Stat of the day

Kris Russell scored his first goal of his AHL career as the Crunch knocked off the Albany River Rats 5-3. Russell also added an assist.

Wilson, Sigalet, MacDonald and Mayorov also collected goals.

...oh and that 1st round pick from last year... yeah, he added 3 assists. He's got 5g, 6a for a 11p in 9 games.

One more stat for you. The Jackest officially have the worst ranked PP in the league converting at 12.4%.

-LTL

Clunker

So much for the 6 game point streak....

The Jackets dropped an ugly one last night to the Coytoes by a final of 5-2. Quite frankly the Jackets as a group were no-shows and were man handled, save for the final few moments of the game when Phoenix let up on the accelerator.

The biggest story of this game might just be the post game press conference when Hitch had this to say about his captain:

“Rick (Nash) wasn’t very effective today, for whatever reason,” Hitchcock said. “But he had a lot of company. A lot of company.”

The timing of this comment is very interesting as I thought Nash wasn't nearly as bad as he's been earlier this season (more on that later).

Make no mistake about it, this comment was a very calculated move by Hitch. He obviously wasn't happy with the way this team came out after playing so well the previous week and his motivational tactics are starting at the top. The Jackets squad cannot afford to "clunk" there way through any game -- especially against a Western Conference opponent they will most likely be trying to knock out of the playoffs to get in.


STOPLIGHT GAME REVIEW


GREEN
* After a game like this is hard to find any silver lining but the Jackets did do a few things well. They killed off a 4 minute minor to start with.

* I personally though Jason Chimera was our strongest forward from whistle to whistle. He was one of the few that actually had his legs moving and he was driving the net hard. He did collect an assist, registered a team high 5 shots, 1 hit, 1 give away and was a -2.

* Certainly not Brassard's strongest game but he was one of the few that was busting his butt in the 3rd period.. had a beautiful feed to Nash and grabbed a garbage goal. His quest for the Calder continues.

* I appreciated Boll's willingness to get dirty with a real tough guy in Fedoruk. He was a bit out of his league there but knew his team needed something...any kind of spark.

* Shane Doan was an absolute beast last night.

* Hey I did get a post game tour of the new R Bar.... that thing is going to be sweet! Target opening is late Nov early Dec.

YELLOW
* The Jackets did get a PP goal and Nash did get a goal. All to late to matter.

* This game certainly wasn't on Mason. As Hitch said, boy did he get hung out to dry. He made some sterling saves but there were just way to many quality chances.

RED
* Defense was a complete mess. Way to many breakdowns by everyone. All of the blueliners were bad but I thought Rusty and Tollefsen were especially craptastic. When Methot gets healthy I think the coaches have to think long and hard about putting him back with Tyutin in the top 4.

* Overall energy was unacceptable. They were beaten in every facet of the game. This team had 3 days off....well essentially 4 if you count last night's effort.

* 11k+ for attendance... so it goes.

3 BRIGHT LIGHTS ON THE NIGHT
1. R Bar tour
2. Free ticket
3. At least they didn't get shut out

A quick nugget I learned last night from a source I can't mention. Apparently Nash has been injured for weeks but kept it quiet because he knew if he was out there, team would game plan against him with their best defenders which would free up the rookies to do their thing. Eventually he had to disclose the injury as coaching staff, like the fans, were worried about his play.

Now take that for what its worth but it comes from a very reliable source. Frankly I think that shows a lot of leadership and character from the captain.

Anyhow, the Jackets need to quickly forget about this one... I know I'm trying to.

Look for this team to bounce back in Buffalo tomorrow night. They'll need to bring everything they've got as the Sabres are a very good team that is 9-3-3 and 5-2-1 at home.

-LTL

Week 5 Power Rankings: Jackets rocket up rankings!

TSN.ca
Rank: 15 (+11)
With three wins in his first three starts, G Steve Mason could force the Blue Jackets into a decision once the rest of the goaltending brigade is healthy.

ColumbusDispatch.com
Rank: 15 (+10)
A huge club after an impressive week; rookie goaltender Steve Mason has helped boost confidence.

