Streak Snapped at 5

The team's longest winning streak of the year was snapped in a road shootout loss to Phoenix 5-4. A tough loss after a spirited game, Mike Comrie of Phoenix scored the lone goal of the shootout for the slim margin of victory.

Jacket goals scored by Carter, Nash, Federov and Vyborny. Adam Foote is still out, but Nikolai Zherdev played 15 minutes with 2 SOG. While Columbus was 0-5 on the power play, the Coyotes were 2-9. For Phoenix, Jeremy Roenick was a healthy scratch.

Wow

To say this afternoon's victory was impressive would be a grand understatement. You can watch hockey for a long time without seeing what happened in Quebec as the Jackets scored five straight power play goals: Nash, Nash again, Fritsche, Hainsey and Fritsche again. The power of the offense was beautiful to see, and all this with Zherdev still out.

The only downside to the game were injuries: goalie Pascal Leclaire had to leave the game with a 5-0 lead and Adam Foote left the game in the first period with a leg injury. Hopefully they will be back soon.

Columbus 5 St. Louis 1

A solid road win for the Jackets powered by Sergei Federov, who netted two goals and assisted on another one. Gilbert Brule continued his solid play. The young center scored a goal and assisted on Adam Foote's first goal of the season. Fredrik Modin added a power play goal to start the game's scoring. Norrena was again solid in goal, stopping 24 of 25 shots. In his last three games he has given up one goal. Impressive indeed.

Let's be frank, the Jackets need some road wins to get confidence up and if they are to get on track, St. Louis has to be seen as a win. They built on the shutout wins in Colorado and Edmonton to at least get the fans excited about the season's second half, and that is quite important when assessing a coaching change. Don't just get rid of a coach for the sake of change - make a change that will fundamentally change the season. This win makes it three in a row. No letups so far.

Progress

"I'm taking baby steps, Dr. Marvin."

In a rare road win, the Jackets shutout the Oilers 4-0. Columbus goalie Fredrik Norrena earned his first NHL shutout by stopping 21 shots. Four different goal scorers for the Blue Jackets: Svitov, Brule, Carter and Fritsche (who also had two assists).

The short analysis of the team since the coaching change is that the team has played harder and focused on the defensive end. The last three games they have given up a total of 3 goals. Nice start for Coach Hitchcock, but it is a long season.

Hitchcock's First Weekend

Coach Hitchcock ends his first weekend 1-1 after losing 3-2 in his return to Philadelphia then winning 5-3 against a game Minnesota team.

The win against the Wild begins what the team braintrust needs to focus on: playing tough against good teams and winning at home. Energizing the fan base is critical given the lackluster play at home this season. Federov played his best game as a Blue Jacket: scoring two goals and assisting on another two. Generating production from teh team's big guns, Nash, Federov, Vyborny and Zherdev, is a key to success.

Rebounds: Interestingly Shelley played almost ten minutes. We'll see if the coaching change alters Jody's fortunes. Federov had 10 shots on goal. columbus outshot Minnesota 33-22and went +7 on faceoffs.

Hitchcock Hired

Yesterday afternoon Ken Hitchcock was hired to coach the Blue Jackets and the team celebrated by losing yet another home game - a shootout loss 4-3 to the St. Louis Blues. This loss extends the Jackets skid to seven games.

We'll see how the team responds to the tough-minded authoritarian Hitchcock, who earlier this season was run out of Philadelphia along with GM Bobby Clarke. The coach has had success in th e past and perhaps he can get the attention of the young guys and revive what was supposed to be an exciting offense. Good luck, Pat. You'll need it.

Hitchcock's first game? Against the Flyers in Phily.

Nashville 4, Columbus 2

The season continues to spiral downward as the Jackets lose again. This time four second period goals iced the game. Special teams dropped the ball as three goals came on the power play. Foyr goals only on 25 shots.

Federov and Fritsche score two meaningless goals in the third period. The Jackets are 2-8 in their last ten games.

Gallant Exits

The inevitable happened today as Gerard Gallant was fired by GM MacLean. Given the team's record and the (possibly illogical preseason) expectations, Gallant was expendable now that the team has slipped into the cellar.

