Playoff Updates

I know that Aaron Portzline has already "called" the Jackets as being in the playoffs, but for those of us requiring a bit more analysis, I offer the following updates. First, here is the latest incarnation of playoff projections for the West, based upon each team continuing to play at the pace they have played up to this point in time. Top 3 seeds are reserved for the division winners. Here is the latest:

1. San Jose 121 points

2. Detroit 120 points

3. Calgary 102 points

4. Chicago 100 points

5. Vancouver 98 points

6. Columbus 93 points

7. Edmonton 90 points

8. Nashville 88 points

9. Anaheim 87 points

10. Minnesota 87 points

11. St. Louis 85 points

12. Dallas 84 points

13. Los Angeles 80 points

14. Phoenix 75 points

15. Colorado 72 points

I would expect to see the gap narrow between the CBJ and Vancouver over the next week, as Vancouver just started a 6 game road trip (with a loss in Phoenix.)

For an alternate look at the playoff race, check out the chart I created here, which tracks each of the playoff contenders for the final dozen games of the year, showing current point totals, total games remaining, results for each game, the record they need to reach 90 points, and home/road breakdown. I will update this daily.

Right now, Phoenix and Colorado are out, San Jose, Detroit, Calgary are in. Vancouver and Chicago also need to be included in the "in" category, although they have not mathematically clinched yet.

Los Angeles has to be considered out, as they need a perfect 10-0 record to reach 90 points, and 9 -1 to get to 88, which is still where I see the 8 slot falling. With 7 road games in that stretch, and games against St. Louis, Nashville, San Jose and Vancouver in there, stick a fork in them.

Dallas is on the thin edge, needing an 8 - 2 record to reach 90 points, and 7 - 3 to reach 88. With Brad Richards out for the duration with a spiral fracture of the left hand, they are going to be hard pressed to generate the offense necessary to get past their remaining teams.

St. Louis has made a nice run, but may be running out of real estate. They have 3 games at home, which includes Vancouver and the CBJ, and are in a position where they must win all 3, as 6 of their final 7 are on the road, including consecutive games at Columbus, Chicago and Detroit. Prediction here is that they will fall short.

Anaheim has similarly made a great run, just when folks were counting them out. However, they have a brutal 4 game stretch ahead, where they are at Edmonton, at Vancouver, at San Jose, then home against San Jose. They have to split those games and lose no more than 2 others, to get in.

Minnesota is in a similar bind to Anaheim. They are just starting a 4 game road trip, where they visit the Rangers, Islanders, Oilers and Flames. They return home to face the Canucks and Flames again, then are off to Detroit. They also need to do no worse than a split on the 4 game road trip, and can only lose 2 others. Tough task when you are challenged in scoring as Minnesota is. They did get Gaborik back last night, so they are in the hunt.

Nashville can effectively control its own destiny with 6 wins over the final 10, but that will not be easy, with 2 vs. Detroit, 2 vs. Chicago, 2 vs. CBJ, plus Anaheim, San Jose and Minnesota.

Finally,Edmonton needs only a 5 - 5 record to reach 89 points. They play 7 of the final 10 at home, but have some tough games on the slate, including Detroit, Vancouver, San Jose, Calgary (twice), Anaheim (twice). They could falter, but if Kiprusoff stays strong, the prediction here is that they split with Anaheim, split with Calgary, win one of the Detroit, Vancouver, San Jose tilts, and beat LA and Phoenix.

In the final analysis, I am sticking with Chicago in 4th, Vancouver 5th, CBJ 6th, Edmonton 7th.

Nashville, Anaheim and Minnesota will battle for the 8th slot, with Nashville ending up with it.

All of this subject to change. :-) Go Jackets!

Time and Score . . . and Torres!!!

Bluejackets fans are in a unique position to empathize with the Florida Panthers fans tonight. Over the past 7 years, how many times have we nursed a 1 goal lead with less than 5 minutes left in the game, and had our hopes shattered by a bad bounce, a late penalty or defensive breakdown?
With 2:46 left in the game, Vokoun looked unbeatable. While we did not have all of the energy or sharpness we had displayed in other games of late, we were by no means playing badly, and we had steadily increased our hold on the contest. However, whatever we threw at Vokoun got stopped. It was an unpleasant bit of deja vu, back to his Nashville days.

Then, suddenly, it all changed. A gorgeous feed from Huselius found Torres, who cruised across the center and went high on Vokoun, who couldn't handle it. 1 - 1, and the 17,032 in attendance got suddenly very quiet.

In my 2nd Period summary below, I surmised that one goal would open the floodgates. Well, 2:46 doesn't provide a lot of time for a flood, but it sure is enough time for the water to start rising! Just 1:13 later, Torres received another feed from Peca (who was huge in the 3rd), and lasered one low inside the left post. 2 -1 Jackets, with 1:33 left, and the crowd was stunned.