ESPN.com
Rank: 16
The Blue Jackets haven't lost in regulation in six contests.

FoxSports.com
Rank: 18 (+9)
The surging Blue Jackets collected seven of a possible eight points in Week 5. Rookie goalie Steve Mason was the main reason the club fared so well, winning three straight starts for Columbus, including an impressive 4-3 shootout victory over one of the top teams in the NHL, the Montreal Canadiens.

CBC.ca
Rank: 14 (+11)
Rookie Mason has been great in goal.

Sportsnet.ca
Rank: 14 (+13)
The move to acquire R.J. Umberger is finally starting to pay off. He had five goals in four games.

CNNSI.com
Rank: 20 (+7)
The Jackets have won three straight on the shoulders of two rookies. Goalie Steve Mason was in net for all three while Derick Brassard, who earned Rookie of the Month honors for October, notched points in five of the Jackets' last six games. As long as coach Ken Hitchcock keeps these two on the ice as much as possible, and they remain solidly productive, Columbus could turn into a serious darkhorse down the stretch.

Yahoo.com
Rank: 23 (+5)
OK, let’s take Rick Nash, who has 159 goals in 378 career games. If he maintains the same pace, he’ll have scored 500 goals by age 35. Snicker now, but imagine if he chugs along at a slightly better pace as the Jackets improve and consider, too, he could play until age 40. Suffice to say, he’s on the radar, even if it’s early in his career.

THN.com
Rank: 20 (+7)
20-year-old Steve Mason makes his case for crease time by winning the first three starts of his NHL career.

CBSSports.com
Rank: 21 (+5)
Derick Brassard was the rookie of the month for the Jackets, who are starting to come alive offensively with 23 goals in the last six games and three wins in a row.

Meta-score: 17.6 (Last week 26.3)

After 6 straight games of registering at least a point the Jackets get a well deserved and much earned climb in the rankings.

Both Sportsnet & CBC clocks in at the highest ranking putting the Jackets at 14 in their lists. Sprotsnet gave us the biggest jump from the previous week moving the Jackets up 13 spots from their previous rankings.

Yahoo ranked us the lowest overall at #23. Both Yahoo and CBSSports tied for the lowest jump only moving the Jackets up 5 spots.

What interesting, to me anyways, is that its the Canadian sites plus the Dispatch that all gave the Jackets the most love.

I've always said, those north of the boarder know their hockey :P

-LTL

Barn Burner

Granted I cheer widly inside every time the Wings lose but non-biased aside, last night's 7-6 OT win for the Penguins over the Wings was some fun hockey to watch.

Of course if your the coaches of either squad your waking up this morning saying to yourself how in the h-e-doublehockeysticks did we give up 6+ goals? That kind of goals against total will drive any coach crazy. Let alone if your a Wings fan who watched their team blow a 5-2 lead in the 3rd.

Speaking of the Wings, they've given up a whopping 47 goals against through 14 games - yikes - some chinks in the armor?

..but for fans, or casual fans, tuning in with no skin in the game that was just "fun" to watch.

Nice read on Steve Mason from Sportsnet.ca:

"Coming into the year, I knew I could play if I was given the opportunity," said the reserved Mason, who will start against Phoenix on Wednesday. "I put a lot of hard work into it."

"I talk to my friends back home every day and I ask them what's up," he said. "They're writing essays for school and I'm just getting back from practice."

Nash on his play:

"It's his first couple games in the NHL and he's playing like a 10-year veteran," said Jackets captain Rick Nash. "He reminds me a lot of (Roberto) Luongo. He's positional, he doesn't get himself out of the play.

"He's playing solid."

Here is a really good read on the hockey Buckeye's sweep over the weekend:

Carlson, who was displeased with his previous outing against Michigan, used the weekend’s sweep of Michigan State as a platform to announce his arrival as a credible force in net for the Buckeyes.

“I felt like last weekend was pretty rough,” Carlson said regarding OSU’s 4-3 loss to Michigan. “I played solid, but I could have stolen that game for us and I just wasn’t able to. Coming out this weekend, I knew the job wasn’t solidified and I needed to prove myself.”

