Ochovechkin Down, Geno to Go

Thank You Bob!!!!

Last night the CBJ stole a game from the Capitals, prevailing in overtime on Nick Foligno's second goal.  It was a '2' night for Nick.  2 goals on 2 shots.  The fancy stats folks will tell you that this is an unsustainable shooting percentage, and he will regress towards his average.  Ummm, yeah, 100% seems a little unsustainable.  He also had 2 hits, 2 takeaways and 2 points.  Since I wear a Nick's number 71 to most games, I am loving this.  I was especially pleased to see that Jarmo reached out to his agent about contract discussions.  Nick is having a really good season.

At any rate, in spite of losing big in the shot column, the Jackets somehow managed to come out on top of Alexander Ovechkin (or Ochovechkin as Mrs. Gallos likes to call him, since he wears number 8) and company.  When the fancy stats people tell you that shots, missed shots, and blocked shots (e.g. Corsi events) are a surrogate for possession, they are not lying.  Washington dominated puck possession, especially during the first two periods, with Ochovechkin taking a season high 9 shots.  But the Jackets came away with the two points, though they left the Caps with one, because this is where the conversation turns to Sergei Bobrovsky.

Bobrovsky has been on an unbelievable tear, posting crazy numbers over the last few games.  Let me check.  According to the lads over at Puck Rakers, Bobrovsky has saved 167 of 176 shots during the 5 game win streak, for a .949 save percentage.  Wowza.  Bob has been exceptionally sharp of late, which the team is going to need if it is going to climb back into the playoff race.  Interestingly, the team is actually very close to the position it was in last year at this time (based on number of games), but last year razor sharp Bob did not appear until January.  In short, the CBJ have about as good a chance of making the playoffs this year as they did last year.

Which makes us turn our attention to the Penguins.  The news, via Puck Rakers again that Crosby is out for the game, because he appears to have the mumps that is sweeping through the NHL is good for the CBJ.  However, we know too well that Evgeni Malkin is plenty capable of carrying the Penguins.  If you recall Geno pretty much single handedly punched us out of the playoffs with a hat trick in Game 6, so he's got the goods to make tomorrow's game very uncomfortable for the CBJ.

Last year we did not have much, if any, success against the elite teams during the regular season.  Even though the Penguins are somewhat battered, they are still a very good team.  A win would be a step forward in the grand scheme of things, and given the crazy injury situation seems a bit much to expect at this juncture in the season.  Thus, a loss tomorrow is no reason for worry, so long as we play respectably.  A win would be 6 straight, and would erase a previous 6 game losing streak, so would be mighty nice.  We shall see.

And again, the injury bug has bit us.  The bad news, brought once again by the Puck Rakers, is that Scott Hartnell has a broken finger, and is on injured reserve.  Let's see, that's Boone, Bob, Wiz, and Hartnell who have all experienced a broken finger.  Gee whiz, when is it gonna stop?  Apparently Kerby Rychal has been called up from the AHL to fill the vacant forward spot.

The hits just keep on coming.  But the team is hanging in there.

GO JACKETS!!!

Eastern Conference Hi-Jinks

RJ Umberger as a Blue Jacket

Interesting game tonight.  We hosted a couple of Flyer Fans which made it a little crazy, but fun.  Which is what this whole Eastern Conference gig is all about.  These games just feel so natural.  The Flyers are a bit of a train wreck, and the CBJ express is rumbling down the rails leaking steam and sparks in all directions.  It made for a fun hockey game.  In some ways this is still the age of innocence, where the CBJ have yet to punch some of these teams out of a playoff.  That bad blood is earned, and we haven't done it yet.

Perhaps we have a teeny bit of bad blood with Pittsburgh, but who doesn't?  In that regard, this is all still new to us, and these games are really fun. The CBJ <we interrupt this statement to point out the redundant use of the word 'fun'.  The office of redundancy office deplores this fan boy schilling to the powers that be because it implies that cynical bashing might be slightly out of style> prevailed tonight 3-2 in overtime on an improbable breakaway feed from Ryan Johansen to Kevin Connauton for the winning goal.  Once again the CBJ  went into a defensive shell to try to preserve a 2-1 lead late in the third period.  With about 5 minutes left in the game, and the CBJ going on the power play, the power play strategy appeared to be to play the old basketball 4 corners stall.  The Flyers ate it up, spending the bulk of the power play in their offensive zone, overwhelming our five gliders with 4 skaters.  This gave the Flyers momentum going into the last minutes, and once they pulled the goal tender, they were able to draw even.

