Live bloggin

Well done boys, enjoy your break...you've all earned it! See ya back at home against another tough oppenent in Phoenix on Tuesday!

Jackets finish this 5 game road trip going 3-2 and still right in the hunt for a playoff spot. So far in January they are 7-5 with two games remaining... overall they improve to 25-20-6. Depending on how the standings finish out tonight they could move into a tie with that 8th spot.

Holy cow..what a hard fought win by the Jackets.... Leclaire hands down the best player on the
ice.....Jackets were absolutely dominated in the 3rd but Leclaire held them in it...

*takes breath*

**END OF GAME**

JACKETS WIN!!! LECLAIRE WITH THIS 8TH SHUTOUT OF THE YEAR!! EAT IT ALL STAR GAME!!!! WHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

TO Chicago. Who takes this faceoff for the Jackets? Probalby Novotny... Nash, Foote, Klesla also
out there... big draw.. Novotny wins it! HUGE!

Oh great... Peca with penatley with 31 seconds remaining.. you've got to be kidding be.. after all they let go this period... penalty in the defensive zone as well.. *still holding breathe*

Chimera with some great chances tonight but can't burry any...

Great defensive zone faceoff win by Novonty there.. 5 on 5 play back... 3 mins left.. *holds breath*

Friggan Leclaire with the save... again! Guy has been amazing this game..

Now they call Z for diving... riiiight... 4 on 4 hockey.. plays into the hands of the hawks with all that open ice and offense they have..

Z draws penalty.. how big is that with 5 minutes left?

Goaltending clinic out there... Habby with a huge save on Chimera... how bout that feed from Z? Beauty..

Big shift there by Boll, Murray, Manny... actually spent some time in offensive zone this period..

HOLY LEGS! SAVE OF THE GAME BY LECLAIRE!!! WOW!

Jackets need to attack.. playing way too defensively...

Man...heart rate pounding now... Leclaire coming up huge here in the 3rd to preserve 1 goal lead... momentum all hawks though.. they are comin hard... Jackets need to take advantage turnover as they are pressing and pot one on the rush..

That Murray is fantastic on the forecheck...

There was a shot by Z... great save by Habby... that was labeled...

Yikes...no Jacket shots this period thus far... livin on the edge I'd say..

Jackets can't get it out of their own zone this period... momentum all hawks..

Love Modin and Peca tonight on the kill... great work.

Nash with broken sitck.. Jackets get lucky and get a clear...

Jackets take a penalty.. .Chicago really taking it to the Jackets this period... PK needs to step it up again...

I hate these tight games....can't we just blow a team out? Gonna have to break out the oxygen again me thinks..

I think its safe to say the stripes have put the whistles away this period... could have been two penalties there.. one on us and them.. but nada

Ha.. Tollefsen and Ruutu been goin at it all night long... would like to see that fight but Ruutu is more of an agitator than a willing combatant..

Jackets need to pick it up.. hemmed in early in this 3rd..

If there is one area Leclaire needs to work on its stick handling... dude scares the crap out of me when he tried to handle the biscuit..

Hawks coming out with energy... boys looked a little slow to the puck that last cycle...

Here we go... 20 min game now..

**START OF THIRD**

Jackets just need to keep doing what they are doing. Expect the hawks to come out harder in the 3rd. Jackets will need to match it. They get that next goal and its gonna be real hard Chicago to come back.

Jackets notch the only goal thus far. Outshooting them 23-16. PK really big for the Jackets there.

**END OF SECOND**

I think its safe to say Chicago gets under Nash's skin... questionable play there on 61 trying to nullify that icing... finished off Seabrook a little there..

Actually check that.. its a 5 on 4.... Leclaire another big save..

3 on 3 play.. don't see this very often... 'hawks will have a 4 on 3 here shortly which can be very dangerous.. lots of open ice..

Just realized Novonty has the cage off tonight...anyhow..back to the game..

Jackets getting caught in a little run and gun there... Leclaire another big stop on Havlat... Hedja got caught pinching there..

Wisniewski down.. .looks like Nasher took him down.. .remember those two fought earlier in the year... Nash gets 4 minutes...

Hawks with another penalty... this time hookin on Nash... the Jackets have got to score one here... this is their 5th PP...