Aided by a strong defensive effort that yielded few serious scoring opportunities for the Spartans, Carlson stopped all 21 shots sent his way in Friday’s contest.

“I only felt I had to come up with two key saves in the game, otherwise everything was outside, right in to me,” Carlson said.

“Guys are starting to feel right out there,” Boyd said. “Look at Zac Dalpe, he’s accepting the big challenges and we’re getting our older guys like Picard and [Corey] Elkins that are really leading by example.”

Lindsay Kramer (I love his blog) has an updated injury report in terms of the Crunch. To recap: Steve Kelly out 4-6 weeks with broken ribs (ouch), Adam Pineault hopes to get back this weekend - he's been fighting a groin injury, Sestito is out 4-6 weeks with a separated shoulders and I love this update about Derick Dorsett:

Syracuse forward Derek Dorsett's temporarily injured leg is fine. Houston defenseman John Scott rolled up on it Sunday, and Dorsett had to be helped off the ice. He returned, but after the game said it was still sore. Tuesday, he said it was OK.

Course, with Dorsett, you could fire a nail gun into his kneecap and he'd say the same thing.

Intersting stat. Former Jackets and 2001 3rd round pick Aaron Johnson is off to a nice start with the Blackhawks this season. He has 3g, 3a in 11gp.

So if all the d-men on the roster are healthy enough to go tonight who sits? You know the top 4 won't so it will come down to Backman, Tollefsen and Methot. Easy decision for me... Backman takes a seat in the press box.

Fire away - who would you sit?

-LTL

Pre-game thoughts: Coyotes, winners of 2 straight, invade Nationwide

The 7-6 Phoenix Coyotes howl their way into Nationwide tonight riding a two game winning streak.

After a couple days rest from a brutal, yet highly successful, week the 7-6-2 Jackets will look to keep their points streak alive.

This is the second meeting of the season between these squads as earlier the Jackets were knocked off in Phoenix with a 3-1 loss. Hitch called 5 minutes of that game the worst 5 minutes of hockey this team has played.

Obviously the Jackets don't want to repeat that performance.

KEYS TO LIGHTING EM UP

* Oli Jokinen is on a flat out tear for the 'yotes. In his last 6 games he's got 6g, 3a for 9 points. He's leading the 'yotes in overall scoring with 16p in 13g. Jackets must shut him down. They have to watch out for his one timer on the PP where he does a lot of damage -- its flat out dirty.

* Two things that would obviously help the Jackets: 1. Nash scores and 2. the PP scores.

* Mason just has to play like he's been playing. No softies and no "oh sh**" moments.

* Jackets have been a beast even strength which if the special teams continue to sputter will need to continues. That balanced scoring has been real nice as well.

* Coyotes have solid goaltending in Byzgalov and some real skill up front. In addition to Jokinen they've got Doan, Mueller and a rookie in Mikkel Boedker who is off to a nice start with his pro career with 5g and 2a. They have speed, some sandpaper to their games and can hurt you so the Jackets have to outwork this group.

* The Jackets have had some nice transition, puck management and energy the past few games. That must certainly continue.

* Interesting stat. The Jackets have scored 46 goals versus the 'yotes 32. However the Jackets have given up 49 to the 'yotes 32 which is 2nd best in the West. Tells you how strong defensively the Phoenix squad is - they don't give up a lot which we'll get to more in a bit.

* The Jackets are starting to get banged up again. Huselius, Methot, and Klesla are all questionable according to the Dispatch. Leclaire is still listed as "out". We could really use Huselius' offensive touch tonight and I'd hate to see Methot out as he's been playing excellent hockey on the backend and generating some critical 'o' back there. In fact he leads all Jackets d-men in goals with 3, is 4th in scoring with 5p in just 10 games and he's a +2.

* Some Coyotes players are struggling like pre-season calder candidate Kyle Turris (who has already been a healthy scratch this season), Ed Jovanovski who has just 2 points and is a -7 and Derek Morris who is a -4 with 1 point in 13 games. Don't let those guys break out tonight.

* Coyotes goaltender has faced the 12th most amount of shots in the league 334 in just 11 games played. The leader is Kiprusoff whose faced 477 with 16 games played. That tells me the 'yotes defense is suspect but Brygalov has been the equalizer. Jackets have got to out work him.