The Flyers carried the momentum into the overtime, but Ryan Johansen, at the end of a long shift ended up on a 2 on 1 breakaway with Kevin Connauton, in which he delayed and put the puck right on Connauton's stick, and he beat Steve Mason for the winner.  This play resulted in a pile of exultant players on top of Connauton, as he scored his first goal for the CBJ, a game winner.  Cool stuff.

Other interesting story lines in this game was the return of RJ Umberger to Nationwide Arena as a member of the Flyers.  He got a brief mention on the jumbotron (he did ask for a trade after all) and Scott Hartnell got on the board with a goal, while Umberger was pretty invisible in over 15 minutes of ice time.  It is important to keep in mind that the value of this trade needs to be evaluated in the long term, as both players have several more years on their contract, but in the short term this trade is tilted decidedly towards Hartnell.

At the end of the day, this is the fourth straight win for the CBJ.  They are making progress towards erasing the recent 6 game losing streak, but the 9 game losing streak still lurks on their record.  It's not the end of the world if they lose a game, but they cannot afford any more losing streaks.  They are making the baby steps they need to climb back in it, and have lulled the other teams to sleep.  We'll see if they can sneak back into it.

GO JACKETS!!!

Elevating the Commentary, Dubinsky returns

I thought I would go to the well with the Obi-wan Dubinsky gag again.

Today the Blue Jackets announced that Brandon Dubinsky would make his season debut against the Flyers, as part of his comeback from abdominal surgery during training camp.  It may be weeks before we see the old Dubinsky, as he plays his way into shape, but his return is important for the team.

As you may have noticed, I have been having a bit of fun with our lowly standings position over the last few weeks.  Before I go further I would point out that we have bottomed out at some point in each of the last two years, so that this happening early in the year is no big shock.  Anyway, on our last post I got a comment that I thought was worthy of drawing up into the space for those that don't read the comments, because I think it is pertinent.  So, without further ado...

J F H Jacket  December 7, 2014 at 10:05 PM
The Jackets aren't a Canadian team or a franchise in desperate need (read Chicago/Pittsburgh) of saving. Therefore you are correct, they would not win a lottery draw, weighted or not. As for the "generational talent" a certain publication continues to fawn over; allow me to say we've had enough D**n losing in this franchise. The current management has worked hard to get rid of the country club atmosphere that permeated Nationwide. If the Jackets play well enough to be in contention, but fall short, so be it. If they make the play-offs, anything can happen. This team has quality minor league players who are currently showing what they are and aren't yet able to do. As for the draft, let the Oilers draft first again and see how long it takes for ANOTHER can't-miss prospect to wither on the vines.

There are a lot of things I like about this comment, particularly the part about the minor league players.  I think that is right on point, and as far as talent evaluation, this is as good as it gets for a GM.  The thing about the last game is that a lot of young players felt for the first time what it is like to really play Blue Jackets hockey.  Its not very easy to do, it hurts a lot, and there are a lot of very natural barriers to playing that style.  It takes a certain level of desperation, and we have not seen that kick in over the last two seasons until the team bottomed out in the standings.

At any rate, I think we are in for some very interesting hockey over the next few months, and barring injury at the goal tender position, this team has a shot at being in contention by the All-Star break.  Which would be really nice, I have to say.  We'll learn a lot about this tomorrow night when they play Philly.  They will need to duplicate the type of effort, they had against Tampa, and we will learn a lot if they are able to do so.  History indicates that it is not the end of the world if they can't, but they will need to have a level of desperation on more nights than not for the rest of the season.  And the Flyers are a good place to start!

GO JACKETS!!

Two Shutouts - One Preserved

Bob

It was a big night for Columbus last night.  The Columbus Blue Jackets and their sterling goal tender, Sergei Bobrovsky, carried a shutout into the final minutes of their tilt with the Eastern Conference Leading Tampa Bay Lightning.  On the other channel, the Ohio State Buckeye football team preserved its shutout of Wisconsin to earn a Big Ten Football Championship.  Good stuff on, and good story lines on both fronts.

