Pre-game thoughts: Let's blow it up again!!

Look for the empire to strike back tonight. The Preds are a desperate bunch.. this is a must win game for them.... their season is on the line.

I'm not gonna make this too long and complicated b/c when it all boils down to it the Jackets are going to have to find a way to manufacture a point or preferably two and it's going to take everything they've got.

Despite playing and losing last night to the Blackhawks I expect the Preds to come out flying and checking anything with a star on it from the first drop of the puck. I expect that intensity to last 10 minutes.... heck they may even check their own national anthem singer. The Jackets will have to weather it, Mase is going to have to make some big early saves and they all have to stay disciplined.

If the Jackets survive that first onslaught and escape planet Hoth in one piece I like their chances.

This is a game where the Jackets will need their best players to be their best. They haven't won at the death star in their past 10 and there is no better time to put an end to that streak tonight.

They may need the force, Yoda, Obi-wan, Carrie Underwood's mic, Garth Brooks' guitar and the grand ole opry to get her done but this team has suprised all year.

I can tell you this, Vader isn't going down without a fight.

Blow it up again Jackets!

Be sure to check out Rick's pre-game article with some original quotes here.

GO JACKETS!

-LTL

Music city misfire

The Jackets blew another chance to gain some key points against a division and now playoff rival in Nashville. Its not that they played horrible its just that Nashville played better...

Man I hate losing to that team but I digress!

Their goaltending was better.. their skill players were better.. their role players were certainly better and their special teams were better.. it all added up to a 4-2 loss for the Jackets and knocked them from 6th to 7th place in the West.

STOPLIGHT GAME REVIEW


GREEN
*Juice's pass to Williams was a rainbow... the finish was the pot of gold at the end. That was some pretty hockey.

* Novotny had a great hit on Weber that created the 2 man advantage.

* Toronto got some calls right... although I'm still not sure what took so long to make the ruling on the Tootoo hand bat.

* Pekka Rinne was good.. real good.. and if he keeps this up he could surpass Mase as the Calder favorite.. even though he is 26 year old (cut off is 27).

* My buddy won a Klesla autographed puck and 4 tix to the Boston game at the R Bar viewing party... I also heard it was great turnout.

YELLOW
* Like the fact the Jackets didn't go quietly at the end of the game.

* Mason was okay... he made some big saves but had some bad luck (i.e. Russell scoring on him)... got beat glove side on a break-away and couldn't find the puck on a point shot on tha 4th goal... Wasn't horrible by any stretch but we've seen him play better however. If the Jackets want to have any shot at all against Detroit they'll need a better game from Mase.

* The Jackets did a good job of staying out of the box with only two penalties... they also killed both of those off.

RED
* The 2-man advantage for a full 2 minutes was an absolute joke. How it takes NHL caliber talent a minute just to set up when your up by two guys is unthinkable?? If the Jackets fail to make the playoffs they can look directly at their 30th ranked PP for the reason why. A goal early on the PP may not have won it for them but who knows what kind of momentum the Jackets could have generated off it?

* Aaron Rome and Kris Russell pair was a problem all night... notably Rome had a terrible turnover that led to I believe was the 2nd goal as as mentioned Russell scored on his own net... both guys were not sharp all game.

* The Jackets as a whole did not respond well to Nashville's high pressure two-man forecheck. The d-men could not move the puck quickly enough to the forwards.. and the forwards didn't do great job adjusting and giving them options. It completely broke down the Jackets trap.

* When is the last time the Jackets allowed a break-away?

* Stunk that the Jackets couldn't get Vermette in the lineup.. will never know if he would have sparked them.. one thing I will say is they could have used him in the faceoff circle at the very least -- the Jackets only won 44%.. and lost a key defensive zone faceoff that led to the 1st goal.

* Their best players were better than our best players. Rinne>Mason; Arnott/Sullivan/Dumont>Nash/Manny/Juice; Weber>entire CBJ defense.

* Nashville was just a generally nastier team... they had bigger hits (31 to the CBJ's 17)... stronger shifts... controlled tempo... they deserved to win this game.

* Modin injured yet again... dude, can't catch a break.

* Jackets got some bounces... Nash's goal comes to mind.. they also got a favorable call from Toronto.. unfortunately they couldn't take advantage of those breaks.

