Boston Baked!!!!

The two best goalies in the NHL faced off in Nationwide Arena tonight, and this was right in the league of Palmer vs. Nicklaus and Borg vs. McEnroe. For every stop Thomas made, Mason did one better. Two + periods of standoff until one tiny little crack in the upper far corner of the Boston net cradled a shot from the resurgent Raffi Torres, for the only time Thomas was beaten all night. Add Nash's gritty empty netter at the end, and you have Mason with 35 saves, Thomas with 32, and the Jackets on the positive side of a 2 -0 blanking of the best team in hockey.

The shutout was Mason's 9th of the season, tying the CBJ team record, set last year by Leclaire. He leads the NHL, and also did nothing to harm his standing in Save Percentage and GAA.

This was not just a goaltending effort, however. Picking up on the momentum created in Detroit, the Jackets played a full 60 minutes of Hitch-Hockey, and were rewarded richly for their efforts. Here are the +/- for tonight:

++Discipline -- The game reminded me of the Edmonton game on the last road trip, with each team feeling each other out for the first period, goalies dominating play, and Raffi Torres coming to the rescue! It took awhile for the Jackets to solve the neutral zone picket line that Boston threw at us, but eventually they used their tenacious defense, good puck support and speed to get the puck deep and create opportunities.

++Details -- 42 to 29 in the faceoff circle, 7 takeaways to 1, surrendered only 3 power plays. We were right in the hits battle, 25 to 27. We seemed a bit reticent to hit in the first period, but more than made up for it later. That type of attention to detail gives you wins down the stretch, and in the playoffs.

++ Special Teams -- More of that attention to detail here. PK was perfect and created some real scoring chances for us. 1 for 3 on the power play, and it looked solid most of the time.

++ Defense -- Absolutely blistering. As has become the Jackets' credo, they take the best team in the league and shut them down. We drove them to the perimeters, supported the puck, identified holes quickly and plugged them. Supported by Mason, they played almost flawless Hitch hockey. Great puck control and avoidance of turnovers!

++Vermette -- This was one fantastic acquisition by Howson. Vermette was everywhere -- making great passes, earning another assist, winning key faceoffs, and showing some physical play as well. Once he gets a little more time with his line mates, this guy will be unstoppable.

Too many players to name here -- suffice it to say that the whole team played a complete 60 minute game.

Here are some stats for you: CBJ vs. the Eastern Conference this year -- 11-3-1. Mason vs. Eastern Conference this year: 10-1, with a total of 10 goals allowed in 11 games -- 0.900 GAA!

Additional good news--Edmonton, Minnesota, Phoenix, Nashville all lost in overtime, and Dallas is trailing by 3 in regulation. So we stand to pick up at least 1 point against all of our competition, and inched within 2 points of 5th place!

Go Jackets!!!

Statistical Update

While I hate to confuse things with facts, as I know central Ohio fans as a rule much prefer reacting on emotion, ;-) here is an update of how the Western Conference playoff picture would look at season end if all of the teams played at their current pace from here out:

1. San Jose 137 Points (Pacific Leader)
2. Detroit 124 Points (Central Leader)
3. Calgary 101 Points (Northwest Leader)
4. Chicago 114 Points
5. Vancouver 96 Points
6. Anaheim 91 Points
7. Minnesota 89 Points
8. Nashville 87 Points
9. Phoenix 87 Points
10. Edmonton 85 Points
11. Colorado 84 Points
12. Los Angeles 82 Points
13. Dallas 82 Points
14. Columbus 77 Points
15. St. Louis 70 Points

So, what we have here is a situation where the Top 4 are playing other-worldly hockey, Vancouver is playing really, really well, and the rest are beating the crap out of each other. Since the first time I published this analysis 2 weeks ago, the CBJ have actually improved their projected point total by 1, and the target number for the #8 spot has come down by 1, for a net gain of 2 in the playoff hunt.

We have improved considerably in the number of goals we are surrendering. For the season, we are at a 3.029 GAA, and for the past 15 games, it is a stingy 2.533! (Thank you Mr. Mason!) Unfortunately, our offensive production has turned the other way. We are at 2.618 GPG for the season, but only 2.067 for the last 15 games, including our only 3 shutouts of the year.

The good news is that if we can turn our offense around, we are poised to win a lot of games. The bad news is that the injury situation makes that difficult. Tough not to envision a scenario where Mr. Howson enters the picture here, followed by Filatov at end of January. While he still needs to gain size, with Brass out we need another skill player. If Hitch handles him like he handled Brass, I think he will contribute.

Other Statistical Oddities -- While San Jose has shown signs of being almost human, Boston continues on a tear. They are 2ndto SJ in projected points, 2nd to Detroit in GPG, and 1st in GAPG, with a very meager 2.265 goals allowed. With the way Tim Thomas is playing, and if they can survive the Sturm injury, this could be the team to beat for the Cup.

Timing is everything . . . the NY Rangers have amassed a 22 - 12 -3 record, while scoring just 1 more goal than they have allowed -- 100 GF/99 GA. It jsut goes to show you that it ain't how many you score, it's when you score them. Keep in mind that the Rangers only rank 20th in GPG, but are 8th in GA. Starting to understand the Hitchcock obsession with defense?

Finally, to keep consistent with the defense theme, Florida has womed their way into the Eastern Conference playoff picture, and would hold the 8th spot there with 89 points if everyone played their way out at the same pace from here. Don't thank their offense -- they rank 27th in the NHL with 2.485 GPG, but are surrendering only 2.576 per game, good for 4th in the league.

Moral of story -- this will be a wild and wooly race to the end. If we keep our defense going, and put more pucks on the net, we will pull out of this funk and be a contender. Right now it is the psychological barrier that we need to overcome, between the injuries, the fiasco that is NHL officiating, and the pressure of an extended road trip. Some controlled recklessness is in order in the offensive zone!

Go Jackets!!!