The following sequence was a microcosm of what the CBJ have shown time and time again this year, but lacked in prior years -- the refusal to quit and the talent to follow through. With Vokoun pulled, the Jackets did not go into scramble mode. Instead, they played sound positional hockey, finished their checks, watched their lanes, and made the extra effort to keep the puck out. Having lost his stick, Peca threw himself to the ice -- not once, but twice, in short succession, to disrupt the point play. His effort led to a turnover onto the stick of Vermette, who finished off an empty netter under pressure from his side of center ice. Party on . . .

Here are +/- for tonight:
Competetive Composure -- With tons of shots on goal (final tally was 37 - 23), and some truly sick saves by Vokoun, it would have been easy for the Jackets to either get down on themselves or go away from their game in an effort to make something happen. That is usually when we give up an odd man rush or take an untimely penalty. Not tonight -- we kept hammering until we put a crack in the dam, and kept hammering after that until the water was flowing steadily. Good stuff! (Thought I'd keep the water metaphor going . . . )

Penalty Kill -- Once again, the PK was perfect. We denied them opportunites, were agressive on the perimeter, and cut off the passing lanes. Everything you need in a tight game.

Escalating Pressure -- Without a spectacular amount of "jump", we nonetheless continued to turn up the pressure as the game went on. The ice tilted sharply from the end of the first through the end of the game. The Panther offense was a non-factor in the 3rd.

Individual Efforts -- Torres was enormous at the precise moment we needed him, which is what Hitchcock and Howson both said when we acquired him. However, we had a lot of other efforts that enabled us to be in the position to win. Mason was tremendously solid. As noted above, Peca was huge (8 - 3 in the faceoff circle). Boll was as strong in the offensive end as I have ever seen him. 16 of our shots came from defensemen, which is exactly what you want to see when the opponent is playing the collapsing kind of defense Florida was.

Defensive Pursuit -- We were not strong on the puck in our own zone throughout the game, and lost too many battles, either along the boards or in open ice. Commodore, Hejda and Klesla were outgunned too many times.

Officiating -- I again find it hard to believe that Florida committed only 1 penalty in 60 minutes of hockey. The call on Boll was ludicrous -- for the second game in a row. I fear that young Mr. Boll is getting a bit of a reputation around the league, and this makes it tough for him to get any calls.

The Bluejackets ripped the hearts out of the teams pursuing us, who were undoubtedly watching the scoreboards, praising Vokoun, and doing some math based upon us having only 80 points with 10 to play. Sorry to disappoint you boys. A 3 point lead over 7th place Edmonton, 5 over 8th place Nashville, and 7 over 9th place St. Louis.

As I wrap this up, Phoenix is ahead of Vancouver, 4 - 0 after 2, and Dallas lost to San Jose. If 88 points is the number for 8th place, as I believe it to be, Dallas needs to go 7 - 3 over the last 10 to reach that level. Fat lady is warming up in the wings for them, especially since Brad Richards apparently fractured his other hand tonight, in his first night back. That is sad to see.

Jackets are now 13 - 3 -1 against the East, and Mason is 12 - 1, with a GAA of 1.00. Unreal . . .

Great to be a member of the Army of the Ohio -- Go Jackets!!!

Getting Better . . .But No Goals Yet

A more Hitch-like period, and we started to get some momentum and possession time toward the end of the period, until the penalty. Good kill going, but great save by Mason on Weiss.

Much improved in the faceoff circle, and tighter defense. We are slow on the battles to loose pucks, and are weak on the puck along the boards in our own zone. Commodore not strong with the puck at all so far. Boll has shown a lot of energy.

Shots favor CBJ 20-17, Hits also in our favor 20 - 18. Faceoffs now favor the CBJ 18 - 14 so they had a huge period in the circle. More of same needed.

You get the feeling that one goal for us will open the floodgates. Need all out effort in the 3rd. We slowed them down that period, and hopefully will do it again here. Go Jackets!

Need To Finish

Though the Jackets dominate the play for much of the first stanza, they trail on the scoreboard 1 - 0. We had the first 9 shots of the period, but only lead in shots 10 - 9. Ahead in hits, 12 - 9. No penalties or giveaways, but trailing in the faceoff circle 11 - 6. Our defensive corps seemed a bit complacent in the second half of that period -- some miscommunications and poor passes in our own zone. Don't like the fact that we had too many guys facing our own goal.

Huselius with another post hit -- perhaps a new statistical category? Boll with an almost amazing goal --flying through the air, wrapping the stick around the defender and slapping it just wide.

No sense that the CBJ are in real trouble, but we need to finish our chances and deny Florida space. They showed that they desperately want this win and can step it up in a heartbeat. Need traffic in front of Vokoun -- he is seeing the puck well tonight. Win the draws and fire the puck!

Go Jackets!!

As The Faceoff Gets Closer . . .

With the drop of the puck just a few moments away, a few things to keep in mind as the Jackets face off against the Panthers:

• After a couple of days off, and with Florida in a desperate playoff hunt, need to guard against early sluggishnes and/or sloppiness;
• Do not let stats vs. East go to our heads (12-3-1 by Jackets, 11-1 by Mason)
• Keep It Simple -- North/South, secure possession, traffic in front, move puck low to high
• Discipline -- Unlike the last game, stay out of the penalty box.

