Blogjackets

At the Half

The Blue Jackets enter the all star break with a 3-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings. A solid home win against a good foe is a nice way to enter the break (even if they allowed Norrena to be shelled by 42 shots). The team went 4-5-1 in their last ten games. Not a spectacular record, but a slight improvement to work on once play starts again.

The key looks to be whether they can keep their stars healthy and if the young guys step up during the rest of the long season. They need Nash and Zherdev to play to their potential. The young stars are a pathetic -8 (Nash), -17 (Zherdev) and -20 (Brule) in plus/minus ratings. To contrast Vyborny (+3), Anson Carter (0) and Jason Chimera (0) are playing solidly at both ends. Not to spare the defense, only Anders Eriksson is in teh plus range (+3) and that won't get you much in the NHL.