The real question is not who will coach next, but does MacLean leave town next? The players on the team are his guys picked over the last five years. I think his leash is short, perhaps until the season ends though we'll see if he makes it through the next few days. A press conference has been called for tomorrow to discuss the coaching vacancy.

Tough Loss

The Devils make a second period goal hold up as they edge the Blue Jackets 1-0 in New Jersey. Lecalire plays his second consecutive solid game, but this time he is outdone by future hall of famer Martin Brodeur.

Rebounds: The Devils won the faceoff battle by an unbelievable 35-10. Jody Shelley has 4:46 of ice time and 17 penalty minutes. The teams went a combined 90-9 on the power play.

Shut Out

Pascal Leclaire earns his first shutout of the season as the Jackets beat the Kings in Columbus 2-0. Goals by Zherdev and Modin power the team to a much needed victory in a game dominated by Los Angeles and won by superior goalie play. The team gave their confidence in the off-season by promoting Leclaire to starter through the trade of Marc Denis.


Rebounds: Despite winning 2-0 the Jackets were badly outshot, 38-14. Suffice to say that they will not win many other games when they are out shot by a whopping 24. Both teams combine for 0-13 on the power play.

San Jose 3 Columbus 0

The Jackets lose again on home ice and now four straight overall. The offense looked invisible as there were many players with significant ice time that could not manage a shot on goal. Add to that yielding two power play goals and you have a sad looking loss at home to a better team.

Wild 5 Jackets 0

There's no way (or reason) to sugar coat this one: the Blue Jackets were crushed by Minnesota on the road. Continuing their torrid start, Minnesota moves to 5-0-0 on the season. Best to put this one behind them and move on to the next game. It's a long season and it was a long game tonight.

Rebounds: Shelly had 8:02 ice time and 7 penalty minutes. The formerly hot power play unit went 0-3; Minnesota converted 2-7 power play chances. In the second period rookie Fredrik Norrena made his NHL debut when he replaced a shelled Leclaire after Pascal gave up four goals.

Columbus 5 Phoenix 1

Nikolai Zherdev made his season debut and netted two goals, and Duvie Westcott, David Vyborny and Rick Nash had three points each. Leclaire has his first strong game of the season, stopping 23 of 24 shots.

Rebounds: The Jackets were 3-12 on the power play and shut out the Coyotes 0-9.

Road Win in Chicago

Rick Nash scored two goals and teh power play unit continued its strong play, scoring three times on four power play opportunities. Defense was limited for both sides, but it was fun to see the offenses go at each other. Duvie Westcott's second period goal was the game winner as the Jackets had to weather the comeback by Chicago in the third period.

Rebounds: Game with 9 goals had only 46 shots combined. While Jody Shelley has played less than 9 minutes in the last two games, last night Adam Foote was on the ice for 30+ minutes.

Jackets Drop Season Opener

In the home and season opener for Columbus, the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Blue Jackets 3-2 on an overtime goal by Daniel Sedin. After a good preseason, the Jackets were outshot 44-20 by the Canucks.

The Jackets jumped out to a two goal lead after power play tallies by Mark Hartigan and David Vyborny. Good to see the power play unit start strong by going 2-5.

Nikolai Zherdev and Rusty Klesla did not play for Columbus. Rusty is erving a two game suspension for a hit in the preseason. Bryan Berard and Sergei Federov start the season on injured reserve.

Zherdev in the Fold

Free agent Nikolai Zherdev finally signed and ended months of negotiations that looked to land him back home in Russia. Zherdev signed a 3-year deal estimated to be worth more than $7 million. It si encouraging to see the Jackets nail down a potential star. Now if he can raise his game as high as his salary, then we'll have something.

Preseason: Columbus 4 Carolina 2

The Jackets earn a solid win at home against the champs with a four goal frenzy in the third period. Rick Nash scores two in the final period to go along with goals by Fritsche and Platt. Each team had 29 shots on goal. Carolina was 2-7 oon teh power play while Columbus was a wretched 0-7.

Nikolai Zherdev: the club has offered him $6.9 million for three years, and there were no talks last week. Hard to imagine passing up that much money. We'll miss his scoring even if it did come in streaks. It is looking grim for signing him as the season opener is only two weeks away.

