Disappointing Seasons Leads to MacLean's Dismissal

Today the Columbus Blue Jackets fired president and general manager Doug MacLean after starting this season with some mild expectations only to finish 33-42-7. MacLean leaves the team with a dismal record of 172-258-62 under his six-year tenure.

No one can argue that he did not have enough time to make the team a winner. The only argument that can be made at this point is why did the move take so long? Look for the team to hire an experienced hockey man who will step into a situation with some young, underachieving talent.

Late Strides

Seemingly inspired by the lure of the off-season, the Jackets have been on a tear. Modin and Vyborny have been carryign the team. Modin has scored in three straight games and now has 22 goals tralinig Nash for the team lead by two goals. Vyborny continues to lead the team with 64 points. Wins over Chicago, Detroit and St. Louis has the team riding on a mini-streak of 3 games.

Hitchcock has them playing hard at season's end, making a run at St. Louis for the 10th spot in the conference. To keep things in perspective, Colorado right now sits in 9th place and has 14 points more than Columbus, who trails St. Louis by only 3 points.

Rebounds: The Blue Jackets are 21-1-4 when leading after two periods. This season David Vyborny scored 11 points (1 goal and 10 assists) against St. Louis.

Winding Down

As another blah season rolls to a close, we can focus on what the team needs to do next season. Tonight the team defeated the Blackhawks 5-2. The team's most valuable player, David Vyborny, played another stellar game, serving up assists on each of Modin's two second period goals.

The failure of the young guns has been a theme for the season. Rick Nash and Nikolai Zherdev have underperformed this season, playing well below expectation. Gil Brule will no longer be given slack next season. All three young stars must be better for the Jackets to succeed. They are a combined -41 ... a staggering number symbolizing
their poor defensive play.

Hitchcock have the team playing at roughly a .500 clip. A slight improvement, but not competitive hockey every night. If the team can fight into the 11th slot of the conference, it would be a good start on next season. Next season is all that we have too look forward to... again.

Glass is Half Full? Okay, maybe 1/4 full

When is a very good hard-skating win against a division-leading opponent like Calgary not a win to hang your hat on? When you got pasted in the three previous games.

The enigmatic Jackets once again show that they can skate with anyone when the focus and effort is there. All the right people were on the plus-side and were involved with the scoring: goals by Vyborny and Modin with assists from Nash, Federov and Zherdev (and Eriksson too). Only 9 penalties total for both teams made it a clean game. Solid goaltending at both ends with Norrena out-dueling McLennan.

This game is how home games should look. The disaster trip out west (ending with losses to Phoenix, Calgary and Edmonton) needs to be forgotten. If it were only that easy...

Misc: When Vyborny finally scored, that broke a string of six periods in which Columbus had not scored. Yikes! Including the win tonight, the Blue Jackets are 6-27-1 when the opponent scores first.

Columbus 3 Minnesota 2

Back-to-back strong skating games leading to 3-2 victories. Vyborny continues being the best player on the team, assisting on two goals. I hope folks appreciate what he is doing on a bad hockey team. Klesla, who tonight scored and assisted on another goal, and Foote each played 28+ minutes are were a combined +2. That is the solid defense play that the team needs.

Goalie Norrena left the ice during the second period with an injury and was replaced by Ty Conklin. Named the starter in the preseason after Marc Denis was traded, Pascal Leclaire remains on IR after knee surgery.

Misc: Zherdev did not play tonight. The Jackets were 1-7 on the power play; Minnesota went 1-9. The Jackets were again outshot, this time 37-22.

Jackets 3 Sabres 2

A win at home against the league's best team... what could be better to start after the all star game? Okay, a few wins tacked onto that unlikely victory.

The team will go as far as the defense and goalie Norrena will carry them. Facing against 38 shots on goal, Norrena came up with big stops, including stoning Paille on a second period penalty shot and later a neat glove save stopping Drury's chance for a hat trick with less than 30 seconds left in the game. Too many shots/opportunities for Buffalo, but they are not 33-13 because they don't score.

