Archive Page 2

14
Feb
10

Same issues, different coach – JACKETS LOSE

VAN 4 – CBJ 3

A change of pace today for a recap of the Vancouver game. Since I watched on tape delay I kept the laptop handy and made some game notes as it went by. I should’ve kept game time as it went by for organizational ease, but, live and learn. Anyway, here we go!

1st Period

Nash goal – middle finger to the late arriving fans, we have far too many fans who think they won’t miss anything if they are a few seconds late, or a get up a few seconds early for some more beer and popcorn.

Baumgartner goal – 1st goal of the season… can’t be giving those up this late in the season… Guess what? Marc Methot was way out of position, what’s new?

Jared Boll goal – taking the fight to VAN, 4th line doing their job! Mega-props to Noel putting them on after the Vancouver goal, another middle finger to late arriving fans

Jurcina High-sticks Samuelsson – HUGE PK coming up, double-minor too.

PK again – Voracek and Brass on the kill which is great to see…Methot making up for bad play early with great hit on Kesler… Russell on the PK… Huge kill

Juice playing some defense and, what the heck?? steals the puck!?!?

Power play… Nash double-shifted on the PP

Hustle by the 3rd line is outstanding

Hejda picking up a stick on the fly haha

Alex Burrows is a bitch

2nd Period

Ryan Kesler seems to be everywhere

Kris Russell laying some checks, good to see further rounding out of his game

Hemmed in our own zone… can’t control the play, again the 4th line gets the first real possession

Defensive passing suddenly looks sloppy and bad

Great save by Mase… followed by a great scoring chance by the young-guns (Brass & Voracek), exactly what you want to see, generating our own momentum

“Got a piece of Boll” – Bill Davidge

Sweet jesus, too many men… AGAIN, somehow that’s Hitchcock’s fault, Penalty Kill… Jake looks huge out there with Brassard, good energy from a great kill leads to….

RAFFI TORRES – he will be missed, but someone must step-up when he goes elsewhere at the deadline

STEVE MASON – what in the wide world of sports? you think he’d have learned from last season (Detroit), just when the CBJ seize momentum this kind of play gives it right back to the opponent

Paging Rick Nash… seemingly he disappeared after his opening goal

Big missed slash on Brassard at center ice

Is it me or are we taking point shots more often?

Goaltender interference – huge kill coming up as the ‘Nucks have momentum, scary shot in the neck/collarbone on Hejda, nice use of the stick by Nash, great play by Mason, great kill, now build on it, FSO tells me that’s 16 straight successful PK’s

“Raymond went down very easily” – Bill Davidge… again

Being out-shot 26-16… wow, nothing new I guess

Jan Hejda – pinching in on the play? Surprising to see from him

3rd Period

Jackets are looking slow and un-energized

Forecheck – 1-2-2, not sure if I like just one deep forechecker

Nice strength on the puck by Stralman

High Stick on Vermette – MASSIVE kill ahead… if you keep taking silly penalties, you’re going to give up a goal… even though it’s tied, I have a very bad feeling the Jackets are on the verge of going back into their shells

Here’s the adversity Noel was waiting for

Rome is COVERING THE PUCK WITH HIS BODY, has to be a delay of game call at least

Steve Mason – looking good in recent games, now has given up 3 goals tonight… lots of big juicy rebounds that are very scary, even in the games when he posted shutouts

OMG – Puck deflected off Brassard’s stick, up and over Mason… wow, 4-3 VAN, CBJ have given up 3 straight goals, very sloppy play now, TIMOUT CBJ

Russell – great to see him jumping up on the play still and looking dangerous with the puck

Nice side-to-side movement by Mase to make a huge save

Zombie Nation… really?

Power Play coming up – Must score… we’re making Raycroft look like Marty Brodeur

Can’t muster anything… empty net and the Canucks aren’t wavering

Game over

Post-game thoughts:

  • Well, we got the adversity that Interim Coach Claude Noel was looking for, we didn’t completely fold, but we didn’t do a good job getting the game to that point. When you hold leads of 1-0, 2-1, and 3-1, you have to be able to hold on. After the timeout the Jackets looked more organized, but still couldn’t muster much as Raycroft had gained confidence as he made many easy saves after the initial Blue Jackets onslaught.
  • In my opinion, Steve Mason lost this game tonight. After looking very sharp for a 3 games, he gave up 2 very bizarre goals, one that he gave right to an opposing player, and another that will be considered “fluky”. The timing of both goals was terrible, but as previously mentioned, the 2nd goal where Mason made an unforced error, was truly the back-breaker, and set the Canucks off and running on 3 straight goals.
  • Noel now has a chance to correct the issues that Hitchcock could not. This team has struggled mightily with mental toughness all season long. There are more blown leads than I care to think of, but it is good to see the team performing well after the late timeout. We’ll see what happens on Sunday, and after the Olympic break.
12
Feb
10

Game 62 – VANCOUVER CANUCKS

The Jackets look to continue their hot streak against the (hopefully) road-weary Canucks among an NHL record-setting 14-game road trip in which they have reached a 3-3 record thus far.