Preseason: Nashville 8 Columbus 1

Ugly road game loss. The lone Jackets goal in the midst of an avalanche of Nashville offense belonged to Alexandre Picard, who scored on the power play in the second period assisted by Anders Eriksson and Fredrik Modin. That was the highlight. Really. After starting the season with two wins, we should look past this one and move on.Ugh.

Changes Left and Right

So ends the lazy summer as the past few weeks have brought several changes altering the face of the team, including the trading of starting goalie Marc Denis.

On Friday, the Jackets dealt Denis to Tampa Bay for left wing Fredrik Modin and goaltender Fredrik Norrena. A former all-star, Modin adds size (6'4") and needed scoring punch. Denis played solidly for the Blue Jackets despite having less than adequate defensive help throughout most of his career in Columbus. Good luck to Marc.

Shortly thereafter Columbus resigned Pascal Leclaire to a two year deal. leclaire, a former number one pick from 2001, began to supplant Denis last season. The team finished striong and Leclaire was a big part of the turn-around. He finished the season with a respectable 3.23 GAA.

The Blue Jackets followed up the Leclaire signing by resigning defenseman Ron Hainsey. The 25-year-old blueliner set a team record with a +13 rating for last season and was another part of the spirited play that capped the season.

Preceding these important deals were signings that should help with adding needed depth to the roster: defenseman Anders Eriksson, center Alexander Svitov, goaltender Ty Conklin and defenseman Tomas Kloucek. Eriksson comes back to the Jackets after being away for a couple of years, as does Svitov who played the last few seasons in the Russian Elite League. Conklin has been a solid backup for Edmonton (despite committing a notorious gaffe that cost them a game in the finals last season). The imposing Kloucek stands at 6'3" and weighs in at 235 pounds.

Columbus agreed on a contract with 2005 third-round draft pick Kris Russell.

Draft 2006 - Brassard in Round One

With the sixth pick in the draft's first round Columbus selected center Derick Brassard. Last season Brassard had 116 points (with 44 goals) in Major Junior Hockey League. Brassard will be 19 in September and stands at 6'0" and weighs 172 pounds.

The French Canadian draftee will have a chance to display his strengths: quickness and playmaker ability. The Jackets need strong center play to complement the other young goal scorers like Nash and Zherdev. It will be interesting to see with who Brassard gets paired with next season.

Columbus 5 Dallas 4, OT

The Blue Jackets close out the season with a home ice overtime victory. The team gutted out a third period charge by Dallas as fans saw a 3-1 lead evaporate into a 4-3 deficit. On the power play Mark Hartigan scored the tying goal with less than a minute left in the game. In overtime, Sergei Federov scored on the power play, assisted by Hartigan and Vyborny.

Other Columbus goals scored by Vyborny, Letowski and Pushor. Denis faces 36 shots from Dallas including 15 in the third period.

Good news... Before the game the team announced that Rusty Klesla had been signed to a four year deal. Ron Hainsey ended the season +13.

Columbus 4 St. Louis 1

The Jackets continue their strong play shutting down the Blues. Sergei Federov played one of his better games as a Blue Jacket, scoring a power play goal and an assist. Mark Hartigan, Aaron Johnson and Manny Malhotra had the other goals for Columbus. Solid pressure kept St. Louis at bay for the entire game.

Paul Leclaire was again solid in goal. He is an impressive 9-6-2 in his last eighteen games. Leclaire and Denis have not gotten enough ink for their contribution to the second-half turnaround by the Blue Jackets. The team has a solid tandem that hopefully will be back next year to build upon this season's effort.

Detroit 6 Columbus 5, SO

A hat trick by Rick Nash was not enough to beat a tough Red Wings squad on Detroit ice.
Nash and the Jackets gave the Wings a scare with another third period comeback, but Legace stoned Columbus in the shootout.

Hard to find good things in a loss, but the continued strong play from the offense is fun to watch. While we knew Nash was the real deal, the continued strong play of Mark Hartigan during this late season end run has been exciting.