Star Activity: While Nash scored a power play goal, assisted by Federov and Vyborny, Zherdev only plays 9 minutes and does not have a shot on goal. Two assists for Malhotra, who seems recharged as of late.

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.

No Rest for the Weary

The honeymoon is over for Hitchcock as the team has won 3 and tied 2 in their last 10 games. Losing both ends of a home-and-away series with Nashville settled who is in charge in that matchup.

At this point, a look to who is not playing says more than a look at the active roster. Out with injuries are: Berared, Federov, Foote, Leclaire, Nash, and Wescott. The simple, sad truth is that regardless of who is coach, the team will not win with many of its better players on the IR. Scotty Bowman could not salvage the team at this point. Let the young players play and... sigh... wait until next year.

Columbus 4 Anaheim 3

Some victories are better than others. This come-from-behind win against Anaheim was one of those special victories: four third period goals to beat a strong first place team. Manny Malhotra scored at 18:40 to complete the unlikely victory.

After star Teemu Selanne scored his 24th goal to make the Anaheim lead 3-0, only true believers kept watching the game. Lucky for me, I watched this game via video tape! Once Rusty Klesla scored his goal in mid-second period, the momentum seemed to slowly change. Kudos to players and coaches for keeping the effort despite being down. Klesla scored again then modin scored less than a minute later to tie the score. Malhotra's late goal shocked the California crowd and the unbelieving Ducks squad.

Stars: Zherdev (2 assists), Kelesl (2 goals), Svitov (3 assists) and Malhotra (game winning goal).

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.

Columbus 1 Anaheim 0

A hard-fought home ice victory for the Blue Jackets. Forward Jason Chimera scored his sixth goal of the season in the third period to clinch the game. Well, he got credit for the goal, but we'll take it. An Anaheim defenseman tried to slip the puck under Giggy to get a face-off but it slipped under the goalie and into the net for the lone tally of the game. Chimera was the lucky Blue Jacket closest to the play. Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good.

Goalie Mark Denis had a very strong game, stopping all 40 shots. Shwoing that his injury is behind him now, Rick Nash looked strong and had 4 shots on goal in 24+ minutes on the ice. Berard missed another game with his bad back. His presence on the blue line and in the mix on offense is missed.

Merry Christmas

Took a bit of a holiday break away from the blog. Thanks to folks for noticing and caring enough to email. We all should be excited now that Rick Nash is playing again, so hopefully the new year will bring some punch on offense.

Happy holidays to all.

Blue Jackets 3 Devils 2, OT

Defenseman Bryan Berard scored his sixth goal of the season to beat the Devils in overtime. The Blue Jackets played a solid game on home ice, even managed to outshoot New Jersey 39-30. Mark Denis stopped 28 of 30 shots to give the Jackets a much-needed victory.

Nikolai Zhredev had a very good game, scoring two goals (his 7th and 8th of the season). Hopefully he will use this effort as a springboard to better, consistent effort every night.

Another 30 minute game for Foote. Berard and Federov each had six shots on goal. New Jersey was 0-7 on the power play; Columbus was 1-5.

Jackets 4 Islanders 3, SO

Columbus wins another game via a shoot out. David Vyborny netted the game-winner and only goal in the shoot out. The Blue Jackets named Adam Foote as captain on Tuesday, and he scores a power play goal, one of three Columbus power play goals, in the next game. Nikolai Zherdev and Sergei Federov also scored power play goals for Columbus. It was Federov's first goal as a Blue Jacket just a game after obtaning another milestone by playing in the 1,000 game of his career.

New York outshot Columbus 42-29. Malhotra injured his shoulder and is out indefinitely. No Islander was on the ice for more than 27 minutes; Columbus had three players on the ice for more than 27 minutes, Foote, Vborny and Wescott. Foote was on the ice for a whopping 32:50.

Columbus 3 Minnesota 2, SO

The Jackets grab a rare road win by a shoot out goal by Jaroslav Balastik. Leclaire stoned the Wild in the shoot out and Columbus skates away with a win.