7:00pm EST, Fox Sports Ohio, High Definition

Time is short, and I have a job to do, but the Jackets will try to take advantage of the worn down Canucks, coming in on the second night of a back-to-back from Florida.

Just one potential line-up change as Fredrik Modin is a “game time decision”. Steve Mason in net, but Mase will not face soon-to-be-Olympian, Roberto Luongo, instead back-up Andrew Raycroft will get the start.

Winning tonight would give the Jackets their 4th straight win overall, and their 3rd straight over division leading opponents. Certainly the bump from Hitchcock’s removal has helped, so has Mason’s huge jump in play, if it all continues tonight and Sunday, Scott Howson should have some very tough decisions to make.

Bits of news and previews:


GO JACKETS!!!

11
Feb
10

Slow Day

Not much going today as the Blue Jackets practiced in preparation for the Vancouver Canucks coming into town on Friday. From Puck-rakers:

The suddenly-resurgent Blue Jackets held a robust 45-minute practice this morning in Dispatch Ice Haus. Among the participants were defenseman Anton Stralman and left winger Fredrik Modin, both nursing injuries.

Glad to see Modin getting back in the saddle, but still wondering where Mike Commodore is…

Porty had this tweet this morning:

Of course the rumor-mongers ran with this. We’ll probably hear a lot of crazy exchanges brought up, but don’t believe them until you hear it from a reputable source. (Umberger to Pittsburgh anyone? Laughable) Looking at the Oilers roster, they have A TON of free agents come season’s end, RFA’s and UFA’s alike. It will be interesting to see if anything develops.

Earlier this evening TSN’s Darren Dreger reported that Steve Mason was contacted as the 4th reserve goalie for Team Canada:

On February 1st, Team Canada submitted its 23 man roster and also provided a list of reserve players.

Final Olympic rosters don’t have to be in until Monday.

Team Canada officials are reluctant to divulge the number of reserves, or their identity, however sources tell TSN the reserve list includes four forwards, three defencemen and a goaltender. All of the players on the reserve list have been contacted by Canada’s management team and told to be ready in case of injury.

……

Columbus Blue Jackets’ goalie, Steve Mason has also been instructed to be prepared in case Martin Brodeur, Roberto Luongo, or Marc-André Fleury suffers an injury.

Talk about a huge couple days for the big guy in net, 3-0 since the coaching change, and giving up only 1 goal in that time, posting back-to-back shutouts, and now being named a reserve for team Canada.

11
Feb
10

The 300 pound gorilla in the room – JACKETS WIN

SJS 0 – CBJ 3

With the Sharks circling in the closing minutes the Blue Jackets, led by Steve Mason, stood tall. Not enough can be said about how clutch Mason’s play was last night. The Sharks put up 40 shots, including 20 in the 3rd period, and Mase stopped them all. Tonight was a textbook example of why games are not played on paper, as in many sports, the role of underdog can be a tough one but the Blue Jackets know it well, and played the role of spoiler perfectly tonight.

I believe that had the Sharks been able to put one home in the last minutes the Jackets easily could have crumbled against the newly invigorated San Jose attack. The team is still mentally fragile, but Interim Head Coach Noel has given them a new, fresh look on life and hockey, and as he puts it are showing the emotion and playing passionate hockey.

The game started off relatively slow with both teams very carefully poking and prodding, but it quickly ramped up after an icing call against the Sharks and some “extracurriculars” ensued after the whistle. From there on things ramped up with each passing minute until the final flurry.

Scoring for the Jackets tonight were Rick Nash, Jakub Voracek, and Antoine Vermette. Once again, the Jackets scored first under Claude Noel as they have yet to even trail or relinquish a lead under his leadership. The time will come when the club will have to fight adversity and find a way to win a tough game, but hell, LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL! It was outstanding to see Jake break his 26-game goalless drought, but making it even sweeter was the outstanding pass from Derick Brassard as he saucered it perfectly in front of Jake streaking towards the net.