Misc: Nash's final goal was scored after Denis had been pulled for an extra skater. Detroit won the faceoff battle by a huge margin: 48-26. Zherdev missed his second game in a row with a bad knee.

Columbus 3 Nashville 1

Six in a row! Another impressive road victory for the team that no one wants to play yet will not be in the playoffs. Chimera, Malhotra and Hartigan scored for Columbus. During this late season surge Chimera and Hartigan have been playing very solidly for the Jackets.

Lecalire stops 36 of 37 shots on goal for the victory. Columbus has gotten solid play from Leclaire and Denis and the defense in general in the season's second half.

A sign of the solid team play: in terms of +/- ratio, last night 12 Blue Jackets were at least +1 and no one was negative.

Columbus 5 Chicago 2

Another good win powered by a strong third period. Goals by Hartigan (2), Balastik and Vyborny helped the Jackets to their third straight win. Zherdev had the other goal for Columbus. Mark Denis was sharp in goal, stopping 27 of 29 shots.

Despite being out of the playoff race, it is exciting to see how Gallant has the team playing now: playing strong through the end of the game. I hate to see the season come to a close given the team's strong play. Next season they need to jump out of the gate and build upon this year's finish. I can't wait to see a healthy Rick Nash and Nikolai Zherdev for a full season.

Columbus 4 St. Louis 2

The Jackets do what they need to do to move to the next level: put away games against teams they should beat. A solid road win powered by two goals from the hot Rick Nash.

Balastik and Chimera had the other goals for the Blue Jackets. Lalime stops 28 of 30 shots for the victory. Good special team play as they went 1-4 (Nash) on the power play and they killed off all seven chance by St. Louis.

Columbus 4 San Jose 1

The Blue Jackets win another game with hard work through the third period. Like their recent victory over Detroit, the Jackets were powered by third period scoring and defense. This home ice victory against a good team in the same week they beat a tough Detroit squad hopefully will boost confidence. Clearly the Jackets, when motivated, can compete with any team in the league.

Rick Nash continued his torrid streak scoring two goals,  one in the second the other in the third period.. Hartigan and Malhotra also scored in the third period.

Mark Denis played well, stopping 28 of 29 shots. Columbus scored four goals on only 23 shots.

Columbus 5 Detroit 4, SO

Great come-from-behind road win for the Blue Jackets capped by a shootout goal by Balastik. The Jackets scored four times in the third periodand Detroit added a late goal to force overtime. Klesla, Vyborny, Nash and Malhotra scored in the third. After a skid, this victory was good for the morale of the players as well as the fans.

Anaheim 4 Columbus 3

The Jackets drop a closely contested game on home ice against a solid team. If the Jackets are to jump to the next level of competition, they need to win more of these games.

Zherdev and Nash continued their scoring ways, each getting a goal and an assist. Fritsche added his fourth goal.

Despite Nash's power play goal, Columbus was only 1-9 with the extra skater advantage. Anaheim's game-winner was on the power play (they went 1-6). The game was a reflection of the season to date: good penalty killing but not enough power play conversions.

Chicago 3 Columbus 2

The Jackets lose a close game on the road. After falling behind 2-0 in the first period, the Jackets climbed back into a tie with goals by Jody Sheeley (yes, Jody) and Rick Nash (on the power play). Kyle Calder had the game winner after a defensive breakdown left him alone in front of the net. A quick fake later and the game was sealed. Khabibulin was tough in goal for Chicago, stopping 35 shots.

Columbus 4 Edmonton 3, OT

Another exciting come from behind home ice victory against a solid team. Rusty Klesla got the game-winner in overtime after goals by Federov and Zherdev brought the Jackets back into a tie. Letowski scored the other goal for Columbus. Marc Denis was solid in goal and faced only 27 shots.

Blue Jackets fans have to be happy with the recent play of the team. Coach Gallant has the team skating hard and does not let them quit. Zherdev has picked up the slack for the disappointment of Rick Nash's drop-off from last year. A full season with a healthy Nash and Zherdev will be a treat next year.