GAME SPOTLIGHT

Couple of things for me tonight. I'd love to see Raffi Torres and Rick Nash get on the board with goals.... but more importantly is how/if the Jackets offense can outwork Byzgalov.

In a tight Western Conference every game means something this season. With 2 less games played the 'yotes sit just 2 points behind the Jackets. A key win tonight for the Jackets could provide some breathing room as they head to Buffalo on Friday night and then Minnesota (and no I haven't forgotten about that "reversal") on Saturday.

GO JACKETS!

-LTL

Ever wonder...

...what the inside of a superstar NHLer's house looks like? Well check out Detroit's Nick Lidstrom's pad here. Trust me when I say its a nice pile of bricks!

Ohio State Men's Hockey forward Zac Dalpe was named CCHA rookie of the week for the 2nd time already this season. Dalpe is currently tied for 11th in overall CCHA scoring with 9 point in 10 games.

Sophomore goaltender Dustin Carlson was also named CCHA goaltender of the week.

Well done fellas!

The Buckeyes aren't ranked yet but did receive 11 votes this week on UCHO.com.

More Z love from CNNSI.com's biggest surprises:

Nikolai Zherdev, RW, Rangers

After toiling in the obscurity of Columbus, Zherdev has found a home in the bright lights of the Big Apple with 12 points and a plus-9 in 14 games. Once thought of as a below-average defensive forward, he highlighted his signature game of the season last week against Atlanta with a rinklong dash followed by diving sweep check from behind against Todd White. Zherdev then scored the go-ahead goal and added an assist in the final period. The previous week, he scored a tying tally against the Penguins with eight seconds to play in a game the Rangers eventually won.

Not to worry, no mention of the Jackets young studs.

Pretty quiet day for the Jackets as they prepare for the Coyotes tomorrow night at home. According to the paper today everyone will get in a good skate today after multiple days off for some veterans.

..and yes, Mason gets the start tomorrow. Now way you could take him out of the pipes the way he's playing.

Something else to note is you know that extra roster spot that was created when Alexandre Picard cleared waivers last week? The more this goaltending situation develops the more I can see the Jackets actually carry 3 goaltenders for a while -- at least if/when/until Mason cools off.

This has to be the roster "flexibility" Howson referred to when making this move.

Chalk another one up to the St. Louis Blues marketing staff. Their latest promotion: "St Louis Blues Fan Bailout Plan" is making news across the league circles:

We know the economy is bad and that it's not easy paying your mortgage while also trying to buy Blues tickets, so we've come up with the Fan Bailout Plan, which is designed to help you do both. The Blues' Fan Bailout Plan offers three alternatives to save you money, help you pay your mortgage and still leave you with enough to see the Blues at Scottrade Center.

Yes its a gimmick but its also creative, smart, fresh and effective. There are lots of teams, including the Columbus Blue Jackets, who could use some fresh approaches towards marketing their team.

-LTL

Stat of the day

Actually saw this one on yahoo.com:

Steve Mason is the first goaltender to open his NHL career with three wins since Montreal’s Jaroslav Halak in February 2007.

Here is an interesting quote from Michael Peca from the same link:

“When a goalie exudes confidence, it trickles through your lineup. A young player can go two ways: they can be overwhelmed by the circumstances, or they’re just too young and naive to realize it, and they flourish. He certainly made some saves today that showed he’s flourishing from it.”—Blue Jackets center Michael Peca, commenting on rookie goaltender Steve Mason’s performance in three games since he was recalled from the minors.

-LTL

Wake up Burnside

I just read this piece from Scott Burnside regarding Alexandre Picard and the Jackets:

4. Want to know why some teams just never seem to get it?
It was a rather innocuous transaction last week: the Columbus Blue Jackets putting Alexandre Picard (a different Picard from the one that was part of the Meszaros deal between Tampa and Ottawa) on waivers. No one claimed the forward, and he was assigned to the Blue Jackets' AHL farm team in Syracuse. The problem is that Picard isn't just any old farm hand -- he was the eighth overall pick in the 2004 draft. He's played a total of 49 NHL games and has one lonely assist to show for his troubles.