But this is a hockey blog, so we'll return to the fastest game on earth.  Last night the Blue Jackets prevailed over the Bolts 3-1, in a game that wasn't that close.  The Blue Jackets skated with purpose, finally worked their forecheck hard for 57 minutes, and consequently dictated the pace of the game.  Surprisingly, the CBJ looked like the faster team last night, as Tampa Bay has abundant speed.  Once Tampa pulled Bishop, the CBJ kind of sat back, couldn't hit the empty net, and Tampa was able to break the shut out.  But it wasn't really that close.

Head Coach Todd Richards juggled his lines significantly.  Erixon and Tropp were both back into the lineup, and Nick Foligno was moved to center of the top line.  Ryan Johansen was dropped to center the third line with Kerby Rychal and Jack Skille, giving him plenty of speed and grit on his wings.  HCTR has had some issues with Joey's play, but part of this move I think was to create match-up difficulties for Tampa Bay, which seemed to be a successful strategy.  When the CBJ were at their best last year, they were rolling 3 'second' lines, and somewhere in there you get a match-up advantage.

The addition of Gibbons to the Foligno, Hartnell line gave that line a burst of speed, and Jenner's line with Calvert and Atkinson seems to be really settling in as an effective line.  They gave Tampa fits last night, with Jenner scoring the first goal on a rather improbable shot.  Most importantly though, they kept their feet moving, and got back to playing "Blue Jackets Hockey".  It was a good thing to see, and they were rewarded with their third straight win.

Finally, there is Sergei Bobrovsky.  He has been extremely sharp these last two games, flashing his Vezina form.  If he stays healthy, and plays this way, the CBJ are going to win some games.  Personally, I think <McDavid> they have dug a pretty deep hole <Eichel> to climb out of, but I don't think the players are listening to my subliminal <McDavid> advertising <Eichel>.  Today they sit 8 points out of third place in the Metro with 3 and a half months of hockey left to play.  If they make it interesting down the stretch, I will be content.  They weren't gonna win the damn <McDavid> lottery <Eichel> anyway.

GO JACKETS!!

Dropping Like Flies

Mark Letestu

Oh my.  I was not ready for the news today that Mark Letestu underwent surgery to repair his wonky groin.  Now he is out for 6 more weeks.  One of the takeaways from the Puck Rakers article is that a chronic condition was also addressed.

I saw a couple of comments asking why this wasn't done in Columbus.  My response would be that this is the surgeon who detected and repaired a chronic groin problem for Marion Gaborik.  Gabby has been injured a couple of times this year, but not his groin, which was wonky for close to a decade before this Doctor worked on him.  I think the CBJ brass were impressed.  And I think that Dubinsky had  lingering problems repaired as well.  His recovery seems on track, and he is close to returning.

I have to wonder if at some level all NHL players have bad groins.  The level of work and effort demanded by our situation and our system may be revealing  or exacerbating existing weaknesses.  It is to be hoped that these are repaired once and for all, and barring crazy circumstances, will not re-occur.

At any rate, if any of our players were looking at elective surgery, now seems like a good time to get it done.  Sheesh.  Get well Mark.  We miss you, and look forward to when you are healed and can rejoin the team.

Meanwhile, I will keep a <McDavid> stiff upper <McDavid> lip without any <McDavid> gratuitous references <McDavid> to generational talents <McDavid> available in this year's draft <McDavid>, particularly without <McDavid> using subliminal <McDavid> messages <Eichel>.

GO <McDavid> JACKETS!! <Eichel>

Thanks, I Needed That

Big win last night for the CBJ, if only to reward them for the effort, break the skid, and for Kerby Rychal to get his first NHL point.  All good stuff.

I liked JD's comments yesterday.  They have the right of it, we've been dealt a bad hand.  I like to joke about McTanking for McDavid, and the notion of a generational talent coming to this franchise makes me drool uncontrollably, but it's not the be all end all.  We've got a good bunch of players here, and they will find their winning ways before this season is over.  Unfortunately, that is unlikely to be enough for a return to the playoffs.

Last year, in January we were able to put together a franchise record winning streak.  This coincided with Bobrovsky's return from injury, but that run of play that vaulted us back into playoff contention was also the only stretch where we had a relatively healthy Nathan Horton, and his emotional and moral impact on the team was huge.  Horton's current situation is a cruel blow to all involved, and at this point, all I hope for him is freedom from pain.  But we can't realistically look for that spark this year.  True, that we finished off the season, and the playoffs without him, but the direction change that yanked us from a .500 team to a winner coincided with Horton's presence.