* 2 hits credited to Boll/Murray/Dorsett..... these guys are our sandpaper and were largely invisible all game. You just can't have that and expect to beat the Predators.

3 BRIGHT LIGHTS ON THE NIGHT
1. Williams with a beautiful finish off of a superb feed from Juice.
2. Novonty hit on Weber
3. The fact that it was Jordan Tootoo who got the goal waived off... that is always a good thing.

Right now they are 5-7-1 against the Central. They have a 11 of their 18 games left against their own division.

If the Jackets want in... they are going to have to start beating their own division. Plain and simple. They are going to have to find way to salvage points in games like this and they have to do a better job on the PP.

I said earlier this week that they needed to take 2 of 3 this week... they are 1-1 with their biggest challenge yet to come at Detroit. Another place where they have yet to win at this season.

-LTL

BIG Win!

That was BIG!

The Jackets coming off a 0-3 trip out west had to win last night versus those damn Preds... you know the team that has pretty much moved into Nationwide and made themselves real comfortable the last two seasons.. yeah.. ownership.

This was just the Jackets 3rd win in the last 19 tries against this team.... and it couldn't have come at a better time as the Jackets desperately needed a 'W' to not only stop the bleeding but to stop what's left of this fanbase from abandoning ship.

They came through though... and it certainly wasn't easy. The Jackets outplayed the Preds for the most part but didn't have anything to show for it through two periods. The Preds relied on their strong blueline and timely goaltending and countered when they could and that strategy paid off with a wicked Martin Erat wrister that beat Mason glove side high.

At that point you think.. whelp, there is your game.. Nashville scored first in the 3rd period and we know how much the Jackets struggle when they don't score first....

...but...

4 minutes after Erat's goal Commodore strikes with a goal from.... get ready for this... a point shot!! It was just a second or two short of a PP goal but timely nonetheless...

From there Steve Mason completely took over making quality save after quality save in OT and then the shootout.

..the shootout...

Rick Nash had a beauty and then Hitch throws the curve ball... the 3rd shooter for the Jackets was the recently struggling Jakub Voracek...a 19 year old rookie... a bold move for Hitch but as we read in the paper this morning he went with him because the kid played strong all game (which he did) and wanted to reward him.

The reward paid off when Voracek opened up Ellis' pads just enough to slide the biscuit through to the basket.... Mason then follows up with another key save and there is your game!

SPOTLIGHT GAME REVIEW


GREEN
Couple of things I want to start with. 1. The Jackets battled back for the win after giving up the 1st goal in the 3rd. 2. They executed in the shootout. 3. They generated a goal from the point. All big positives to me.

Steve Mason was fantastic. Not much he or any goaltender could do on that Erat heater... that was a beautiful shot. However some of the saves he made in OT were of the "wow" variety especially when you consider the state of that game and the Jackets... he doesn't come up big there and the Jackets find themselves on a 4 game losing streak... he is really looking like a big time big game goaltender every club covets.

Jackets got some breaks. They killed off an extended 5 on 3 that involved some luck with the post. Heck when it got back to 5 on 4 I believe it was Chimera who broke a stick.. still they managed to weather the storm. We've seen a lot of games this year when those breaks did not go in our favor. Nice to see em fall the Jackets way for once.

Was great to see Commodore get his first as a Jacket... he's been playing really solid hockey for us. He also had a team high 7 shots and threw up 3 hits and 2 blocked shots. He got beat a bit by Erat's speed on his goal but certainly made up for it. Complete game for the double deuce...and if you notice that 'fro is starting grow out!

..am I the only one excited by Russell's play the past couple of games? The points are starting to come for him as well. He collected a helper which gives him 3p in his last 2 games. I really want to see Klesla paired with him when he comes off the IR.

PK did its job of killing off all 4 penalties... yeah, they needed a little luck but we are due for some.

Solid game for Voracek. He was very noticeable last night.. he had a couple of rookie mistakes early but I really liked how Hitch kept going back to him and then to give him a shot in the shootout was brilliant move I thought... one in which could really get his confidence moving in the right direction. Speaking of Voracek... did anyone watching notice how pissed he was after he didn't score in close when he went back to the bench? He was saying some "words" and slamming his stick.... can't teach that kind of fire but at the sametime you don't want him beating himself up to much.

Crazy dudes with the Swedish flags. Apparently they were friends of Huselius.

