The Jacketsblog: An Unofficial Columbus Blue Jackets Blog

WSH 6 – CBJ 2

(I’d like to take a second to introduce/welcome fellow CBJ die-hard Tyler to some “spot-starts” with The Jacketsblog. Tyler and I have been going to Jackets games together for 3 years, and I think you’ll all appreciate his hockey knowledge as much, if not more, than I do. When I can’t make a game, and there’s no way to watch later, Tyler is THE GUY)

What does one take out of the first preseason game for most the Blue Jackets regulars? Not too much really, but there were some good and bad things that stuck out a bit. (Note that this game became a laugher with about 10 minutes left in the game and I stopped paying attention to what was going on. This recap really only covers 5/6 of the game for that reason.)

The Good:

The “Kid Line” of Jake Voracek, Nikita Filatov, and Derick Brassard was humming all night long. This is the line that fans have been salivating over since it was introduced early in the ’09-’10 season. This line is the present and future of the Blue Jackets franchise. What stood out was the chemistry between the three young guns. There were passes zipping from one side of the ice to another. While only producing one goal on the night, the creativity and speed this line possesses is simply something that has been lacking on past teams.

Jake Voracek has mastered the Rick Nash style power move and displayed his skill early and often. At least three times, Jake decided to drive to the net with the puck and was nearly unstoppable. Jake could have had several goals tonight on that move alone if Varlamov wasn’t playing out of his mind.

There really isn’t a better way to say this: Ryan Johansen is beast. Johansen was throwing his weight around all night in the defensive zone and produced several scoring chances. Granted this wasn’t a top defensive line that he would see in a regular season game, but it was nice to see that maybe Johansen wasn’t as much of a stretch as we all thought in June.

The offense was clicking early on. Don’t let the final score fool you; the Jackets were the better team early on tonight. I know the Capitals aren’t exactly the pinnacle of a defensive hockey team, but the amount of space the Jackets had to operate in the offensive zone allowed for some fun moments. On one delayed penalty, the Jackets kept play alive for over a minute by executing a high cycle along the blue line and even firing off a few shots in the process. As mentioned earlier, Varlamov played an excellent game tonight and this game could easily have been flipped.

The Bad:

The defense was, for lack of a better word, bad at times. Several times, a player was left wide open in front of the net for an easy rebound. On one goal Hejda carried one of the Capitals into Mason as the puck was shot. At times it seemed some of the defenseman, including Tyutin and Moore, seemed a step slow. It’s to be seen if this was just indecision from learning a new system, the training camp grind, or something else but this cannot continue. This begs the question: Will GMSH make a move for a defenseman or wait for a few more games to decide?

Jared Boll…enough said. Seriously, he didn’t even TRY to drop the gloves tonight. Actually he played pretty well and had even a breakaway (missed, of couse). I just have to make fun of him.

I do have to give a shout out to the game ops crew tonight. There were a few new, small tweaks made that showed. The new goal horn doesn’t have the same resonance as the old one, but you sure know when a goal is scored (it may be louder than the cannon!).

So what does one take away from this game? Not too much. Look at the positives and build on them while fixing some of the defensive miscues. I will say this, the future looks bright and hopefully the future is now.

Carry the Flag and GO JACKETS!!!