For the Blue Jackets, Letowski and Wescott scored the regular time goals. It's good to see Trevor start to score a bit since the offensive production has been so anemic. Nash where art thou?

In a rare mini-vacation Columbus does not have another game for a week. I wonder how they swung that early Christmas gift?

Columbus 4 St. Louis 3

Wow, the Jackets win a close game... on the road no less and Jody Shelley gets an assist on the game-winning goal, scored by Aaron Johnson on a third period power play. Rookie Gil Brule netted his second of the season also in the third period. Manny Malhotra had a quick goal out of the gate (37 seconds into the game) and later added an assist to continue his offensive awakening.

The scary trend continues: Columbus was outshot 34-19. Interestingly, Zherdev and Federov had a combined two shots on goal. No one on Columbus had more than 2 SOG. Another strange first period: Columbus defended four penalties and yielded a power play goal. Got to keep that penalty killing unit of the ice more.

Groin injuries to Adam Foote and Marc Denis kept them out of the lineup. In Foote's absence, Duvie Wescott logged an impressive 31:37 of ice time and even managed to get an assist on Brule's goal.

Nashville 4 Columbus 2

"We didn't show up to play for a period and a half and it cost us the hockey game. We played a great third period, but it's just one period -- we can't do it for 60 minutes. That's been our problem all season long." - Gerard Gallant

Nicholai Zherdev scored his fourth goal of the season with assists to Federov and Vyborny. Foote injured his foot in the first period and did not return. It was a shooting gallery last night: Nashville outshot Columbus 41-37.

Manny's finally off the schneid, scoring his first goal of the year in the third period. Rookie Gil Brule and Duvie Westcott got assists on Malhotra's power play goal. Shelley was on the ice for 4:35. In that time, he was -1 and had a cross-checking penalty.

Dallas 6 Columbus 3

The old saying "there's good news and there's bad news" is the theme of this post.

For a change, first the good news. Free agent signee Bryan Berard has been great. He scored two goals last night and has led the offense from the defense position. Not too shabby. Three goals netted by Columbus is like 8 for another team. The bad news is, of course, that Dallas scored 6.

More enteratining, actually scoring goals and even one on the power play is good news. Losing again is bad. Columbus slumps to 5-15 on the season.

We'll see how Fedorov, who was traded by Anaheim for forward Tyler Wright and rookie defenseman Francois Beauchemin, fits into the mix. Will the experienced player's impact raise the team? Will Zherdev be inspired by Federov? Possible good news down the road to mitigate the waiving of solid defensive center Todd Marchant. He got caught on a team that need scoring while it waits for its ace to heal. Expect Nash back by mid-December, which won't come fast enough for Jacket fans.

St. Louis 2 Columbus 0

A goose egg against a team that had lost 11 games in a row. True to form, the Blues eeked out only 16 shots against Marc Denis. Unfortunately, two third period goals sunk the Jackets on their home ice.

For the Blues, Lee Stempniak broke the scoreless game after picking off a sloppy pass in the Columbus defensive zone by Bryan Berard. Stempniak then came in alone and beat Denis on a quick deke and a flip into the net. The Blues added a late goal but one was enough. Despite Columbus outshooting St. Louis 36-16, goalie Curtis Sanford gets star of the game for the shutout.

Canucks 5 Blue Jackets 3

Another road game, another road loss. Apparently the point that management tried to make to Nicholai Zherdev came across. A healthy scratch last night, tonight Zherdev was hell on skates. In a losing effort, Zherdev scored two goals and assisted on the other (Vyborny). We'll see if there is a carryover effect or if the lesson holds for only one game. At the very least it's nice to see Gallant try something during this tough stretch. Penalties again killed Columbus as they gave up two second period power play goals to erase a solid team effort in the first period.

No Rick Nash tonight. He hurt his left knee last night in Calgary and they held him out of the lineup. Vacouver's Markus Naslund scored his 8th goal of the season into an empty net with 10 seconds left in the game.