YELLOW
PP went 0-4 but they had some decent puck movement..especially on the last two.While we wait for the PPQB that may never come, I'd really like to see them move the puck faster with some bang bang passes and subsequent rips. Shame that Commodore's goal didn't count as a PP goal though, the PP made that one happen.... and they had a nice screen on that shot.

Nash-Umberger-Huselius line was pretty good but just couldn't pot any.. that shift by Huselius in OT where he played keep away from the entire Preds team himself was somethin.

The team dished out 29 hits last night led by Methot's 6. Game was pretty tame in the scrum/fight department though which to me played into the Jackets hands.

Modin didn't get on the scoreboard but he looks to be finally rounding into game shape. Liked him tonight again.

RED
You'd really like to see the Jackets get on the scoreboard when they outplay a team like they did in that first period. They definitely lack that killer instinct.

Brutal night in the faceoff circle and it almost burnt them, especially in OT when the Preds didn't seem to lose an offensive draw. Jackets only won 37%.

Jared Boll with 4+ minutes. Peca with 9+.. Backman with 10+... Bad for those guys but I can't argue with giving any of those guys reduced minutes.

Gave Nashville a point.

3 BRIGHT LIGHTS ON THE NIGHT
1. Come from behind shootout win.
2. Mike Commodore scores his first as a Jacket and played solid complete game.
3. Steve Mason was money when in counted most in OT and the Shootout.
HM: The Swedish flag dudes

Neither team was at their best but a win is a win. There have been games this year where teams came out flat like Nashville..we outplayed them...but still lost. Tonight we reversed that for a much needed win. The only bummer is that we gave a division rival a point but we got two so time to move on a focus on the Islanders on Saturday.

Speaking of the Islanders they got absolutely shelled by the Penguins last night 9-2. The Jackets will face what should be a motivated New York squad.

Its the kind of game the Jackets have to win. Nashville was a nice step now its time to take another. They must get on a roll to get back in this deal.

-LTL

Another train wreck in music city

That is the best way to describe the Jackets performance last night. It was a complete wreck.

The Jackets dug themselves and early 2-0 hole and couldn't recover, even as Nashville goaltender Chris Mason was not exactly on top of his game.

I don't know what it is about the Preds but they are in the Jackets craw. They just fall apart when the play them. The totally expose every weakness the Jackets have and derail them from their gameplan. I mean how many penalties did Darcy Hordichuk draw last night?

Lit it up

I don't think anyone from either side had particularly great games. Jason Arnott, Alexander Radulov and JP Dumont combined for some nice tic tac toe goals. The worked the slot like champs, especially on the PP. That was really about it.

Hey at least Alexander Ovechkin had 4 goals. Hopefully he got it out of his system by the time he plays here for the first time next Thursday. Lets see.... Ovechkin 43 goals, Nash 26. Both 1st overall picks...hmmm.

Dim the light

Nik Zherdev continues to be the only player who is bringing any kind of consistant offense to this team. Seriously, where would this team be without him? Scary thought.

Our most effective forward line last night. Brule-Brassard-Boll. Two rookies and 2nd year players. Scary thought.

Powerplay got a goal last night.

I hate to see Jared Boll taking on the heavy weights like Darcy Hordichuk. He more than held his own but asking that much of this kid night in and night out is biting off more than he can chew. He needs to stick to the middle weights and just ingore the heavies (easier said than done I know) and let them take a dumb penalty against him.

Busted bulb

Where to being...oh wait, I know. Adam Foote. That had to be the worst performance of his career....let alone as a Blue Jacket. I know he was battling the flu and I know in retrospect I'm sure everyone wishes they would have kept him out of the lineup...but man was he brutal. 3 penalties, and terrible play not getting the puck out on the 4th goal and -2.

He's not alone though. Hedja, Peca, Nash, Zherdev were all -2 on the night.

A friend of mine told me this stat this morning. Of the four centers dressed last night, they have recorded 0 goals in the past 20 games. Even adding Feds to that mix the 5 centers would only have a combined 3 goals in their past 20.

When was the last time Peca or Vyborny scored a goal? Peca hasn't scored a goal in the past 12 games. Vyborny has gone scoreless in 13 games. These are two guys who consistantly play in our top 6 and they zero goals combined in their past 12 games. Pathetic.

