According to Puck-rakers the Jackets will ice a full lineup tonight minus of course, Pascal Leclaire. The projected lines are as follows:
Nash - Umberger - Huselius
Chimera - Brassard - Voracek
Torres - Peca - Modin
Murray - Malhotra - Boll
Looks pretty good on paper eh? Of course the paper has to translate to the ice.
On to the game.
The Jackets take on the 2-7-1 New York Islanders. A team that is in full throttle rebuild mode and is without their top goaltender and 3 of their top defensemen.
Jackets, on paper, should win this one right? History has shown that you can't take nights off against any team and the Jackets have had a tendency to play down to their opponents....we don't even want to get into road records.
I would say this one is anything but a lock for our beloved CBJ but its certainly a winnable game if they play like they have been the past couple of outings.
KEYS TO LIGHTING EM UP
* Come to play. Don't even look at the standings. The Islanders while beat up and rebuilding are still a team that competes and can outwork you. They've only won once at home so you bet they are looking at this one in the same fashion the Jackets are -- and that's as a winnable game.
* Special teams need to be special. PP needs to convert and the PK needs to be sharper defending. The Islanders actually rank better in both PP and the PK than the Jackets.
* Streit closed. Mark Streit is playing well for the Islanders and is their biggest threat from the blueline -- especially on the PP. Got to shut him down.
* Speaking of goats. Long time NHL vet Doug Weights leads the team with 10 points and Bill Guerin is tied with Streit and Hunter for goals with 4. Chances are of the Jackets contain this group they win.
* Goaltending could easily decide this one. Both teams have given up 37 goals although the Islanders have played 1 less game. Norrena I'm lookin at you.
GAME SPOTLIGHT
Modin and Boll are back tonight. I'm not convinced either guy is 100% so it will be interesting to see how both perform tonight.
Bummed to see Dorsett get sent down but this kid will be a full time NHLer before we know it. His is a classic case of a numbers game but I think the Jackets have to find a way to make room for him on the big roster and soon (i.e. trade of some sort).
My buddy who is a die hard Islanders fan thinks this should be a 'W' for the Jackets. Even though the Jackets are 6-1-1 against this team all time my response is you never can tell with this squad as they have yet to show the character to beat teams they should.
Tonight is a great chance to show they've taken a step to be that kind of team.
GO JACKETS!
-LTL
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11 comments:
I have to agree. Shut down the Isles' top line and Streit, and you probably have a win.
The Isles turned in their best 40 minutes of the season Saturday, going up on Montreal 4-1 before crashing in the third to lose 5-4 -- at home! So the sting and motivation should be there to play a full 60. But god, the injuries...
this is a must win... there ill say it... and yeah it felt good... not for any other reason than we should be better than this team on this night period...
2 big points out there waiting on us...
i hate that dorsett got shoved down for UGH modin...
i like our team though i really think things are gonna start rolling our way... no more screw jobs by the refs... no more posts and crossbars... no more failed attempts at breakaways...
this is OUR time
Brassard is a late scratch, got the flu.
Suddenly, I don't feel so well either.
Just wanted to say good luck tonight.
Get rid of Backman now. He quit on the play as soon as he got called on the penalty - the Isles then scored. He had a chance to touch the puck after the penalty was called. Terrible 3-0.
I have three words when it comes to the CBJ LA-HOO-Zers! This is absolutely disgusting!!! I say the team leaves Columbus by year 10 because they still won't have made the playoffs, when they play like they do these days, and I am not a fair weather fan, I have been supporting this team since it's inception. I even gave up being a Wings fan for this CRAP! They aren't winners, that is the problem. They don't know how to finish. Until they learn how to do that they will ALWAYS be losers...in anyone's eyes.
-Thom
Disappointing. Playing 40 minutes of a 60 minute game. Hoping things look better on Saturday when I'm up at Nationwide, but I won't hold my breath - it's the 2nd game of a back-to-back and we know how those go.
The thing I love the most about the CBJ is that they clearly showed in the first period that we are the better team period.. then they put it in cruise-control in the second.. and go down 3-0 ... show some character and tie it in the 3rd period, only to lose it overtime.
I keep telling friends who are fans of other (bigger) franchises, that if you would watch the individual games versus the sharks/stars etc.. you would see that out of the 4 games we play against top opponents we go 1-3.. (1 clear loss, 1 win and 2 really really close games)...
But the problem is that we don't get the points, the performance always seems to drop in the last 15 minutes.... and they play down to opponents... WHY is it that it doesn't matter if we play the Red Wings or the Islanders, it is going to be a competitive game.. no matter what it is close.. we need to start winning against the the bottom 10 teams in the league..
Heck last night in OT they didn't even try.. they were holding on for the penalties...
The bottom line is that we lost against possibly the worst team in the league... that is just unacceptable...
It's weird to see the BlueJackets "dominate" (using that term loosely) for most of the game and not score any goals. All periods had decent passing, a few good scoring opportunities and everyone seemed fairly calm throughout... Incredibly SLOW game.
The Modin backhander should have been in. It looked like he saw he missed, saw the puck go behind the net, but skated off to the right instead of going after it. I hope he adds some veteran leadership because I don't know what else he contributes? There were quite a few rebounds available and no one around put them away.
I was incredibly disappointed when the ref's arm went up for a CBJ penalty and everyone stopped BEFORE THEY GOT POSSESSION OF THE DAMN PUCK! That was just sad.
Umberger had two goals though and, today only, I'll take the OTL point. Should have been two, but it's better than nothing. Hopefully they learned something.
This team either needs a trade or a new coach. Maybe both.
Nash as been AWFUL and he needs called out!!! Maybe sit him down and rip the C off his chest. He does not play like he deserves it. Period.
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