Columbus at Calgary
third period


Denis loses his goalstick and Calgary catches the Columbus defense asleep. Reinprecht sneaks one by Denis to tie the game.

Not much in the way of results at this point, but the power play looks much better with Klesla and Nash in the lineup. The unit looks faster and more polished.

Wow, what a great glove save by Kiprusoff robbing Nash. Big stop. Two minutes later Calgary gets a goal that pinballs off of Denis and Nilson as the Calgary player crashes into the goal. The puck crosses the line a split second before the goal comes off the moorings. 2-1 Calgary.

Nash lands awkwardly as he tried a move and limped off the ice. His next shift is a short one; on ice for only a few seconds then later he left the bench.

A two-on-one with 4 minutes left, Letwoski and Fritsche with Letowski shooting one into the pads of Kiprusoff.

Columbus pulls Deni with less than a minute left. shortly thereafter Calgary takes a bad penalty to give Columbus a power play. Malhotra wins the key faceoff, but the Jackets cannot amount an attack.

A very entertaining game concluding with that familiar empty feeling at the end.

Calgary 2 Columbus 1

Columbus at Calgary
second period


Early in the second period Nash makes a tough hit ands Vyborny finishes off the play for the goal that makes him the Blue Jackets all time scoring leader. 1-0 Jackets.

Goertzen and Ritchie go at it after Goertzen gave a bit of a high hit on a Calgary defenseman. It has been a tough hitting game. The kind of game you expect when playing a Sutter coached team.

Fantastic play by Nash that led to a great scoring chance for Malhotra. From behind the Calgary net with a guy on him, Nash slipped a pass betwen his legs; Malhotra drew it across to his forehand but fanned on the open net. A beautiful play that made a nice highlight but not a goal.

Denis brain farts and gets the no goalie handling the puck penalty. That's one brain fart for each goalie. It makes me wonder why the NHL will equate (timewise) a goalie playing a puck with slashing or roughing. Wouldn't making this offense a whistle and faceoff in the defensive zone be enough?

Wescott gets a holding penalty with a little more than a minute to go in the period. A fitting end to the second. Columbus 1 Calgary 0

Columbus at Calgary
first period


The longest period of the year

Penalties again! The first period was penalty riddled. Sheesh, they got one within the first two minutes of the game. Too many men on the ice a few minutes later. A couple of minutes later a Jody Shelley penalty erases a goal by Goertzen. Follow that penalty wih yet another by Shelley who managed to not get back to the bench after leaving the penalty box! Unbelievable. The offense will not gain any momentum if they have to spend more than half their time killing penalties. Shelley and McCarty battle and each traded a few before being sent to the lockerroom for the remainder of the period. Malhotra gets a holding call and Calgary gets power play number five in the first period. Luckily Kiprusoff has a brain fart and handles the puck outside the restricted zone for goalies. The period mercifully ends somehow without any goals. Calgary has 11 shots to 4 for Columbus. Note: two of those shots were slow clearing shots by penalty killers that just happened to be on goal.

Nicholai Zherdev was a healthy scratch.

Oilers 5 Blue Jackets 1

The game featured the return of Rick Nash and Rusty Klesla. Nash made his presence felt in the first period when he decked Michael Peca with a solid check in open ice. Peca sustained a mild concussion from the hit and did not return. A few minutes later Klesla scored from the point on a low shot that Nash actually jumped over and served to screen a helpless Markkanen.

Denis made a beautiful save during Edmonton's first power play. He sprawled across the crease to stone the winger and keep the game scoreless. The first period ended knotted at one with the Blue Jackets rising in energy.

Talented Edmonton forward Ales Hemsky (4 points in his last game) scored an early power play goal in the second, a short-sider that beat Denis. He looks like he plays the game a bit faster than everyone else on the ice. Edmonton has a good one in Hemsky.

Defenseman Luke Richardson absolutely nailed winger Georges Laraque two times in the Columbus defensive zone along the boards.

Edmonton rang two shots off the post in the second period. Too many penalties. Two third period goals by Edmonton within 41 seconds of each other put the game away. The first period ended with the Blue Jackets charged and the thir period ended wih Edmonton skating circles around Columbus.