Paging Rick Nash? I think its time to start really taking a hard look at Nash. Outside of his spectacular goals against Phoenix...what has this guy done out there? He's been hardly noticable and doesn't seem to be generating much of any offense. Last night they said Nash has gone scoreless in the last 8 games on the road against Nashville. In the last 14 games Nash has 5g and 3a for 8 points -- not nearly good enough on an offensively starved team.

Malhotra. Will you please take a hit to make a play? The guy looks like a hockey player, he skates like a hockey player, but unfortunately he doesn't play like a hockey player. The only real thing this guy has done is excel in the faceoff circle. Yeah, yeah -- I know he had an assist last night ont he Fritsche goal - big whoop.

This team has got to stop living on their goaltenders. Pascal Leclaire can't be superman every night and when he has off games like he did against Phoenix and Nashville the offensive has got to step up. Unfortunately when you only have two players that have cracked the 10 goal plateau you are what you are.

Defensive transition exposed. This team just does not have enough skill on the blue line. It needs totally revamped this offseason and I think Howson and Hitch are extremely aware of this.

If I hear a player make an excuse that they lost this game because Jody Shelley was traded I'll blow a gasket. I love Shelley but he was a 4th line enforcer who wasn't even playing. If that is the kind of group we have then this team really is in deep trouble.

3 bright lights on the night

1. We got a powerplay goal.

2. Z was good again.

3. Hey..how bout that PP goal? .

The season is definitely not over by any stretch and this team will remain competitive and in the hunt. However, its game like this when our current group is really exposed. There isn't enough skill on the backend and we just don't have enough guys who can score.

Regardless if we make the playoff or not I expect this roster to be completely revamped. We've revamped the coaching staff, the front office has been revamped, the foundation is in place --- next is its time to gut this roster.

I fully expect that to happen if not by the deadline, then by this offseason -- Howson could have as much as 25 million to get the job done with. That is even without ownership upping the payroll which I hope they strongly consider doing. Howson and Hitch know what it takes to win - they proven they can get the job done with a severly flawed roster -- now they've proven they can cook, give them plenty of money to go shop for their kind of grociereis.

Jackets are back it on Saturday night against the Wild. I fully expect a much stronger effort.

The Jackets finished January with a 7-7 record.

-LTL

Pre-game thoughts: Does Darth Vader strike back?

The Jackets take on the Nashville Predators for the 5th time tonight. They are 1-3 against them so far this season. The good news is that the finally got the Preds' monkey off their backs in a 2-1 shootout win in their last meeting.

So the question I have is does "Darth Vader" (the name given to the Preds by Hitch) strike back tonight? The Preds have lost two straight and will surely be motivated tonight as the team they've owned comes to town. Columbus has been their medicine to a bad cold in recent years so to speak. They've been slumpbusters.

The Jackets who are riding a 1 game losing streak will look to rebound against those pesky Preds. Will they be able to build upon their break though victory the last time they met? Can't they turn the tables on the Preds and make them slumpbusters?

Keys to lighting em up

Play your game. Hitch said it in the paper this morning that the Jackets got away from the game that makes them successful. That's a tight checking, know your role, know your system, everyone competes style of play. The Jackets tried to get to cute on multiple occassions, had missed assignments and didn't make that Coyotes work hard enough for their goals. That can't happen again tonight if the Jackets want to be successfull and grab the all important 2 points.

Leclaire. Needs to be our best player on the road. He let in a couple of goals he normally stops but unfortunately with our offense the way it is, this team can't afford that.

Offense. Rick and Nik showed stalled a bit on Tuesday. Nash looked tired from the All Star break. Nik looked rusty after his break in Florida. Need these two to be the offensive catalyst tonight.

Build off momentum of past win. The Jackets finally broke through against the Preds. They know they can beat these guys. They owe them a couple of good thumpings. Mindset needs to be not just beat these guys, but pound on em, mop em up. Jackets are due to lay down a good ass kicking tonight and who better to do that against than the Preds in their house.

Don't use Shelley as an excuse. Jody Shelley was a great Jacket and a great leader. The Jackets can't use his trade as an excuse to come out flat or play poorly. At the end of the day this is a business and each player has a job to do - player movement is an invetiable part of the business where they (or the fans) like it or not. The time to move forward is now.

Pred high tempo at home. Hitch mentioned on his radio show that the Preds play different at home than on the road. On the road they are a carefull conservative bunch. At home they play more of a wide open style. Jackets can't get caught reacting to that. They need to be ready and stick to their game play - they need to dictate how the game flows and thats control the neutral zone.