Sign of the Times

It's the little things that we notice... Like many folks, I use Yahoo Sports to take a quick look at sports scores ans stories. I noticed the other day that the NHL no longer was in the Scoreboard Quick Links area. You can get quick scores for the NFL (though it is out of season), NBA, NCAA Hoops, PGA and Tennis. The page still exists for the NHL scoreboard, but there is no quick link to it. I guess we now know where hockey fans are in the pecking order.

Columbus 5 Phoenix 4

In a wild game of scoring runs, Columbus holds on for a 5-4 victory at home over Phoenix. The lucky Columbus crowd was treated to a rare high-scoring home victory. 

After jumping to a 3-0 lead on goals by Nash, Hrdina and Zherdev, the Coyotes and Blue Jackets traded 2 goal bursts across the second and third periods. In the third, Rupp and Chimera scored for Columbus. Old friend Geoff Sanderson had his 20th goal of the season in the second period for the Coyotes.

The victory gives Columbus 52 points, good enough for third in the admittedly weak Central Division.

Columbus 3, Anaheim 2, OT

A good win on the road against a solid team for the Blue Jackets. Rick Nash saved the day with a shootout goal gave Columbus a rare road victory. Nikolai Zherdev continued his hot streak, netting a power play goal (his 22nd) in the first period. Jaroslav Balastik scored the first goal for Columbus (also on the power play). 

Leclaire faced an incredible 45 shots on goal. Gigure faced only 34 Columbus shots.

 

Kings 3 Blue Jackets 2

Two third period goals by Nikolai Zherdev were not enough to overcome Los Angeles. Zherdev played an inspired game, scoring twice and firing 7 shots on goal. Sean Avery scored tow goals to give the Kings a 2-0 second period lead. Despite tying the game in the third period, Los Angeles scored a power play goal (when Foote sat in the box due to an interference penalty) to gain the win. A tough road loss given they fought hard to tie the game.

Olympic Break Nearly Over

Finland will play Sweden for the gold medal tomorrow. Hard to believe that neither Canada nor the United States will even sniff a bronze medal. Not enough young fresh legs for either side when playing on the larger rinks.

As a Blue Jackets fan, I am not sure that I wanted to see Rick Nash play given his rash of injuries this season. I would never want to stop someone from representing his country, but Nash did not perform well, scoring no goals, for Team Canada. I imagine that Gretzky must have second thoughts about passing over young stars like Crosby and Cheechoo and seeing little offense punch from the veterans. We'll see how things get shaken up for the next Olympiad.

Jackets Tumbling

Been sick so away from the computer. Thanks for the email from Janie. Amazes me that people notice when you stop posting; her was concern nice to read. Back to hockey (c:

At the same time as my illness, the Blue Jackets have cooled off from their hot January. They continue to score at a decent clip, but the defense has faltered. A continued weakness is the power play. Too many goals allowed and not enough conversions when they have the extra man.

On Saturday, the negative trends all came forward. Nashville was a decent 2-4 on the power play while Columbus was 0-4. Nash and Zherdev scored, but the team fell 5-2. Berard's injury is hurting the team now like Nash's injuries did earlier this season.

Columbus 2 Edmonton 1, SO

In a happy homecoming, Jason Chimera's goal on the eighth shot of the shootout gave the Jackets a third period comeback road victory. Edmonton's Steve Staois scored in mid-third period to give Edmonton the lead after two scoreless periods. Nikolai Zherdev's 17th goal with less than four minutes left in regaulr play gave the team the equalizer.

Both goalies (Markkanen and Denis) were quite sharp. Edmonton outshot Columbus 36-27. Teh Blue Jackets have now won five straight games - a team record. The Jackets were 8-2 in their last ten games and have climbed to third in the Western's central division.

Columbus 4 Nashville 3

David Vyborny and Rusty Klesla carried the team to a hard-fought win on home ice against a solid team. Vyborny added two goals (14-15) including the game-winner in the third period. Klesla assisted on three of four Columbus goals.

Nash and Wescott had the other goals. Nashville outshot Columbus 27-24. Berard, who hurt his back in the game the other day, did not play.

This win was a good bartometer for the Jackets. The team is beginning to churn out wins, but they need wins against the better teams in order to raise confidence.