Wild 3 Blue Jackets 1

A late goal by Minnesota made the final score appear larger than the game was close. The second game of a home-and-home matchup with Minnesota ends with a Todd White goal with 30 seconds left.

A tight-checking game like the one the night before, this time Minnesota came out on top. Hard to fault the Jackets since they have been playing better, though the offense has yet to spread its wings. Missing both Nash and Brule certainly has something to do with the lack of scoring.

David Vyborny had the lone Columbus goal, a first period power play goal set up by Berard and Zherdev. Martin Prusek started his third straight game in goal. Looks like Denis will ride the pines as Gallant rides a hot goalie. Columbus managed only 16 shots on goal while Minnesota had 24.

Blue Jackets 2 Wild 1, Shootout

The Blue Jackets win their second game in a row and first in franchise history via the shootout. Trevor Letowski neeted the game winner during the shootout's fifth sudden-death round. Normally shootouts are three tries per team; if tied after three rounds, the next rounds are sudden-death types (meaning: you score and the opponent does not then you win). During the third period, Adam Foote scored his third goal and second in the last two games to tie the score.

Martin Prusek was in goal for the second straight game for Columbus. Wow, Columbus outshot Minnesota 59-34. The Jackets had an incredible 24 shots in the third period yet only managed one goal. Vyborny had 6 shots on goal. Columbus only had three penalties during the game.

Blue Jackets 3 Predators 2 OT

Adam Foote's short-handed goal with less than a minute left in overtime gave the Blue Jackets a home ice win. The victory snapped an 8 game winning streak for Nashville. Letowski (his 3rd goal of the season) and Hartigan (1st of the season; a power play goal) also scored for Columbus.

It was nice to see the Jackets come through in overtime after allowing Nashville to score a goal with 20 seconds left in overtime.

Martin Prusek was in goal for Columbus. The Jackets outshot Nashville, 34-24. After being blistered by Detroit this week, it was important to get a victory to keep the team from a freefall.

Red Wings 6 Blue Jackets 2

Same result, different day. The downward spiraling Blue Jackets drop another one to the Red Wings. I guess there was improvement as they managed to score this time. Bryan Berard (power play goal) netted his third goal of the season and Trevor Letowski got his second. Not enough firepower for Columbus to keep up with the powerful Detroit club. Detroit was a gaudy 4-8 on the power play, especially galling given that they performed this scoring frenzy on Columbus ice.

Berard and Malhotra lead the team in scoring with a low 5 points apiece. It looks like a rough season in Columbus.

Red Wings 6 Blue Jackets 0

Detroit blasted the Jackets at home in Columbus. Detroit dominated in every facet of the game, including 2-5 on the power play. Not much to add here given the miserable performance by the outmatched Jackets. The injured and still out Rick Nash (or Mario Lemeiux or Wayne Gretzy for that matter) would not have made a difference to the outcome. This game was the first one that Columbus really looked bad. Really bad.

game 06: Kings 3 Blue Jackets 1

The Blue Jackets get overpowered once again. Nash's scoring punch being off ice has left them weak offensively, but hsi loss should not cripple the team. The real problem is that no player has stepped into the leadership void during Nash's absence. Who will it be? Nikolai Zherdev, a spark and exciting player last year, scored his first goal of the season in the third period. Hopefully Zherdev will use the goal to start fulfilling his seemingly vast potential.

Misc: Anaheim outshot Columbus 31-20. Power plays: Los Angeles 2-9; Columbus 0-7. Through six games the Blue Jackets have only scored 11 goals while allowing opponents to net 19.

Brule Out for Six Weeks

First round draft pick Gilbert Brule broke his sternum and will miss six weeks. Flames defenseman Roman Hamrlik delivered the hit that injured Brule, who is now on injured reserve until nearly the end of November. It's a setback for the youngster who played hard in the preseason to make the team.

game 05: Ducks 4 Blue Jackets 3

The Jackets lost a see-saw battle with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks 4-3. Anaheim would go ahead and Columbus would catch up. A late goal by Keith Carney put the Ducks ahead for good a couple of minutes after Jan Hrdina's second goal as a Blue Jacket (and second goal of the game) had knotted the game at 3. Defenseman Bryan Berard had a strong game, scoring a goal and adding an assist.

