Another LeClassic!!

Another goose-egg? Are you serious? Somebody stop this guy and this team... this is just borderline c-r-a-z-y at this point... 5 shutouts.... a team that is 8-3-2? I know that Christmas is coming up and I know many say Leclaire looks like the grinch...but whomever stole our lovable losing Blue Jackets team can keep em.....I want more of these 'W's' and Pascal LeGrinch stealing these shutouts under my tree this year!!

Jacket fans...take a step back and enjoy this winning. I don't think hockey can get much more fun that it is right now...okay....the thought of seeing this team in the playoffs for the first time would be the cannon's boom but as of Van Halen's right here, right now.....this is the most fun I've ever had watching this team compete!

So oh yeah... lets get to the game last night.

Lit em up

Again...lets start with the obvious....Pascal Leclaire continues to sizzle. He stopped 21 of 21 shots including some prime time scoring opportunities (how bout that save off of Kariya - yaaazaam!) during an extended 5 on 3 advantage for the Blues when the Jackets were only up by 1 goal to earn his 5th shutout of the season. Leclaire did get a little lucky with the help of his three buddies (two posts and crossbar) as the Blues rang two shots off em but you have to be good to be lucky!

Nikolai Zherdev is a man possessed right now. This guy is flying out there and was hands down the best forward for the Jackets last night. He assisted on Nash's goal but should have had more points if some forwards could have buried shots. Whatever Hitch and Howson did to this guy to get him going again worked and he's having fun playing hockey again!

Again the PK stopped every Blues PP opportunity last night....they are #1 right now by a large margin (some 3 percentage points). The team is getting fabulous goaltending but also forcing other teams into the low percentage shooting areas of the ice b/c of great team work by the on ice killers.

Even though the kid had no points to show for it I really thought Gilbert Brule played his best of the year thus far last night....he was carrying the puck well, making passes, bangin, drivin the net....kid is starting to really come around and the points are gonna come right along for the ride.

Can enough be said about the Chimera-Manny-Fritsche line? Manny with a goal and assist last night..Chimera picked up another goal albeit a shot the Blues goaltender should have stopped...but this line just keeps on pluggin away and the points are now coming for them.

Nash did his thing again...buried a highlight real goal...thats 10 goals in 13 games for the Monster.

Shout-out to the guy who is doing the 30 games in 30 nights...had a chance to talk with him briefly at the Rbar last night and let me just tell ya, I'm jealous as hell. He said he's been planning this trip for 4 years...its gonna cost him about 30 grand....sounds like he's having a blast but definitely staying busy. So far through 10 arenas he said Montreal has been hands down his favorite stop thus far.

Dim the light

Attendance was better...still not great...actually the upper bowl looked much more full but the lower needed some work. Keep winning boys and then will come (especially once football season is over!).

Sergei Fedorov played a quite but strong game. He was good defensively and picked up another assist on Manny's goal and was a +1. Still not what you expect for 6 mil but it is what it is at this point and I think he's being used by Hitchcock in the best possible way given the circumstances and he seems to be responding. Guy has 4 points in his past 4 games.

Busted Bulbs

Vyborny continues to struggle....4 asssist in 13 games. The Jackets really need to get this guy going.

I'm not one to typically bitch about the refs...but what was up with the game they called last night? Jarred Boll with a dive? Do they have clue what type of player this is -- guys like Boll do not "dive"....then apparently Adam Foote high sticked himself in crease, at leaset that was impression I got when the refs didn't call anything after a Blues player clearly did the damage.... then later Barret Jackman all but jumped Curtis Glencross at the end of the third....he dropped his gloves...yet all he gets is a two minute roughing penalty? C'mon... I know its hard to get everything right in a fast paced game like hockey but there's no excuse for some of these calls and non-calls getting missed.

Still can't believe I can type this record with a straight face but 8-3-2....I'm feeling it and this is shaping up to be one helluva ride this season!!

Next up the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday.

-LTL