Columbus 4 Minnesota 3

Three third period goals carried the Blue Jackets to the win on home ice. SDergei Federov had and assist and the game-winner in the third period. Nash, Berard and Hainsey also scored goals for Columbus. Vyborny had two assists.

Great to see a stirring comeback victory given that they folded many times earlier this season. Gallant has the team playing hard every game. MInnesota outshot Columbus 28-25. Columbus was a poor 1-9 on the power play; Minnesota was a respectable 3-6.

Columbus 6 Vancouver 5

On home ice, the Blue Jackets win a scoringfest against the Canucks. Both teams combined for a staggering 7 power play goals, including four for Columbus. With less than six minutes left in teh game Trevor Letowski netted the game-winner.

Alert the media! The Blue Jackets outshot the Canucks 43-33. Jan Hrdina, continuing his strong play, scored two goals on the power play. Nikolai Zherdev had a power play goal (his 15the goal of the season) and an assist to go along with his eight shots on goal. David Vyborny added three assists.

There is no question that the Blue Jackets are playing their best hockey of the season. What is surprising is that Rick Nash has remained relatively cold at the offensive end, though he is still skating hard and finishing checks. Manny Malhotra had an assist. It's good to see him playing strong again.

Nashville 7 Columbus 2

A thrashing on the road against a solid Nashville team. I'd call them a rival except that there is no rivalry until the Jackets can put a solid season or two together. After putting a solid run of games together, the Jackets were flat.

Letwoski (short-handed) and Berard score goals for Columbus. Letwoski had 6 shots on goal. Nashville outshot Columbus 48-29. Again, too many shots allowed. This time Leclair was the shooting gallery target in goal.

Nashville converted 3 of 7 power plays.

Columbus 4 St. Louis 3, SO

Rick Nash nets the game-winner in the shootout to give Columbus a win. Zherdev, Vyborny and Hrdina scored the regular game goals and continued the solid offensive play for the Jackets. Adam Foote played 26+ minutes and was +2. It's good to see the team captain back playing.

St. Louis outshot Columbus 47-37. Too many shots allowed against poor Denis.

Weird sort of hat trick: There were only three penalties were called in the second period. Oddly, all three goals scored in the period were short-handed goals, two for the Blues and one for the Jackets.

Berard Admits Steroid Use

A key off-season signee Blue Jackets defenseman Bryan Berard received a two-year suspension from international competition for taking norandrosterone. He took teh test as part of being named to the U.S. Olympic team. Since the test was not NHL testing, he won't be subject to league discipline. Very lucky. Berard said the steroid was a supplement he took before the season. A test taken Sunday allegedly found that norandrosterone is no longer in his body.

Berard's comments: "No question, I'm embarrassed about it. There's nothing I can do about it now, other than accepting what I've done. We'll learn from it, it was a mistake and it won't happen again."

It is too bad that Berard made the choice, a bad choice, to juice himself. His image of being heroic for recovering his eye-injury will be tainted. Even if he did not use illegal substances in making his comeback, he has left the door open to suspicion about his past and future condition. A shame that is of his own making.

Columbus 4 New York Rangers 3

Some games are boring and some games are exciting. This game was a fun ride for three periods. Both teams played hard and after five goals in the first period, the teams hunkered down and played solid defense. The game had some hard hits, too. Jagr had a crunching check along the boards and Steve Goertzen plastered a Ranger in open ice during the final period.

Continuing a trend, the Jackets did not fold when the Rangers tied the game in the third period. Perhaps earlier in the season they would have folded the tent and lost, but Rick Nash is healthy and unwilling to give up. Nash continued his goal-scoring streak to nine games with the game-winner in the third period.

Alert the media! Jody Shelley scored a goal! Chimera and Vyborny (power play) both scored again.

The Blue Jackets were whistled for only one minor penalty in the game.

Columbus 5 Florida 4, OT

A good road victory for the Blue Jackets capped by an overtime goal by David Vyborny, a rare overtime power play goal that was his second of the game and eleventh of the season. Columbus netted three goals in the third to stay in the contest.

Chimera, Nash and Federov also had goals for the Jackets. Hrdina and Zherdev has two assists each. Florida outshot Columbus 52-23.