Misc: Anaheim outshot Columbus 36-19. Power plays: Anaheim 1-6; Columbus 2-9. Anaheim's power play goal snapped a 14 penalty kill streak by Columbus. Rick Nash missed another game. Jody Shelley had almost twice as many minutes in the penalty box (9:00) than he had on the ice (4:44).

game 04: Sharks 4 Blue Jackets 1

On the road the Jackets got spanked by San Jose. A late goal by Suchy kept them from being shutout. One thing is very clear even at this early point: No Rick Nash, no wins. They need their star on the ice... once he is healthy. Though there is no need to rush him back, he is missed. Sorely.

Misc: San Jose outshot Columbus 36-27. Power plays: Chicago 0-9; Columbus 0-6. Foote was on the ice for over 26 minutes, the most for both teams.

game 03: Blue Jackets 3 Black Hawks 2

Jackets defenseman Bryan Berard had a hand in two goals (a power play goal and an assist) against his old team. In the first period, newly acquired Jason Chimera netted a goal in his first game as a Blue Jacket, assists to Malhotra and Letowski. Jody Shelley, of all people, got into the act with a goal assisted by Berard and Balastik.

Misc: Rick Nash again did not play. Chicago outshot Columbus 32-27. Power plays: Chicago 1-8; Columbus 1-4. Denis in goal outduels Khabibulin. On Saturday, the Blue Jackets got Chimera in a deal that sent Geoff Sanderson and Tim Jackman to Phoenix for Chimera, defenseman Cale Hulse and forward Mike Rupp.

game 02: Flames 3 Blue Jackets 1

Calgary ruined the home opener in Columbus by handing the Jackets a 3-1 defeat. The game was a solid affair with good, solid checking. For Calgary, Shean Donovan opened the scoring in the second period. Early in the third period Trevor Letowski notched his first goal of the season with assists to Zherdev and Marchant. A late goal by Darren McCarty sealed the lead near the end of the game.

Misc: Goalie Marc Denis faced 38 shots while Columbus only managed 20 shots on goal. Columbus killed all 8 of its short-handed situations and was 1-5 on the power play. Rick Nash did not play due to a lingering ankle sprain. Jackets rookie forward Gilbert Brule was stoned by Miikka Kiprusoff on a breakaway in the second period.

game 01

Capitals 3 Blue Jackets 2

The Blue Jackets dropped their season opener in Washington to the Capitals. It's a tough loss given that they had a 2-0 lead into the second period. For the Jackets, Dan Fritsche netted both goals. First round selection Gilbert Brule got his first NHL point, assisting on Fritsche's first goal. Caps forward Alexander Ovechkin, a young Russian making his NHL debut, played tough and scored two goals. Rick Nash aggravated his ankle, sprained in training camp, and did not skate in the third period.

Misc: Pascal Leclaire was in goal for Columbus. The Blue Jackets outshot Washington 37-19. Columbus was 0-9 on the power play.

Here Comes the Regular Season

Wednesday is opening night for the Blue Jackets. Hopefully the team will overcome its flu-bug and head into teh season with a new energy. Top draft pick Gilbert Brule may have worked his way onto the team with a strong preseason, leading the Blue Jackets with 5 points. Brule's scrappy play would look good on the front line.

As we enter the new year, keep an eye on Gerard Gallant as he enters his first full season as Blue Jackets coach. I think he is up for the task though that task is a hard one - developing chemistry on a team loaded with young players. Nash and Zherdev should be fun to watch. As always, we'll cheer for the Blue Jackets unheralded hero, David Vyborny. Hopefully goalie Marc Denis will be able to shine now that he has a few veterans on defense in front of him.

Let the games begin!