We have a team that knows how to win, its just incredibly beat up right now.  Case in point, Mark Letestu.  Keep in mind that Letestu lead the team in points during the strike shortened 2012-13 season.  He has a big impact on this teams ability to score.  He will return to health some day, and it will help our play.

Anisomov's loss is another tough turn of events.  We just have to keep rolling with the punches, and ride this out.  Our prize for not shrinking from this task may well be a generational talent.  So there's that.

But, nonetheless, a good feeling to be back in the win column.

GO JACKETS!!

Life as a Bottom Feeder

Adjusting to Life as A Bottom Feeder

Last night's game in Nashville was eerily familiar to the 2009-10 games played during the great December swoon.  A good effort against a good team at the top of its game and a goal tender who is trending Vezina, lost in the end on a crazy jam play at the net.  What lessons can we draw from that familiar feeling?

The first lesson is that the start of the season doesn't count for that much.  The 2009-10 team had a franchise record for success by Thanksgiving, faltered hard in December, and within two months, Hitch was gone.  The second lesson we could learn from that 2009-10 team was loving our young talent too much.  In this, Jarmo fell into the same trap that Scott Howson did.  We let MacKenzie and Comeau walk so we had room for our young players.  We didn't force our young players to kick the door down with their play, we gave them spots.  History repeats itself.  Dang.  I'm not saying MacKenzie and Comeau would have saved our season, they would probably be out with an injury the way this season has gone.  My point is that it is a mistake to 'leave room' for young players.  We should 'force unproven NHL players to beat proven NHL players' before they move up from the AHL.  In the playoffs against Pittsburgh, our comparative strength was in the bottom 6.  Put this year's team in the same match-up, and I don't think you can say the same thing.  And MacKenzie and Comeau had a lot to do with that.

The third lesson from the 2009-10 team is the, at the time, acknowledged weaknesses of the team, which were at center and in defense.  We were 'set' in goal with Mason.  We had scoring punch with Nash.  We didn't want to pay Manny Malhotra what he thought he was worth at center, and he walked, leaving us weak up the middle.  How does this help us now?  Look who is still on injured reserve.  Two of our best centers, two of our best defensemen.

The return of Dubinsky and Letestu will have a real impact on the team.  Unfortunately, it may not be felt for several weeks after their return as they get back to playing shape.  I think the loss of Fedor Tyutin is greater than we think, and Murray was one of the best defensemen on the team last year.  BTW Jarmo, Murray should definitely start out with a rehab stint in the A before he comes up to the big club.  We all know he can play at this level, but he is still very young, and some time down in the A wouldn't hurt his development at all.

What is the take away lesson from all of this?  Sometimes you just have to take the punishment like a non-gender specific humanoid with the male characteristics of gritting your teeth and "not sayin' nuthin" no matter how much it hurts.  The problems of the 2009-10 team were inherent in it's structure.  The problems of the 2014-15 team are due to injury, not the team structure (for the most part).  This year's team is going to play some good hockey before it's over.  Unfortunately, a lottery pick seems a certainty at this point.  Keep rubbing that rabbits foot Jarmo.  We finally need a little luck at the draft lottery.

These are tough times in CBJ land, but there is a lot of entertaining hockey left to be seen yet this year.  How it looks on paper now is not necessarily how it is going to play out.  That's why you play the games.  The problems with this team right now are not in its structure, it is in the circumstances of the situation.  Right now they are learning some bitter lessons on how hard it is to win in the NHL.  Those should pay dividends down the road.

GO JACKETS!

Keep Calm and Carry the Flag

Yesterday in the Columbus Dispatch Mike Arace opined that the Blue Jackets need stirred up.  I agree with him on that assessment.  However, I disagree with him on his suggested method, which was a trade of some kind.   I think the impending return of Brandon Dubinsky will stir things enough to make a trade unnecessary.