Columbus 6 Pittsburgh 1

The Blue Jackets pound the hapless Penguins (that sounds a bit cruel after watching The March of the Penguins) in Columbus. It was good to see the Jackets put a game away in which they had an early lead instead of letting a team back into a game. Playing strong for three periods is the key.

Sergei Federov continued his offensive tear, scoring a goals and two assists. Jaroslav Balastik added two second period goals to put the nails in the coffin. Rick Nash continued his strong play, netting a goal and an assist. A healthy Nash goes a long way towards moving the team ahead.

Paul Leclaire was strong in goal, turning away all but one of the 29 Pittsburgh shots on goal. Jody Shelley had seven times more penalty minutes as on ice time. The game had fights and misconduct penalties galore. Even feisty Rick Nash got into a scrape.

Columbus 6 Pittsburgh 1

The Blue Jackets pound the hapless Penguins (that sounds a bit cruel after watching The March of the Penguins) in Columbus. It was good to see the Jackets put a game away in which they had an early lead instead of letting a team back into a game. Playing strong for three periods is the key.

Sergei Federov continued his offensive tear, scoring a goals and two assists. Jaroslav Balastik added two second period goals to put the nails in the coffin. Rick Nash continued his strong play, netting a goal and an assist. A healthy Nash goes a long way towards moving the team ahead.

Paul Leclaire was striong in goal, turning away all but one of the 29 Pittsburgh shots on goal. Jody Shelley had seven times more penalty minutes as on ice time. The game had fights and misconduct penalties galore. Even feisty Rick Nash got into a scrape.

Columbus 6 Pittsburgh 1

The Blue Jackets pound the hapless Penguins (that sounds a bit cruel after watching The March of the Penguins) in Columbus. It was good to see the Jackets put a game away in which they had an early lead instead of letting a team back into a game. Playing strong for three periods is the key.

Sergei Federov continued his offensive tear, scoring a goals and two assists. Jaroslav Balastik added two second period goals to put the nails in the coffin. Rick Nash continued his strong play, netting a goal and an assist. A healthy Nash goes a long way towards moving the team ahead.

Paul Leclaire was striong in goal, turning away all but one of the 29 Pittsburgh shots on goal. Jody Shelley had three times more penalty minutes as on ice time. The game had fights and misconduct penalties galore. Even feisty Rick Nash got into a scrape.

Columbus 6 Pittsburgh 1

The Blue Jackets pound the hapless Penguins (that sounds a bit cruel after watching The March of the Penguins) in Columbus. It was good to see the Jackets put a game away in which they had an early lead instead of letting a team back into a game. Playing strong for three periods is the key.

Sergei Federov continued his offensive tear, scoring a goals and two assists. Jaroslav Balastik added two second period goals to put the nails in the coffin. Rick Nash continued his strong play, netting a goal and an assist. A healthy Nash goes a long way towards moving the team ahead.

Paul Lecalire was striong in goal, turning away all but one of the 29 Pittsburgh shots on goal. Jody Shelley had three times more penalty minutes as on ice time. The game had fights and misconduct penalties galore. Even feisty Rick Nash got into a scrape.

Columbus 5 Coyotes 2

I don't think that I can remember a team being held to 15 shots on goal winning the game by three goals. The Jackets scored on every third shot on goal. Bryan Berard got a hat trick and all three goals were scored on the power play. Rusty Klesla and Rick Nash added goals to complete the scoring. Marc Denis kept the Jackets in the game by stopping 32 of 34 shots on goal. Federov had four assists in the game.

Detroit 5 Columbus 2

"2005, glad to see you go." That's what the Blue Jackets players must have been saying last night while celebrating the new year. After leading 2-0, Detroit steamed back and scored five unanswered goals on their way to another road loss for Columbus. In the first period, Rick Nash scored the fifth goal of his injury-shortened season. Chimera netted another one, his seventh... then the roof caved in. Two of Detroit's goals were on the power play; Columbus was 0-5 with a man advantage. Foote and Berard are still out and that means trouble for the defense. Interesting perhaps only to me: playing against his old team, Federov had no shots on goal in 18 minutes of ice time.