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.