Nash Out Two Weeks

After spraining an ankle during a scrimmage, Blue Jackets forward Rick Nash will be out a minimum of two weeks.

This summer Nash, a restricted free agent and the first overall pick of the 2002 draft, re-signed with Columbus, inking a $27 million five-year contract that had general managers around the league shaking their heads. We'll see what big money does to Nash who now carries the label of "The Franchise" in Columbus.

Shoring Up the Defense

The Blue Jackets signed veteran defenseman Adam Foote, 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, to a three year $13.8 million deal. Foote had been a stalwart for the Colorado Avalanche's two Stanley Cup winning teams.

A few days later Columbus signed another veteran, Brian Berard. Another defenseman with good size (6'2", 218 pounds), Berard was signed for two years at $2.2 million per season. Hockey fans may remember him as the former rookie of the year (when a member of the Islanders) who had a terrible eye injury after being hit in the eye by a high stick.

These two signings are vital to the improvement of the young team. As noted in last year's blogs, the Blue Jackets need defensive help to go with the young offensive talent. Adding veteran help will serve to stabilize the defense for goalie Mark Denis and to provide leadership for the younger guys. Don't get me wrong - they need to sign a scorer or three - but management deserves kudos for these intelligent signings.

Brule Chosen in Draft's Round One

Eclipsed by the top choice of Sidney Crosby, well-regarded Gilbert Brule was the top pick for the Blue Jackets . The 5'10" 175 pound center is descibed as a tough, quick and hard-working grinder with a right-hand shot, possibly in the Kris Draper mold but with a potentially higher upside. It should be noted that Brule was a two-time scholastic player of the year so add intelligence to his list of strengths. If those qualities bear fruit through hard work, Columbus has an excellent prospect.

The End of the Beginning

The owners and players begrudingly signed papers allowing them to once again gouge fans and earn millions. We all should feel sorry for them, especially poor slobs like Jeremy Roenick.

Conspiracy theorists like me patted their hands together, donned foil hats and did the Macarena when we we learned that the Penguins won the lottery for the chance to draft Sidney Crosby. It would have nothing to do with the fact that the Pittsburgh franchise teeters as its aging superstar Mario Lemieux continues to play despite being cheesed off by practices and games that infringe upon his tee times.

The NHL sees the impossible task: try getting a stadium in a town that has already squandered millions by awarding one to the Pirates (last seen in the playoffs sometime before the Inquisition). The Steelers get what they want since Pittsburgh is a football town and they do manage to make it into the playoffs virtually every year. Face it, it is easier to get a plumber than to get Steeler season tickets. Enough said.

Crosby will head to Pittsburgh to prop up a flagging franchise so Mario can go whirring off into the sunset for a quick 18 before supper at the club. Sounds about as random as the Knicks drafting Patrick Ewing many moons ago. Hey, isn't that Bettman fellow from the NBA? Hmm.

Okay, I'll stop. We should be happy, the twenty-three or so of us who like the NHL. There will be games this fall. Don Cherry can finally go out and get his blazers for the impending season of Hockey Night In Canada. Maybe the Bluejackets can even sign a Flyer or two since Philadelphia can no longer afford its veterans.

I think I'll go outside and catch a few rays today before praying for ice tonight.

Lockout Seems to Near Its End and Roenick Loses His Mind

Just when the apathy had grown fat on the former fanbase of the NHL, we get a hero who braved the growing calm before a bitter business war could finally end and dared to reignite the hatred of the fans. You know, the folks who made the owners and players wealthy. Right, we the suckers.

We'll call this hilarious lapse of reason "Example #375." Once again the truth that is evident is demonstrated by the NHL and its foes/partners-in-stupidity/players. That is, neither party has nary a clue about anything ressembling positive public opinion. Stepping up to the podium is NHL veteran and rocket scientist Jeremy Roenick.