It has been really great to see this team performing to the level we all expected this season, but as some pointed out on twitter and other outlets, if Steve Mason was performing this way a month, let alone two weeks ago, Hitch wouldn’t have been fired, and the CBJ would be in the playoff hunt. It can go both ways however, as Hitchcock was saying many of the right things about his players, but the message had grown tiresome, and the team was being suffocated. Is the current streak due to Hitch’s removal or is Noel really that great of a coach? Time will tell, and soon. When there is a mid-season coaching change, there is always an extra jump in the step of the players and usually an increase in wins and effort, but for how long? The Pens last year come to mind, going on to win 9 of 10 and eventually the Stanley Cup after firing Michel Therrien, but take a second and look at more recent firing/hiring’s with the Blues and Flyers. The Flyers won only 2 of the next 10 games after firing John Stevens and the Blues won 6 of their next 11, finding some success and some failure.

Don’t get me wrong, I wish Noel the utmost success, but we don’t need to get ahead of ourselves expecting a miracle run to the playoffs and maybe more after “just” a 3 game winning streak. I’ll support the team regardless who’s behind the bench… unless his name is Mac…. I won’t go any further.

Go Jackets

10
Feb
10

Game 61 – SAN JOSE SHARKS

Finally a real test. The Jackets had a relatively easy win against the Sabres on Saturday and are now 2-0 under Interim Head Coach Claude Noel, can the winning continue against one of the Western Conference’s premiere teams?

7:00pm EST, Fox Sports Ohio, High Definition

Since losing at home on February 2, the Sharks have reeled off 3 straight road wins, and haven’t lost on the road since mid-December! The Jackets are experiencing the post-Hitchcock bounce that is usually experienced when any head coach is fired, but will it be enough to push through the top team in the West? Statistically, the Blue Jackets have no chance against the Sharks. San Jose ranks in the top 3 in five major categories: Goals per game, goals against per game, 5-on-5 Goals For/Against Ratio, Power Play, and Penalty Kill. Practically perfect in almost every way. And oh yeah, they lead the league in road wins with 20.

The Dark Blue Jacket wants to remind everyone how big of a game tonight is.

NHL.com puck preview for Sharks-Jackets.

Yahoo! Sports preview, and oh yeah, the CBJ are 0-2 against the Sharks so far.

The rumblings were all confirmed yesterday when the NHL announced the 6 teams that will open next season in Europe. If it weren’t for my occupation, I’d be there in a heartbeat, but hockey season opens smack-dab in the middle of high school football season. Regardless, it will be a great opportunity for the team and players to play in such a prestigious opener.

GO JACKETS!!!

09
Feb
10

Scott Howson Answers the Fans

On Saturday morning after the morning skate the CBJ held an open forum for season ticket holders with GM Scott Howson and he had some great insight and thoughts on the disappointing season and the current philosophies with his shaping of the team. Here are some of the various topics covered:

  • Raffi Torres’ Contract - One of the first topics to come up today, it was obvious to me that fans have taken to Torres in just the year and a half he’s been a Blue Jacket. Howson admitted that he considers Torres one of his favorite players noting that “I’ve been with two organizations and we’ve traded for him both times”. Howson also mentioned that he will be meeting with Torres’ agent soon and will see what kind of money and term Torres was seeking and if that would fit the Blue Jackets budget for an energy/3rd-line “plus” winger.

  • Dion Phaneuf trade – Howson put this very plain and simple, “I don’t care for Dion and the contract that he has”. Howson did not give specifics on Blue Jackets involvement, or lack thereof, but he didn’t want to be saddled with the contract that Phaneuf has when so many CBJ “young-guns” will need resigned in the coming off seasons
  • 2010 Draft, upcoming youth – I had the chance to ask this question about the upcoming draft and what kind of immediate impact the soon-to-be-drafted and recently-drafted players may have on the Blue Jackets line-up. Howson was quick to point out the difficulty of drafting players pointing out the inexact science of drafting teenage boys. He said that he believe there is a very defined “instant-help” type of player found in Taylor Hall (Wing), Tyler Seguin (Center), and Cam Fowler (Defense) and then another group of players potentially through pick 14 that will be very good. Howson also brought up the 2006 draft as a good example when the top 5 players can all be very good, but if you were to re-draft, things would be probably be different (1. Erik Johnson, 2. Jordan Staal, 3. Jonathan Toews, 4. Nicklas Backstrom, 5. Phil Kessel).

