every game against the Islanders in franchise history except for that one sad day on December 23, 2006.)

So, historically speaking, it's really, REALLY hard to hate this team. They've been so nice to us since we came into the league. I have a feeling truly hating the Islanders is going to take some time, and a few more losses to them. Maybe a playoff series against them. Though if the Jackets and Islanders are in the playoffs in the same year, it may be akin to crossing the streams.

I don't know if those losses will start with tonight's game, but the chances are there. First off, we'll play them a lot more now. Secondly, they're on the rise just like your beloved Blue Jackets. The Islanders got into the playoffs last year with 55 points...

Wait, wait, wait...they got IN with 55 points? We missed out with 55 points! OK, we have a slight glimmer of a reason to be marginally perturbed with the Islanders.

Continuing...

These guys play an exciting game. They skate hard, they skate fast, and they come at you in waves. It's not always defensively responsible, but it is fun to watch. Their first round with the Pens last year was some of the best hockey of the playoffs. They just kept coming. Over. And over. And over. It was great to watch.

So we open our Eastern Conference play against a team that I'm not sure any of us can really hate at this point. Guess we'll have to let this one simmer for a while and see if we can work something up.

Seriously, can ANYBODY share a reason to outright despise the Islanders?

Game One in Review - Columbus Blue Jackets vs Calgary Flames

Columbus Blue Jackets 3 - Calgary Flames 4

Western Canada, home to Atlanta's last two NHL's franchises.  One of those two teams paid a visit to Nationwide Arena Friday Night - the Calgary Flames.  The Flames were playing in their second road game in as many nights.  Ever the good soldier, enduring Home opening events as visitors for a second night in a row.  The Flames played spoilers to the Blue Jackets home opener, beating the home team CBJ 4-3 in regulation.  The League was kind enough in welcoming the Blue Jackets to the Eastern Conference by scheduling us with the Flames.  Thanks Bettman.

If I were a blogger, I would sum up tonight's game for the Blue Jackets in one word as 'sloppy.'  Your older brother's Blue Jackets were on the ice tonight.  But, I'm not ignorant enough to say this one game defines the fate of the team this season. I watched the game in total seclusion at BW3 in Dublin.  I did not want to hear a broadcast of this game as to make my own observations on the team.  So here they are, my observations

2013-14 CBJ overture: Welcome to the Boonetown

I couldn't help but adapt one of my favorite songs from my younger days when I saw the CBJ's Captain Of The Future made the team.

Don't worry if you don't get it, kiddos...the original 1986 version by David + David (which peaked at #37 on the Billboard Hot 100) is at the end of this post. 

Thanks to Gallos for helping me tighten this up! - Tom

Mr. D plays his Callaway four

Relaxation oozes from his pores

He lets Jarmo man the phone

Running the draft floor, drafting kid after kid

Trades to be done, he keeps his ear to the phone

He keeps his ear to the phone

So I say, I say welcome, welcome to the Boonetown

Choose a leader, we got plenty to go around

Welcome, welcome to the Boonetown

Your ticket dollar makes such a comforting sound

Welcome to the Boonetown

Not another fighting fight

Like a bunch of mommies screaming from behind the glass, we make a big deal out of what amounts to pretty much nothing.  We react with irrational emotion when we see something bad happen to one of our babies.  The nice part about the glass, is typically the players can't hear what their mommies are squealing about.  Mommy saw something bad happen to her baby, and apart from the squealing, she must legislate any harm done to anyone out of the game.  The screaming doesn't amount to much.  It sounds like noise - loud, but really inconsequential.  If it's anything, it's a distraction from what you need to do the rest of the hockey game.

The speed, physicality, and emotion of professional hockey require an element of instant accountability.  I support fighting as a means of the players policing themselves.  A cheap shot artist needs his face punched when he cheap shots somebody.  Lines will be crossed, players with an edge will go over that edge.  I'd rather a player swings fists when reacting out of emotion and not swing sticks.  However, I do not support fighting for the sake of fighting.  I roll my eyes when I see two guys mosey on up to the face-off circle, nonchalantly say to each other "wanna go" and drop the gloves for no other reason that they're bored.  Coaches should be fined when they send players out to do nothing but fight. Eliminate the needless WWE aspect of fighting in the NHL and the amount of times a pugilist can subject their brain to repetitive trauma will be significantly reduced.  As fans, you can't romanticize about the brutality of the sport and toughness of hockey players, then irrationally deliver emotion when there is a brain injury.

Preseason is over...at long last...

I always have mixed emotions about the preseason. It's hockey. Real, live, in an NHL rink (usually) with NHL players type hockey. The first preseason game is fun, the second one is ok, the third one is boring, and the fourth one is the last chance to get a discount on your fan bucks if you're a season ticket holder.

You have to watch the games looking for certain things, and usually not the final score. I tend to watch specific players, maybe see how the special teams are looking, how the "not quite there yet" kids look playing with the big boys, etc. With that in mind, here are a few things that caught my eye in the three, home preseason games I went to...and left after 2 periods each time.

Scoring, what scoring?

Let's get the nasty one out of the way first. The preseason predictions are rolling in from every corner of North America, and all of them pretty much agree on the Jackets set up this season: Solid D, can Bob do it again, need goal scoring.

Agree on the scoring.

We have guys who are capable of putting it in the net, but the lack of finishing in some of these games was concerning. Granted, the games take place at half speed with all the checking of an All-Star weekend, but they still take shots and try to score at times.

What I think concerned me more than anything was the amount of possession we'd have without any shots on net. We'd get the puck in, move it to the points, battle in the corners, throw it to the slot, dig it back out of the corner, then turn it over. All that work for no shot on goal. I'd watch thinking we're doing OK, then look at the scoreboard and we're getting outshot 13-2. I'm not that "SHOOT IT!!!" guy in the stands, but put the puck on net fellas.

Puck movement

On the heels of the last bit, we did have some pretty good puck movement throughout most of the games I watched. No more dumping it into the corner and praying we can get it back out. The East is reportedly built for more carrying it in and less dumping it in, then our game plan is in decent shape for the our move to the Metro.

The power play, while not converting a lot of goals yet, was much better at possession and moving the puck. There was a lot more play from the point and the half wall on the power play than last season. Step 1 to a good power play is possession and puck movement, the boys seem to have a good jump on that. Step 2 is to put the puck in the net off all that possession and puck movement, so we'll see how that comes along as the season gets started.

Ah, the forecheck

It appeared in most games we had a 2 man forecheck going. As a fan...YES!! I love me a good forecheck. This will be a helluva lot more fun to watch than the 0-man "We'll just be here at the blue line waiting on you" type system. Atkinson, Calvert, Foligno, Boll, MacKenzie, and Jenner all have the abilities to make that work. This will be entertaining.

We may blow some chances, and give up the occasional odd-man rush, but we finally have the defensive corps to make that work. And let's say they blow it occasionally, and they will, Bob is waiting.

So, why not play to our forwards' speed and push that forecheck deep? For a team that will have trouble scoring, getting the turnovers in your opponents end of the ice will make up for some of that pretty quickly.

So what does all this mean?

My opinion of the team didn't really change much through preseason, I think we're a playoff team. Honestly, I think there are only two teams in our division better than we are, the Pens and Rangers. I think we'll go back and forth with the Isles all season for 3rd in the division, and I don't think there's any way in hell we finish below the Devils, Phylers, Caps, and Canes.

The Jackets have the reigning Vezina winner in net behind a defensive unit built for the grind of the West. Scoring is a question, but defensively our 8-7 track meet type games will be limited. Can our group of forwards score us enough goals to get into the playoffs? I think so.