Although the 2004 draft may not have offered the kind of depth of talent we've seen in recent years, putting an eighth overall pick on waivers is a scouting and development white flag. To be fair, Picard was drafted under the previous regime when John MacLean was GM (MacLean was replaced by Scott Howson in the summer of 2007). Still, moves like this go a long way in explaining why the Blue Jackets have never qualified for the playoffs, and why they are starting to see an erosion in their once-solid fan base.

Now I'm certainly not going to say the Jackets have the best drafting record but you have to laugh at the timing of a dig on the Jackets when 1. they have the leading NHL rookie scorer in Brassard 2. the have the 4th leading NHL rookie scorer in Voracek 3. a rookie goaltender in Steve Mason who was just named the league's 2nd star of the week and 4. Marc Methot's outstanding play.

No mention of any of those guys of course.

If you look at their current roster out of the 22 guys still on it, 10 (or 45%) are Jackets draft picks.

Its also interesting that in the same article he called the Zherdev trade one of the best of the offseason from a Rangers standpoint. Z is playing well early but I can't wait to see how that trade looks 6 months from now.

The bias in this article is crystal clear and its just another example of how the Jackets have a long road to respectability in NHL circles. If they keep winning the way they are guys like Burnside will have no choice but to recognize the steps the Jackets are taking.

...and Scott its Doug, not Steve, Maclean. This guy actually gets a paycheck to write this stuff?

-LTL

Mason gets a star and more!

Its kind of fitting lately that the Jackets primary logo features a star as accolades are falling like stars all over this Jackets squad.

First Derick Brassard was named rookie of the month...now fellow rookie Steve Mason has been named 2nd star of the week by the NHL.

Mason, 20, posted a 3-0-0 record with a 2.61 goals-against average and .907 save percentage in the first three starts of his NHL career. Recalled from the Blue Jackets' AHL affiliate in Syracuse Nov. 4, Mason made his League debut the following night and made 22 saves in a 5-4 victory over Edmonton. He stopped 34 shots and both shootout attempts in a 4-3 victory over Montreal Nov. 7 and picked up his third win in four nights when he made 22 saves in a 3-1 win over Calgary Nov. 8. Columbus' second pick, 69th overall, in the 2006 Entry Draft, Mason underwent arthroscopic knee surgery Sept. 23 and missed a month before making his professional debut with Syracuse Oct. 29.

One thing I want to ask about Mason is what's up with the headgear change? He wore that cool new helmet with featuring cannons against Edmonton but went back to his old one the following two games. Perhaps it just needs some breaking in.

At any rate he can't go back to the new with this win streak.

Thanks to a reader who pointed out this article by The Sporting News concerning the Jackets recent success with rookies stealing the show - I like this part:

Hitchcock has tried hard to limit the minutes for Voracek and Brassard so they don't get burned out early, or become more susceptible to injury. But even though they're playing less, they're contributing more. And their youthful exuberance and playfulness is supplying the Blue Jackets with more smiles per hour.

Late in the week, a Canadian television network added the Calgary-Columbus game to its schedule. It was a rare acknowledgment that hockey is even played in remote outposts like Ohio. It was also a hint that perhaps the Blue Jackets are gaining in respect.

"Being from Canada, you really don't get a lot of Blue Jacket news," said Mason, a native of Oakville, Ontario. "So for us to play a couple of games (on Canadian TV), it's definitely good for the organization. For us to win all three at home ... the organization doesn't have a reputation of being a strong team, but I think we've changed that this year. And hopefully it continues."

Rumor monger Bruce Garrioch has this to say about the Jackets yesterday:

The Blue Jackets are trying to shake things up. While they sometimes look like a team that's had just about enough of coach Ken Hitchcock's act, Hitchcock isn't going anywhere. That means players like D Christian Backman, C Jiri Novotny and G Frederik Norrena are being shopped around. Oddly enough, GM Scott Howson is finding lukewarm interest at best ...