    • Upcoming youth (continued) – As for future help for the CBJ, Howson mentioned both Nikita Filatov (21 gp, 7-13-20) and John Moore (47 gp, 7-30-37). He mentioned that on defense we have a lot of great young guys, but many of them are 3-4 years off, and if necessary Moore will spend time in the AHL during part of or all the next two seasons. The most surprising mention was that of young Nikita. Howson fully expects Filatov to have an impact next year but that comes after he “mends some fences” with his teammates. It was refreshing to hear Howson also mentioning how this fanbase has heard “how great our young players are” for 10 years, and that he was not trying to downplay the urgency to experience success and to see the young guys we’ve heard about for so long finally do something.

    • Playing in the “Dirty Areas” – It was mentioned how earlier in Nash’s career many times he could be seen paying the price in front of the net but now that he’s the Blue Jackets “official” Franchise player (making 7.8 mil per season no less) other players have come to fill that void. Howson qualifies Umberger and Torres as really good at getting the dirty/gritty goals in tight to the goaltender, but also says that has traditionally been a place of organizational weakness. I’d be curious to see what other player is pushed to play more in this role if Raffi is on the move at the deadline, and also to see what kind of player the Jackets might seek to fill this need either via trade or free agency.

    • Missing Manny – Howson divulged that he offered Manny a very fair deal (3 years) at the end of the 2009 playoffs that was turned down in lieu of testing the free agent waters. Unfortunately for Manny and the Blue Jackets, he signed for far less than anticipated ($700,000 for 1 year), but landed with a cup contender in San Jose. Howson completely admitted that the team missed his flexibility in the line-up especially considering the struggles of center Derick Brassard, but also missed his voice in the locker room. I believe vocal veteran presence has been severely lacking as the club’s lack of mental toughness showed its ugly head through December and January.

    There were a few other topics discussed, but these were the most interesting to me, and probably to the “casual” fan. As always, thoughts and comments are appreciated.

    06
    Feb
    10

    Game 60 – BUFFALO SABRES

    The Claude Noel era got off to the right start on Thursday night, but will the Jackets be able to sustain the energy found with a new coach?

    7:00pm EST, Fox Sports Ohio, High Definition

    That Jackets could be without the services of Tyutin tonight as he left practice early on Friday and also the morning skate Saturday morning. If Tyutin sits, the CBJ will be without 3 of their top 4 defenseman, Commodore, Klesla, and now Tyutin. In other “news” winger Freddy Modin is out again with an injury and Mike Blunden is on his way up from the ‘Cuse”.

    Very interesting last couple of days with the firing of Hitch, installment of Noel and all that brings, and being able to watch the last couple practices. Friday’s practice was very exciting with lots of break-out practice and some nice drilling of point-shot deflections. Going into Noel’s second game I expect to see a few more subtle differences in the way the CBJ do things.

    The biggest difference on Thursday night were two things: Playing time deep into the game and how the Jackets gain the zone. A much more balanced use of all 4 lines was clear and should be able to keep players fresher for longer. There wasn’t a complete abandonment of dumping the puck or pulling back defencemen either, but there were definite times when the “Hitch-Jackets” would have dumped and changed where the “Noel-Jackets” carried into the zone and tried to generate something.

    Should be an exciting night tonight in Nationwide as there will be a lot of Buffalo fans in attendance. Word yesterday had Ryan Miller taking a night off tonight, but some sources have Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff sticking with his number one.

    As Claude Noel suggested on the radio this morning, its time for the fans to “take another step” in their vocal support of the team at home in Nationwide.

    GO JACKETS!!!

    04
    Feb
    10

    Game 59 – DALLAS STARS

    A bit ironic that the CBJ faceoff against one of Hitchcock’s former teams the day after his firing. The question will be, what does the Claude Noel era mean and can it help?

    7:00pm EST, Fail Sports Ohio, Standard Definition

    The Jackets head straight in to the Claude Noel era with very little time to stop and think, could this be a good thing? Very possibly yes, but the players may also realize the tents have been folded and they are playing out the string.

    The Stars come to Columbus winning 3 of their last 4, but winning only 1 road game in 11 tries since mid-December. So far this season the Blue Jackets are 2-1 against the Stars and if it really does “start now” then it damn well better get going tonight.

    Believe it or not the Blue Jackets have not been mathematically eliminated, but time is of the essence. in the last 24 games the Jackets must compile a record of 19-2-3, or 94 points to have a solid chance of tasting the post season.

    The Jackets need a big effort against the also-desperate Stars, but will a new coach be enough to spur them on? One can only hope.

    GO JACKETS!!!!

    04
    Feb
    10

    Hitchin’ a ride

    About the only way you couldn’t have heard today’s breaking news is if you were in a nuclear bomb shelter. This shouldn’t have come as a shock as unfortunate as it is, but after Tuesday night’s shellacking in Colorado, the writing was on the wall.