Strangely enough, the best quality Jarmo Kekalainen could bring to his job now would be patience.  If this season goes off the rails, all you have to do is look at the injuries.  This team has shown that it can win with the people we have, we just need to get them on the ice.  The story of this season is not yet written.  We are still in 'Book I' where the seeds of the tragedy are sown.  How the rest of the story plays out remains to be seen.  Now is not the time for action for the sake of action.  The pot will be stirred whether we will or no, at a pace dictated by the healing of Dubinsky's groins.  If they keep working, they will be okay.

Thanks for taking the time to read our blog.  We here at the Dark Blue Jacket wish all of you a happy and prosperous Thanksgiving!

GO JACKETS!!!

The Scientific Method

The Captain?

Last year, our President of Hockey Operations, John Davidson, and our General Manager, Jarmo Kekalainen often stated the opinion that the Columbus Blue Jackets had plenty of leadership in the locker room, and that naming a Captain was premature.  Let me be clear, I do not doubt their judgement in that.  For last year.  But for this year, I wonder.

There is a funny thing about science.  You have those hypotheses that you are able to advance prior to your experiment.  Those are called by a funny Latin term, a priori.  Those that you are unable to formulate after you have conducted your experiment are called by a funny Latin term, a posteriori.  See what happens when your parents pay for an education?

Scientific method calls for you first to identify a null hypothesis.  This, in laymen's terms, means you are an opinionated schitt head person who doesn't know what you are doing.  So, for the purposes of our current discussion, I postulate a null hypothesis that the Columbus Blue Jackets do not need a captain.  That the current leadership in the room is adequate to get the job done.

Scientific method also calls for you to articulate an alternative hypothesis.  This, in laymen's terms, means you are an opinionated schitt head person who actually knows what they are talking about.  For the purposes of our current discussion, I postulate an alternative hypothesis that the Columbus Blue Jackets should name Brandon Dubinsky their Captain, and that he will drag them into the battle whether they will or no.

As my first piece of evidence, I offer the goal scored by the Winnipeg Jets 9 seconds into tonight's contest.  Since we only score 2 goals per game, I suggest that giving one up in the first moments of the game is not such a good thing.  I postulate that Dubinsky will not tolerate that.  Therefore, he should be named captain.

In order to test my hypothesis, the CBJ's record after Dubinsky returns should be carefully scrutinized.  The record BD (before Dubinsky) and AD (after Dubinsky) should be evaluated by every fancy stat the league has available to see if he makes a measurable difference.

My a priori alternative hypothesis is that Brandon Dubninsky makes a measurable difference in CBJ performance as measured in the win column.  If the data supports such a notion, he should be made Captain.  End of discussion.

GO JACKETS!!

Wisniewski Suspended 8 Games Because Lucic Can't Cope

Today James Wisniewski of the Columbus Blue Jackets was suspended for eight games by the Department of Player Safety.  NHL spokesman Steve Questor noted that Milan Lucic's inability to cope with negativity was becoming a serious embarrassment to the NHL, and that the Department of Player safety felt that suspending Wisniewski was a reasonable response to the problem.

In an incident last year, Lucic made a death threat against a victorious Montreal player in the handshake line after the Bruins loss.  Last week, Lucic vowed to get revenge after Dalton Prout dropped him with one punch, stating 'the next time a linesman is holding Prout I'm going to throw two gloves at him!'

Questor said that it was time for the Department of Player Safety to act.  "By suspending Wisniewski we feel we can really send a message to Lucic that his continuing petulance is an embarrassment to the league, distasteful for the advertisers, and an affront to the ticket holders and must stop."  Questor noted that the Department of Player Safety had experienced great success with suspending Wisniewski.  Questor noted "Just look at Shanny!  He's President of the Maple Leafs!  I figure if I suspend Wisniewski, I can be President of Hockey Operations in Edmonton inside of two years.  It's a great career move for me."

When asked his opinion of the issue, Kris Pronger, newly minted member of the Department of Player Safety said 'Did you see that!  Prout dropped him with one punch!  Hell, they should have given Wisniewski 10 games because Lucic couldn't get his left glove off while he charged Prout.  It looked like he was trying to get a ball point pen to work!!  He didn't want to fight he said.  Ha, ha, ha, what a sucker play.  I love that kind of stuff.  But I'm a consensus building kind of guy, so I decided that 8 games was punishment enough for Wisniewski!"

John Davidson, when reached for comment, uttered an unintelligible remark while gazing to the heavens.  Puck Daddy commented thusly.  Yup.

GO JACKETS!!