Good News, Bad News

Last night's game vs. the Sharks was a tantalizing event that just fell short. Here are my takeaways from the game;

The bad . . .

Too many penalties -- going in we knew we had to stay out of the box, and giving SJ six stabs at it, including 4.5 of them in the second period alone, is a recipe for disaster. That we only gave up 2 goals under the circumstances is somewhat of a positive

Missed chances -- taking nothing away from Nabokov, who played an amazing game, we need to bury our chances. Converting 1 out of 6 scoring chances in the 1st period, when we had them reeling, opened the door for what followed.

Turnovers -- not a huge problem, but we need to be more consistent with the puck in our own zone, and be sure of our clears. Hejda is a brilliant defenseman, but when he goofs the puck handling in our zone, it is usually a whopper of an error.

Faceoffs -- we got taken to school in the circle last night.

The good . . .

Offensive pressure -- We had the best team in hockey reeling in the first period, through sheer speed, hard work and skill, for virtually all of the first period, and exerted pressure 5 on 5 throughout the game. Nash, Huselius, Umberger were huge, and the goats began to re-emerge. Novotny showed predictable energy in our zone, and Modin and Peca were also a presence.

Sound defense -- We held SJ to one even strength goal, and provided them with few golden opportunities 5 on 5.

Penalty kill -- Yeah, I know we gave up two power play goals. However, this is the best damn team in the league, and we killed 1:40 of 5 on 3, kept the puck out of harms way for vast stretches of the other power plays, and even had a couple of decent shorthanded chances.

Overall effort -- We stood toe to toe with a team that has been undefeated at home in regulation, and did not flinch. We are an improving club, and nobody has played SJ better in their arena this year. It took a big advantage in power play time and a stellar goaltending performance to get them the victory. While every loss hurts, this is one most would have put in the "L" column going in, and to start the road trip with that kind of effort bodes well for LA and Anaheim.

Bottom line is that we were a couple of bounces (or whistles) away from a victory. Nothing to scream and wail about. 4 points await on this trip. Go Jackets!!

Torres Update

Per our friends at the Dispatch, Raffi Torres will have arthroscopic surgery in Minnesota to clear out what doctors believe is scar tissue in his bum knee. They think this is causing his pain, and inferentially the feeling of instability he has experienced. Down time depends upon what they find, but estimate now is 2 - 4 weeks.

San Jose Preview

The Jackets foray into the depths of Silicon Valley to tangle with the Sharks, who have been other-worldly so far this season, particularly at home. 21-3 -1 overall, 13-0-1 at home. The lone blemish being an OTL to Nashville. So, why should we not just abandon all hope and fly directly to L.A.? Several reasons:

• The CBJ are a much better team now than during the first visit.
• SJ has not seen Mason before, and he is on a roll.
• We have shown we can hold big scorers down-i.e. Kovalchuk, Ovechkin
• While PP is not clicking, at least we shouldn't give up 2 shorties like last time
• Law of averages says SJ has to lose a home game sometime
• Goats!!!

Watch for Novotny to play a significant part in tonight's game. After being a healthy scratch, and possibly serving as trade bait, he will have something to prove. I would not be surprised to see an in-game promotion for him.

We need to come out of the gate hard, and get an early goal or two on Nabokov, who actually has a Save % slightly under 90. However, the SJ defense is not allowing a lot of shots, so his GAA is only 2.54. Our goal is therefore to keep possession, move the puck and get some rubber on net. Stay out of the box, and be strong in the neutral zone and at our blue line. Disrupt their flow, support down low and hard forechecking will win the day.

A tough task, but we have shown we can play with anybody. Grab your Mountain Dew or other caffeine source and watch the game into the early AM hours. Go Jackets!!!

Midweek Madness

Legein's Return -- Sources appear unanimous that Stefan Legein will return to the CBJ fold, likely reporting to Syracuse in January. TSN.ca reports:

Legein has been skating for the last few weeks with the St. Catharines Falcons of the Golden Horseshoe Junior League and on Monday will begin working out with the Brampton Battalion of the Ontario Hockey League. He will do that for a few weeks, spend Christmas and New Year's with his family at home in Oakville, Ont., and then head off to Columbus to become a hockey player again.

Easy to forget he is still a kid. Let's hope he has renewed his internal commitment to hockey, and has a great career with the CBJ. Nothing but good wishes for him here.

Avery Suspension -- OK, the guy is a moron, but I personally think Bettman whiffed on this one-timer. The suspension should have come way earlier, like for the racist remarks about LaRoque or any of his myriad other antics. If this were baseball, this would be referred to as a make-up call.