Preds are a pretty tough group to play against at home. They are 14-8-2. That's good but not world class. This team can easily be beaten at home.

Arnott and Dumont.....they are the Nash and Z of the Predators. Keep these two off the score board and the Jackets stand a good chance at winning this game.

Special teams identicle. Preds are 26th on the PP and 4th on the PK. Jackets are 25th on the PP and 3rd on the PK. Pretty obvious to me whomever can muster up a goal on the PP gains the advantage here.

Tootoo. I just want to see Boll take care of this guy. Tootoo just signed an extension btw -- so Jacket fans get used to seeing this clown a few more years.

SCORE FIRST (you knew it was comin!)

Will the B's play togehter? Boll, Brassard, Brule? Could be an interesting line. Something to watch for anyways. A goal from this group would go a long way towards a win.

****************************

Jackets have responded well after losses. Another challenge tonight. Another big two points. Both teams are still right in the thick of it for a playoff spot. Both teams should go after each other hard.

GO JACKETS!

-LTL

Darth Vader is dead!

It finally happened. The Columbus Blue Jackets finally solved the Nashville Predators and ended a 12 game losing streak agains that team. They had not beaten the Preds since April 3rd, 2006.

After beating the St. Louis Blues the night before in a very spirited game the Jackets faced a rested Nashville Preds team, while visibly tired at times, played a hard tight checking game and were able to pull out the 2 points off a shootout goal by Nik Zherdev.

Lit em up

For the second time in as many night the Jackets failed to score first yet won the game. This team is showing signs of turning the corner in terms of being able to win games after getting down on the scoreboard. That is big.

Pascal Leclaire. Rebounded off an average outing against St. Louis to win his 2nd game in as many nights. He stopped 26 of 27 shots and stopped all 3 shootout attempts by the Preds to seal the win for the Jackets. Leclaire was fantastic last night and earned the 3rd star of the night on NHL.com - a nice big thank you for the all-star snub NHL.

Nik Zherdev. This guy is just flat out unbelievable for the Jackets this season. Not only did he single handidly create the turnover and then feed Rusty Klelsa a beauty of a pass which resulted in the tying goal, he scored the lone shoot out goal that gave the Jackets the much needed extra point. Our best players needed to be our best players to end this losing streak against the Preds and Zherdev was that guy last night.

The little things. The Jackets out hit the Preds 26 to 7. The won 56% of the face offs. They killed all 3 penalties. The supported Leclaire getting to lose pucks. They won battles on the wall. All that added up to a much needed win.

Rusty Klelsa. Led the team in ice time with over 27 minutes played and of course had the only regulation goal for the Jackets. That's a ton of minutes for Rusty and at is a sign that at age 25 he could becoming into his own this season, his 6th full season in the NHL.

Dim the light

Loved Marc Methot again. Dude is a huge presence back on that blueline and had some big hits, in fact he is credited with 4 hits. His ice time already increased from the night before to over 17 minutes. He and Russell looked like a natural pair and Methot's play has really solidified that 3rd pairing.

The speed line. Fritsche-Manny-Chimera may not have gotten anything on the scoreboard but they were a force all night. I thought they were our best offensive line hands down.

Crowd. Just over 16k for a Saturday night to watch the hated Preds. C'mon Cbus, we can do better than that!

Busted bulbs

"De-fense ** De-fense". I love the drum line but I hope to NEVER hear another football chant at a hockey game. Horrible.

Fedorov. With his improved play of late I actually was dissapointed Feds couldn't go last night. Hopefully he's not out long.

3 bright lights on the night

1. Nikolai Zherdev - made play to set up tying goal plus shootout winner (he's 4 for 4 in shootouts)

2. Pascal Leclaire - stood on his head in a game where one mistake could cost your team a win and stopped all 3 attempts in shootout

3. Consistantcy - Jackets showed up ready to play on the 2nd night of a back to back

Jackets improve to 21-18-6. These were two huge home games this weekend that the Jackets had to win to keep pace and the answered the call. Next up is Vancouver on Tuesday. How big would it be to take 3 of 3 on home ice? Can we say momentum?

For now I'm gonna just be happy that Vader is dead.

Have a great Sunday Jacket fans!

-LTL