I assume his "oddly enough" comment is a sarcastic one as after all we are talking about depth players here and ain't nobody going to touch Backman's 3.1 million contract unless we are taking a similarly brutal contract back.

You have to think Howson is keeping the lines of communication open, especially for offensive help on backend, but unless things start to really fall apart or something falls into his lap I think he'll sit on things for a while longer.

In other words don't expect names like Spezza, Sundin or Bouwmeester to be Jackets anytime soon.

For the record, Garrioch is about as reliable as Eklund.

-LTL

Stat of the day

The Jackets are tied for 8th overall in the league averaging 3.00 goals scored per game.

The Jackets are 21st in the league in averaging 3.20 goals against per game.

If the special teams can get rolling both on the PK and PP look out as this team is a killer at even strength scoring 29 of their 45 goals during 5 on 5 hockey which is tied for 6th best in the NHL.

Who says Hitch teams don't score goals?

-LTL

Weekend in review

The Jackets obviously had a fantastic weekend but there were some other teams that found success as well.

The Syracuse Crunch went 2-1 over a 3 game span in 3 days.

Thing didn't look so well out of the gate as they dropped a 4-1 game to Binhamton. Clay Wilson picked up his 5th goal of the year while rookie stud Nikita Filatov notched his first career assist in the AHL. Derek Dorsett also collected a helper.

The following night things got a lot rosier as the Crunch thumped Manitoba 6-3. This was a big night for Filatov who collected his 4th and 5th goals as well as added another assist. MacDonald, Dorsett, Rome & Frischmon also added goals. Kris Russell finally got on the board collecting 2 helpers as did Michael York.

Finally during an afternoon game yesterday the Crunch came from behind in the 3rd period off goals from Jonathen Sigalet and Michael York for the 2-1 win. For the 3rd straight game Filatov got on the scoresheet with a helper. Dan LaCosta stopped 31 of 32 shots for his 2nd straight win and 7th on the season.

Oh and John Mirasty had 2 fights over the 3 nights.

The Crunch record stands at 9-3 on the season which is good for 18 points and 3rd in the Western Conference.

York, Wilson and Sigalet lead the team in points with 10 points each.

In terms of rookies Filatov has 5g, 3a in 8 games. Maxim Mayorov has 3g, 6a in 12 games.

In 6 games Kris Russell has 2 assists and is a -3.

There are a lot of players playing well right now for the Crunch. Gotta love quality depth!

The Ohio State Men's Hockey team also had a successfull weekend. They played #11th ranked Michigan State in 2 game series at home on Friday and Saturday nights. They won both!

On Friday night they shutout the Spartans 3-0 off a strong goaltending performance by sophmore Dustin Carlson. Matt Bartkowski, Ian Boots and Mathieu Picard all scored for the Buckeyes who outshot the Sparton by a wide margin of 49-21.

On Saturday night the Spartans was more of an evenly played game. Still the Buckeyes, off 2 goals from our guy Zac Dalpe, pulled it out with a 3-1 win. Peter Boyd had the other tally and again Dustin Carlson was in net stopping 24 of 25 shots.

This was a much needed weekend for the hockey buckeyes who were swept in a similar fashion last weekend by Michigan. The two wins put their overall record at 4-5-1 and 3-4-1 in the CCHA.

Next up is the Robert Morris (Pittsburgh College Hockey Showcase) at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh this weekend.

Dalpe leads all Buckeyes in scoring with 6g, 3a for 9 points in 10 games.

I've got to get to a couple of these games to see these guys. Now if only they would stop overlapping with the Jackets! The next opportunity will be Nov 28th.

The Jackets AA affiliate the Johnstown Chiefs won both of their games against Reading winning the first game 1-0 and then 5-4 the following night.

Their overall record sits at 7-3 which is 2nd in the North Division.

-LTL

Jackets stretch regulation unbeaten streak to 6!

The CBJ roller coaster was parked for the night...at least for one game.

The Jackets did what they have yet to do the season, win back to back games with a gritty 3-1 victory of a very physical Calgary Flames team. The continue to get balanced scoring and played right through their special team struggles.