San Jose did the Jackets a favor by beating the Stars, 5 - 2 today. Dallas is now on a precarious perch with 10 games left. More as the game progresses . . .

Put The Coffee On . . .

For all of you out there monitoring the playoff chase via Center Ice or NHL Network, tonight will keep you up late again (at least for those who stayed up to catch the end result of the Anaheim - Nashville game last night). Here are the games, times (EDT) and desired results for the evening's fare:

Colorado over Edmonton (9:30 PM)
Vancouver vs. St. Louis (10:00 PM) *
Phoenix over Anaheim (10:00 PM)
San Jose over Nashville (10:30 PM)

* Two schools of thought for rooting purposes on this one. Plan A would be to root for Vancouver to put another nail in the St. Louis playoff coffin. St. Louis is 7 points behind us, with a game in hand. Take the game in hand away from them tonight, and their job becomes much tougher. Plan B wold be to root for St. Louis to win, keeping us within 3 points of the Canucks, and bringing them down to only 1 game in hand. So, if you are an optimist (focusing on 4th or 5th place) root for St. Louis. If you are a pessimist (worried about the folks chasing us in 9th through 12th place), root for Vancouver. Whichever you are, root against a 3 point game!

So, the winning squad should be butting heads with their goalie in San Jose just about 1:00 AM our time. Combining the NCAA Tournament games with the hockey schedule may make today and tomorrow two of the least productive working days in recent memory . . .

Go Jackets!

Any Way You Can Get It . . .

When Chicago's first shot on net hit the bar, bounced up, landed on Mason's back and into the goal, you had the sense that this might be a rather bizarre game. Consider the following:

• The CBJ's first goal comes on a redirection by Umberger, with his back to the net, after Voracek cuts off Huet's attempt to rim it around the boards;


• Our second goal comes when Methot executes a perfect "6 ball in the side pocket" bank shot off the boards, in the slot to Dorsett, who puts it away


• Our third goal has Nash fitting the puck in an opening the size of a Tim Horton's Stinger Donut, from a ridiculous angle near the goal line.


• The Jackets spend 18 minutes in the penalty box without a fighting major, surrendering 7 power plays, and allow only 1 power play goal

Such was life in Nationwide last night, with the Jackets ultimately prevailing 4-3 in OT, on a gorgeous centering pass from R.J. Umberger to a charging Antoine Vermette, who just floated the puck over Huet's pads and into the goal, setting off a disappointing but periodically loud crow of 15,190. To cap off the bizarre evening, Vermette does not appear when announced as the First Star, touching off injury fears (apparently unfounded).

This was not an artistic win, but it was skillful. We outhit Chicago 28-18, we created tons of opportunities, some of which we squandered, others Huet took away with some sick saves. We were edged out in the faceoff circle 31-28, but had 8 takeaways to only 2 for the Blackhawks. Mason was strong, if not spectacular, and our penalty kill was spectacular, including a 4 minute kill where the only shots on goal were ours.

In short, this was a game that good teams win down the stretch -- an unlovely, hard working game. That the Jackets were able to win this one without ultimately being able to control the style of play was a credit to their versatility.

Here are the +/- for the night:

Penalty Kill -- Sure, we gave up one PP goal, on a puck that jumped over about 3 sticks in the crease, but othewise we killed off 14 minutes in penalties with assertiveness and skill, against one of the most dangerous power plays in the league. The 4 minute kill on Tyutin's high stick was amazing.

Second Line -- This Umberger, Vermette, Voracek line could be really, really scary good. Aside from the two goals, they created lots of chances, and were frankly robbed a couple of times.

Persistence -- Not sure what else to call it, but when we can come back from 1 -0 and 3 -2 deficits, overcome 18 minutes in penalties, and find a way to win, it is a sign that we have matured well beyond our years as a club. We kept the heat on Huet, and he showed his frustration. Nice to see.

Discipline -- Sure, Chicago puts a lot of pressure on with its speed and skill, but no excuse for 18 minutes in penalties, even if some were atrocious calls. Tyutin alone had 8 minutes in penalties by the 5 minute mark of the second period! Need to keep our heads. Those third period penalties will kill you down the stretch.

Finishing -- Huet made some sick saves on a few sterling chances, but we also flew some golden chances by the net, over the net, or into his breadbasket. Power play showed good puck movement, but our sticks were not on the ice at the right times to put home rebounds.

Officiating -- Oh my, this was bad. The no-call on Boll was one of the most atrocious things I have seen on the ice in awhile. When they called the unsportsmanlike on him, they did not announce "diving", as they usually do, so I assumed that Boll questioned the legitimacy of the referee's birth or some equally offensive byplay. Same thing with the boarding call to Klesla. The referee 5 feet away not only does not call the penalty, he makes the "safe" sign, indicating a good hit. The other ref, on the far side of the red line, makes the call. Credit to Hitch for not running out onto the ice and throttling the guys.

In summary, a huge win for the boys over a very tough opponent. We could not shut them down, but we controlled the intensity and did not let them run away with it. The game was a bit more up tempo than we would normally like, but a win is a win. Dallas loses and Nashville only gets a point in Anaheim, so got help there. More on playoffs later. Go Jackets!