    The Dispatch has been all over this from the moment the story broke around 4:00pm today:

    A season after leading the Blue Jackets to their first playoff appearance, Ken Hitchcock has been fired.

    Hitchcock, 58, will be replaced on an interim basis by assistant coach Claude Noel.

    After helping rejuvenate the franchise over the previous two seasons, Hitchcock has been unable to stop a protracted slide, which began in late November and has the Jackets sitting 14th in the Western Conference standings. They are 10-20-7 since Nov. 19 and 22-26-9 overall.

    Obviously this season has not gone to plan in any way shape or form, and in professional sports, putting blame strictly on the players only goes so far. Here’s Captain Rick Nash’s comments:

    “It’s terrible news,” Jackets captain Rick Nash said. “It’s terrible news, it’s terrible we couldn’t play better, and the coach had to be fired. Hitch put this market on the map. We didn’t really have an identity before he got here.”

    Some will site Hitchcock’s mismanagement of young players, especially the class-act Nikita Filatov. The Globe and Mail’s Matthew Sekeres believes that Howson came to the realization a while ago:

    At the world junior championship in Saskatchewan last month, Filatov represented Russia and made it clear – without saying so directly – that he had no interest in playing for Hitchcock ever again. That week, I spoke with Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson and again it was clear that, ultimately, he was going to have to decide between his coach and his best prospect.

    Personally, I knew that it was only a matter of time before the move was made. The loss to the Avalanche finally pushed me to the edge of the abyss… knowing what awaited in the coming weeks days hours. The world of the Blue Jackets was rocked by a disaster, but like a city or a nation, we will rebuild.

    To me, Ken Hitchcock was the first person with the CBJ I really got into and cared about. I knew Rick Nash, Rusty Klesla, Sergei Fedorov, Adam Foote, etc., but many of those players on the team were leftovers of the previous season and the Doug Maclean mess. In a sense, I bought into Ken Hitchcock. Yeah I went to games before Hitch was the coach and yes, we probably lost a lot more often than we won when I went. But Hitchcock came and gave everyone a new hope for the seemingly endless years of losing. But like all good things, they must come to an end, and Hitch’s run in Columbus has reached that point.

    Puck Daddy’s Greg Wyshynski believes that this move was made due to a complete breakdown of management:

    No question, this move is a desperation attempt at trying to turn around the fortunes of the team on the ice, which in turn brings in the kinds of revenues the team saw during its playoff run last year.

    But it also refocuses a ton of scrutiny on Howson, who had received praise for the patient construction of the roster and retaining the services of Rick Nash(notes), but whose below-average, wafer thin blue line (check the depth chart) may be one of the primary reasons the team fell apart this season defensively. (Although let’s not downplay Mason’s role in that mess, either. He’s been terrible.)

    Without a doubt, this is a big deal not just in Columbus, but across the NHL. One can hope that Hitch may finally be stress-free for a few nights and that the Jackets can begin the gradual move back towards respectability.

    02
    Feb
    10

    Game 58 – COLORADO AVALANCHE

    Tonight marks goaltender Mathieu Garon’s first start of the season against the Avs and it will take no small effort to help the Blue Jackets avoid a season sweep at the hands of Adam Foote and Company.

    9:00pm EST, Fox Sports Ohio, Standard Definition

    Random stat night as the Blue Jackets face unfortunate odds tonight in Denver. Mathieu Garon will go for win number ten on the season but will need all the help he can get against a recently slumping Avs team who has lost 3 straight. In Colorado’s 3 losses the offense has nearly evaporated, putting up 3 goals in 3 games. The scary thing is that the Avs won 6 in a row prior to losing 3 straight.

    Here are your bizarre situational stats:

    So far this season Garon is 0-3 on Tuesday nights

    In the 3 losses, he has posted a 5.47 GAA and a .817 Save Percentage

    Throughout January Garon posted a 5-3 record with 2.64 GAA and .907 Save %

    As for the line-up, the Blue Jackets add Anton Stralman and Kristian Huselius back to the ice, potentially spurring more offense. On another note, tonight will mark Huselius’ 600th career NHL game, let’s make it a good one!

    Certainly the edge of ripping Adam Foote has somewhat faded after he refused to show his face last season at Nationwide, but of course he’s been obvious this year with a slumping CBJ and a red-hot Avs team. Even in a loss tonight I’d love to see Rick go after Footer just one time to give us something to enjoy re-watching in the long emptiness of summer without hockey.

    GO JACKETS!!!




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