LaViolette Firing -- This one is a little strange, in my book. Sure Carolina has missed playoffs the last two years, but doesn't a Stanley Cup in your second year entitle you to a little longer grace period? Especially with the injury history that Carolina has had the past two years, and the lack of blockbuster front office help for the roster. On top of that, replacing him with the same guy he replaced ??? Something weird going on behind the scenes, methinks. Either that, or the Tampa Bay ownership group also owns Carolina . . . ;-)

Young Hockey Studs Only Need Apply -- Have to wrap up with a big CONGRATULATIONS to Steve Mason and the CBJ for Mason's selection as Rookie of the Month for November, giving the Jackets a sweep of the two monthly awards handed out this year, following Brassard's win in October. OK, Jake, your turn in December!!

San Jose preview tonight or tomorrow morning. Post some comments so that I can get some input on making this blog better!! Thanks!

CBJ vs. Vancouver Highlights

http://watch.tsn.ca/nhl/clip117704#clip117704

Tenacity Prevails!!!

This win was not elegant, but was poetic in its own bizarre way. By winning a game where they did not score the first goal (first time this season for that), were not clicking on all cylinders, and had to once again come from behind twice, they solidified the lessons learned over the past week. In his postgame comments, Hitchcock noted that this win was "building on Saturday night's victory." Not to brag, but it seems this blogger predicted that in the Saturday night installment . . . ;-)

Some highs and lows of the night:

Fast Start -- The boys came out of the box with some jump, forced Vancouver into some early penalties, and had some glorious chances!

Letdown -- When Sanford stopped everything we threw at him in the first period, it seemed to take a bit of the jump our of our step. We continued to play hard, but the "edge" was a bit softer, the passing a bit more ragged.

Power Play -- I am going to give a B to the power play tonight, despite being 1 for 8. We created a ton of chances early on, and had some great possession. Modin finally buries the biscuit, and we really had great pressure in 3 or 4 of the power plays, particularly early on. We had trouble entering the zone, and played dump and chase more often than you would like to see on the PP. However, we weren't playing Columbus School for Girls here. Vancouver sets up that picket line in the neutral zone and makes it very difficult to carry the puck in. Work in progress, but solid improvement.

So Good It's Silly -- Nash's seemingly blind pass from a double team across the crease to Huselius, who has his stick ready and rams it home. It's the type of play we have seen executed against us late in the 3rd way too many times over the years, and the hockey gods are starting to let us get even. Great play.

So Good It's Silly -- The Sequel -- Mason during the seemingly eternal final 1:56 of 6 on 4, performing what Bill Davidge called a "snow angel with a half twist" in keeping what was a sure goal out. If you have not seen it, find the video and watch -- I will try to find it and post it here. Mason is in a zone all by himself right now.

Nice Efforts -- Our fourth line played great all night, and it was nice to see Murray get rewarded. Umberger, Russell, Malhotra, Murray all impressed. The Goat line had some energy, but just couldn't quite get things clicking. They will be back soon. Boll is looking stronger.

Overall, this was one we would never win in the past, and won this time through sheer tenacity. The mark of a good team is one that can win over tough competition, even when the "A" game is not there. We did that tonight, in spades! Catch NHL On The Fly tonight -- nice things to say about the CBJ, Nash and Mason. Nice to hear us getting some positive press from the national media!!

Off to California for a big road test. Go Jackets!!

Monday Miscellany -- Beat Vancouver!!

Stick With What Works

Per the Dispatch, do not expect any significant changes in the lineup tonight against Vancouver. After a solid showing over the Caps, why change?

Rookie Goalie Matchup?

Tonight might be an interesting faceoff between two rookie goalies -- Steve Mason and Cory Schneider, who made his debut against Calgary the other night in a 3 - 1 loss. Vancouver media are high on Schneider, and consensus was that he was hung out to dry by the Canucks defense.

Sendoff Party

With the west coast swing through San Jose, LA and Anaheim coming up, a great effort against Vancouver is essential to build some positive momentum before embarking on the trip.

Keys To The Game

• Stay out of the box -- while our PK has been much better, let's not give Vancouver any opportunites.
• Pucks On Goal -- Whether it is Schneider or Sandford, get lots of rubber to the net early and often. Let's get more on goal, and fewer wide or high.
• S.O.S. -- Shut out Sedins -- need I say more?
• PP Motion -- Keep the puck flying around during the PP and good things will happen, provided we can finish the opportunities (see Pucks On Goal above)

Vancouver has been on a minor scoring drought of late, not having score 4 or more since November 13. Let's extend that drought 1 more game and get 4 or 5 of our own.

Go Jackets!!