Jackets looked much better on this PP..even though they didn't score... Modin with some great loose puck retrieval...

Hainsey with a nice shot from the point...

Nice crowd tonight in the United Center too..

Brassard making things happen again.. just drew a penalty...

Z just rang one off the post.. damn.. could have used that one..

Modin with a great play on the PK there... fantastic.. plays like those lead to wins.. Jackets kill penalty... 'haks PP looks worse than ours tonight.. that's hard to do..

Refs discussing now if Hedja flipped puck in stands... really this is a big decision.. it would give the 'hawks a 50 second 5 on 3... Jackets catch a break... no extra penalty..

Game opening up now.. Jackets take a penalty... Brassard with a beautiful feed to Nash... Habby with another good save.. that's the kind of playmaking we've been lookin for for big 61 though.. big kill here again..

Is it just me or does it seem like the Nash line isn't seeing a whole lot of time... probably more to do with the fact they are rolling 4 lines tonight..

OH HELL YEAH!! Jarod Boll with the hustle and then gets the reward off a sweet feed from Tollefsen (of all people)... huge goal...Boll earned that one...

Chimera flashing those hands of stone... guy drives me insane sometimes..

Man... nice play by Kane with that drop pass to Sharp... Leclaire answers... sweet play though..

Foote and Hedja looking especially good as a pair this game... really have shut down the the 'hawks big guns up to now (hopefully I didn't just put the jinx on em)

Hitting picking up here in the 2nd... that's more like it boys..

Nice save on Havlat there by Leclaire to open up this period.

**START OF SECOND**

Quick Crunch update: Score tied 1-1 after 1. Lindstrom with the tally for the Crunch. Westcott and Rome with assists.

Just was checking some scores... a whopping 26 of 30 teams in action tonight.. yep, must be the last regular season night before the All Star break.... and of course let me take another opporutunity to say how wrong, wrong, wrong the NHL was to leave Leclaire off the squad -- unexplicable..

Really not the kind of first I thought it would be...pretty conservative on both sides....which is good for the Jackets. Unfortunately the Jackets couldn't convert on any of their 3 powerplays in that period which could come back to haunt them. Good road period though for the good guys.

Jackets lead in shots 10-9.

**END OF FIRST**

Nice save by Leclaire... he's made some solid stops this period... nothing fancy but stopping the shots he should..

Man...Brassard flying there...nice shot..we've got another guy who can carry this puck...and we need it!

Ouch...that hit hurt Boll... face plant by Seabrook.... good shift there by the Nash line.. .Brassard making quick smart plays out there... kids got talent.. no doubt about it..

Jackets PK lookin good...much better than their PP thus far that's fo' sho'..

Hawks turn on the PP.. Hejda with a lazy hook there... you know the officials were lookin for anythin even close to a penalty on the Jackets..

Hawks kill 3 straight PPs...get the feeling the momentum is going to change here..

At this point not sure why you come back with Z, Peca and Chimera... I'd would have put Z, Nash and Modin out there......PP is just ugly......god..Vybes with another miss..

Man...another Jackets PP...that was a terrible call on Kane though.. 'hawks should have a beef with that one..

PP not lookin sharp early tonight...in fact they almost gave up a shorty... Jackets missed a couple of early opps to get up early in this one.. could come back to haunt them..

Oh man.. Vybes with a wide open net... but stuttered with the puck and then put a real light shot on goal... got to finish that one.. story of Vybes season thus far..

Boll draws a penalty with some hard work....another golden opportunity for the Jackets..need better chances than what they got on the previous PP..

Hawks on keying on Z....that's a couple times now they pokechecked him.. he's our best chance to gain the zone on the PP with possession and the 'hawks know that..

Nice chance for Brassard there...nice save by Habby..

Has David Vyborny taken a shift yet? Burried way down the lineup...

Jackets go on 1st PP....their PP is hot...getting one here could go a long way in this one..

Interesting that Nash started on the right wing..usually don't see that. Modin on the left.

Decent energy by both squads thus far...

Modin is so good along the boards...such an underated aspect of hockey.

**START OF FIRST**

2 mins til game time.

It will be interesting to see what kind of energy the Jackets come out with early in the final game against the 'hawks.