This win told me a lot about this team. It showed me they can shut down games. It showed me the players on this team are willing to make the necessary sacrifices to win. It showed me that they aren't getting to high off of wins and to low from losses. It showed me the guys are bringing their lunch pails to work each day. It showed me nobody in the organization is panicking (unlike me!).

After a real shaky start to the season this team is coming together and for the first time ever, we look to a have a real bonafide hockey team in cowtown. Now granted there will be plenty of ups and downs but if they continue to put the effort in, like they have these couple of weeks, its going to be hard for any fan to not enjoy this season.

Okay, on to the game breakdown.


STOPLIGHT GAME REVIEW


GREEN
* The came to play on the 2nd night of a back to back. They matched Calgary's physical game and were very opportunistic with their scoring chances.

* I was very impressed with the defensive play by the forwards in particular. I don't remember any odd man rushes against and we always had a forward hustling back on the backcheck.

* Steve Mason was very solid. He made some very good saves in the 2nd period when the game could have swayed either way. 3 straight wins for this kid. You can't sit him when Leclaire comes off the IR can you? Interesting situation developing here.

* I'm pretty hard on Manny but he played about as well as I've seen him play in a long time. His block that led to his goal was a fantastic play. What made it even more special was that he was at the end of shift but still found the energy to make it.

* Derick Brassard's goal as sweet but it was his defensive play in his own zone that really impressed me.

* The defense as a whole is doing a really good job of managing the puck and limiting their turnovers over this streak.

* Jason Chimera continues to play the best hockey of his career. He scored a very opportunistic goal, had a scrap and was a great in his own zone. He is really skating well.

* The Calgary Flames had a whopping 48 hits. A big green light is that we got out of this one without any significant injuries.

* Back to back wins for the first time this season.

* The Jackets needed to get on a run during this home stand to get back in it and that is exactly what they've done. We also can't forget these are 3 good teams they just beat.

* Boys were scrappy and didn't shy away from the rough stuff. Boll, Chimera and Commodore all got their noses dirty.

YELLOW
* Rick Nash played another good game. He's definitely snake bitten in the goal department (he did hit a post) but he's competing really well, especially over the past two games. You've got to think the goals will come.

* Peca was a beast in the faceoff circle after a down night against Montreal. He won 11 of 16 and had another great night on the kill. His work on the 3rd line this season has been a treat to watch.

* The PK did give up a goal but I didn't think they were that bad against one of the top PPs in the league. Good goaltending and strong shot blocking certainly helps.

RED
* Announced crowd of just over 14k. Start spreading the word that we have a team here fans so we start putting more buts in the seats.

* PP continues to sputter but the good news is that despite its lack of productivity the Jackets are winning.

3 BRIGHT LIGHTS ON THE NIGHT
1. Back to back wins to stretch their unbeaten streak to 6!
2. Balanced scoring throughout lineup.
3. Shut the game down in the 3rd and didn't give up the lead.

The Jackets next game is Wednesday versus the Coyotes. I'm sure they are enjoying a well deserved day off.

With this big week behind them the Jackets appear to have dug themselves out of the hole they found themselves in. Next they'll look to continue this nice little streak they are and put an even bigger dent in the standings.

-LTL

Open post

Just wanted to throw this up here for those that want to comment on the game tonight since I'll be a little late to the party.



-LTL

Jackets pull to .500 off big win

Where to start.

I guess I'll start by saying that was a huge win against a very good Montreal team. Methot, Umberger and Modin all with goals. Huselius and Brassard with nasty finishes in the shootout.... and what about Mason? The Jackets aren't in this game without his play in the 1st period.

Sure the are still plenty of areas to improve upon (ahem...special teams) but even when this team gets down they are proving time and time again, they aren't out.

Honestly, these past two home games have been some of the most fun I've had in a looong time at Jackets games. Of course winning always helps!

STOPLIGHT GAME REVIEW

GREEN

* This team never gave up. It was up and down and all over the place at times but everybody had a hand in winning this one. Tough start aside this team is showing some really good signs over the past 5 games that we could have something here.

* This team is not in this game without Mason's performance in the first period. That is a what your goaltending needs to do -- keep you in games until the team in front of you wakes up. We also can't overlook that shootot performance.