Last Saturday in Pittsburgh at the Mario Lemieux Celebrity Invitational, Roenick issued the following remarks: "We're going to try to make it better for everybody, period, end of subject. And if you don't realize that, then don't come. We don't want you at the rink, we don't want you in the stadium, we don't want you to watch hockey,"

I imagine that Roenick will be flogged in private by the union for helping make NHL players less popular than car salesmen, politicians, and even that annoying guy from the ubiquitous Verizon commercials.

The fans will be cheesed off, Jeremy. Cheesed off for a good long while.

Apparently Roenick doesn't realize that the fans made him and his buddies millionaires. Tickets, beer, food, jerseys. Sounding familiar? And if they don't come back to the rink, then you and your pals will have to get regular jobs. Gasp! You might even make less money than... girls hold onto your boyfriends as no one will believe this one... a teacher, fireman or police officer! Gasp! The horror!

Can you hear me now, Jeremy?

June Draft Cancelled

Things go from bad to worse as the NHL announced that the annual draft to held held in June will not take place. What is the next step for the league? Can replacement players be far away?

NHL 2004-2005 RIP

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman cancelled the season this week. Both sides made concessions near the end, but it was too little too late.
The $6.5 million difference in salary cap was too great to get a deal done. Let's remember that a difference of $6.5 million per team really means a difference of $195 million... and that is quite a gap.

At this point of the year, I did not want to see an abbreviated season anyway. Assuming an agreement can be reached soon, I propose to have a goodwill tournment. All the league's teams in a double-elimination tournament.

NHL Cancels the All-Star Game

With lingering doubts that any hockey will take place on NHL rinks this year, the league officials have decided to cancel the annual All-Star game which was to be held in Atlanta. Several players have jumped to Europe for the chance to play this season. Superstars Jagr, St. Louis and Kovalev signed in the last week.

"Hockey has given me everything in my life. I owe hockey a lot more than it will ever owe me. Hockey has been my life." - Raymond Bourque

Collective Bargaining and the Future of the NHL

Unfortunately this off-season has provided ample time for every fan of the NHL to ponder the impending doom that is the upcoming season (or is it non-season?). The spectre of a lost season lurks on the horizon.

The CBA between the players and owners is set to expire, and the sides are not close to a new agreement despite holding talks. We, the fans, are the golden goose that provides the riches for the owners and players. Hopefully they will remember that fact when they next sit at the bargaining table.

For those interested in reading the CBA, visit http://www.nhlcbanews.com/cba_pres.html.

Blue Jackets Keep Gallant

Don't call Gerard Gallant an interim coach anymore. GM Doug MacLeanwill announced Friday that Gallant was named head coach for the Blue Jackets. MacLean added, "He is an outstanding young coach who knows the league and has a vision for what he wants to see from our players on the ice."

Gallant is an NHL veteran who played 11 seasons before retiring in 1995.

Blue Jackets Sign Defenseman Suchy

<>The Columbus Blue Jackets acquired defenseman Radoslav Suchy from the Phoenix Coyotes.
The Blue Jackets also picked up a sixth-round pick in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft and sent the Coyotes a fourth-round pick in the 2005 draft in return.

Suchy played in all 82 games for Phoenix last season, recording career highs with seven goals, 14 assists and 21 points. In 372 career games, Suchy scored 12 goals and 63 points with a plus-31 rating.

"Radoslav Suchy is a capable top-four defenseman with nearly 400 career games of experience in the NHL and is just 28-years-old," said Blue Jackets president and general manager Doug MacLean. "He's a good fit for our team. He's a good puck mover and has been a 'plus-player' every year of his NHL career."

Sanderson Back in Columbus

The Blue Jackets claimed left wing Geoff Sanderson off waivers from the Vancouver Canucks, who had acquired Sanderson for their playoff run in the wake of the Bertuzzi suspension. The leading point scorer in Columbus history, Sanderson hopefully will keep the scoring touch that he displayed in Vancouver.

Quenneville to Coach Avalanche

Joel Quenneville, former coach of St. Louis, was hired Wednesday to coach the Colorado Avalanche. We had hoped that the fine coach would land in Columbus, but it was not meant to be. Colorado has themselves a solid coach.