* Fedor Tyutin played over 30 mintues last night. That has got to be close to a Blue Jacket record. He had an unbelievable assist on Modin's goal, 2 shots, 1 block and 4 hits. He wasn't killer on the PP as he bobbled some keep ins but for the most part I thought he had a real solid night in all situations.

* Marc Methot with another goal had 4 hits and 3 blocks. He's just been a big tree trunk back there who is getting his nose dirty all over the ice. This guy is just playing some fantastic hockey and I don't know where this offensive flair is comin from but I love it!

* I often overlook Jan Hejda on this blog which is my fault b/c he's been playing some great hockey, especially lately. He led the team in +/- last night with a +3 and even collected a couple of helpers. He's finding some chemistry with Commodore and is certainly living up to his "black hole" defensive billing.

* Big up to Hitch for putting Brass in the shootout and increasing his ice time (17+ last night). The kid has earned it.

* A shootout win! I almost forgot what that was like... Huselius' was sweet but Brass's attempt was just nasty.

* That was a hard hitting game. Both teams were throwing their weight around. Jackets had 33 hits led by Tyutin and Methot with 4. Montreal was alot more physical than I was expecting with 27.

* We have replays in Nationwide Arena...and lots of them!! YES!

* Brassard continues to be amazing in the circle. He won 10 of 14 last night. His ability in the circle has been one of the biggest suprises for me in his game.

* How hot is RJ Umberger? He notches yet another goal last night..his 4th in 3 games.

* Well done section 108!!

YELLOW

* Kristian Huselius had some bad turnovers last night and generally it wasn't his strongest game. He gets a yellow because he had some awesome defensive plays on the backcheck that really broke up some quality chances for the Habs. Those kinds of things all add up to wins.

* Rick Nash is starting to look like Rick Nash. One has to wonder if there was an injury somewhere in the mix here and he just now starting to get over it? Or it could just be a condidence thing. He was strong all night and how about that feed to Methot for that even up tally in the 3rd? Nice.

* Good atmosphere in the arena again last night with a crowd of 14,600. Give Habs fans some credit, they certainly showed up to support their team . The Jackets fans did a great job of drowning them out.

* Quite night for Voracek.

* Speaking of quiet... Modin may have the quitest 6 points 8 games on the team.

* He only collected an assist but I thought Jason Chimera had another strong game last night. He's so much more patient with the puck this season....looks really confident out there and he's even staying onsides most night. He also had a team high 6 shots. My one criticism is he's got dump that puck at the end of regulation there -- you can shoot and miss the net...that led to the Canadiens breakout that ultimately resulted in the tying goal.

* Peca was really good on the PK but was brutal in the face off circel only winning 5 of 19 for 26%.

RED

* You know I'm not really even going to get into the reds for this one. The same problems we've had all season showed up especially with special teams (we've got to score 5 on 3!) but I'm just gonna sit back and enjoy this one.

* I give myself a red for not remembering the new face off rule when a player takes a penalty.

3 BRIGHT LIGHTS ON THE NIGHT

1. Jackets find a way to get two points.

2. Steve Mason was really good, especially in the first.

3. Not a lot of passengers last night...some strong performances from a number of players including Methot, Nash, Tyutin and many more.

With the win the Jackets improve to 6-6-2 on the season which is good for 14 points and 3rd in the Central (1 point behind Chicago). They are 3-0-2 in their past 5 and certainly appear to be digging themselves out of their early season hole.

The Jackets won't have time to enjoy this one as they get right back at it tonight versus the Calgary Flames.

I won't be at this as I'll be supporting the Columbus Crew in their first home playoff game in 3 years. Not to worry as I'll be watching the game on DVR as soon as I get home!

Those who have followed this team through the years have had a lot of long years but there are finally some strong signs ladies and gentlemen that we just may be onto something this season.

We can certainly call this team a lot of things but boring isn't one of them!

Lets see if the boys can keep this ball rolling tonight!

GO JACKETS!!

-LTL

Fan video of last night's shootout

This one is courtesy of David:



Great vid David... thanks for sharing!!

Game review will be up in a bit.

-LTL