Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Re-Fire the Cannon


Blue Jackets 4, Red Wings 2

Allen York leaned back and let out a huge breath as the final horn sounded in Nationwide Arena. Two nights earlier, he watched the Blue Jackets fall to the Red Wings 7-2. On Wednesday night, he played an integral role in Columbus’ 4-2 victory as he stopped 29 of 31 shots.
            Similar to the teams’ last meeting, the home team dictated play. Outshot, outhit, and outworked, the Red Wings stumbled their way through 60 minutes of lackluster hockey.
The Blue Jackets opened the scoring at 6:26 of the first period when Vinny Prospal fired a shot that floated above the crossbar before eventually landing on the skate of Niklas Kronwall and trickling into the goal.
            Later in the period, Columbus struck again when Ryan Johansen chipped the puck past the defense then fed a cross-ice pass to Derek Dorsett who put a backhander above Ty Conklin to make it 2-0.
            Before heading into intermission, Detroit’s Henrik Zetterberg converted on the power play to cut the lead in half. Zetterberg now has 12 points in his last 10 games.
            In the second period, the Blue Jackets tallied twice to take a commanding 4-1 lead. Through 20 minutes, Columbus outshot the Red Wings 22-13.
            Looking to rebound in the final 20 minutes, Detroit came out hungry in the third period but could not muster up more than one goal.
            Battling for home ice advantage in first round of the playoffs, the Red Wings squandered a huge opportunity to improve their position in the Western Conference standings. Detroit is now one point above the Nashville Predators.
           
            

Monday, March 26, 2012

Don't Fire the Cannon


Red Wings 7, Blue Jackets 2

On Monday night in Motown, Detroit handed Columbus a 7-2 defeat. In two days the Blue Jackets will have a chance to avenge their loss as they close their season series with the Red Wings inside Nationwide Arena. Maybe by then the sting of the team’s latest thrashing will have worn off.
Soon the Blue Jackets will have their chance to respond, but for now they are left basking in the product of their inadequacy.
Four first-period goals fueled the blowout for the Red Wings. Tomas Holmstrom scored twice on the power play to mark his ninth and tenth goals of the season.
In the second period, the onslaught continued with tallies from Nicklas Lindstrom and Brad Stuart.
Through two frames, Columbus was being outshot 31-13. Steve Mason, replaced by Allen York midway through the second period, turned aside only 22 of 28 shots.
The Blue Jackets tried to institute a physical presence during the latter half of the game, but a crew of strict officials eradicated their efforts.           
After Detroit scored its seventh consecutive goal nearly two minutes into the third period, Columbus finally broke the shutout with tallies from Mark Letestu and Rick Nash.
The Blue Jackets have been outscored 13-5 in the past two games. 

Johnson Trade Working Out

When Jack Johnson flew into Columbus on February 24th he was immediately escorted to Nationwide Arena where he watched his new team fall to the Colorado Avalanche 5-0. The abysmal performance from the Blue Jackets exemplified their need for his services.
            Johnson welcomed his new role with open arms and unlike some players, he did not take long to adjust. Through 14 games with Columbus he has registered three goals and six assists.
            The near-immediate sense of comfort Johnson felt was perhaps a byproduct of playing close to his roots. Born in Indiana and a former student of the University of Michigan, Johnson considers himself to be a Midwest kid.
            Since moving across two time zones, the defenseman has continued to play with the same offensive awareness and prowess that defined him with the Wolverines and Kings respectively.  As a result, the Johnson has offered hope to the Blue Jackets’ shrinking fan base.
            Finding time on Columbus’ top defensive pairing as well as its special teams units, Johnson wasted no time earning the respect of those who fill the seats.
            In only his third game with the club, the defenseman dropped the gloves to mark his fifth NHL bout. Surely he could have avoided confrontation, but Johnson was making his presence known, an easy task given his size.
            With a 6’1’’, 231-pound frame, the Blue Jackets’ largest defenseman adds weight to the team’s slim back line. Due to injuries, he is the team’s heaviest blue liner by 12 pounds. 
            Aside from raw size, Johnson’s skill with the puck on his stick is another asset Columbus has welcomed. Particularly his booming slap shot from the point has aided the power play and stimulated the Blue Jackets’ often monotonous play at even strength.
            Although Columbus has been eliminated from the playoff race and is 30th in the NHL, Johnson’s production is not irrelevant. Not only do his numbers give hope to the organization for next year, but they also play an important role during the league-wide playoff push.
            This year, the Blue Jackets will play the role of the “spoiler” during the final weeks of the regular season. Since Columbus has no chance of playing in late April, any points the team earns are points taken from teams battling for a playoff bid.
            Colorado and Phoenix both remain on the Blue Jackets schedule and are potential victims to be spoiled as they sit around the postseason cutoff.
            Johnson, who averages 23:14 of ice time per game, will cause matchup problems for both of the aforementioned teams. The Avalanche and Coyotes might view Columbus as an easy opponent, but with Johnson on the ice, the odds are against them. 

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Bruised Then Battered



It’s doubtful that Steve Mason jerseys are selling as well in Columbus this year as they did during the 2008-2009 season, though despite Mason’s 3.31 goals against average in 39 games, not all of his statistics could have been improved by keeping the stick down and glove high.           
            Much of the inconsistency in the cage could be attributed to injuries to the Blue Jackets’ defensive corps. Throughout the season, Columbus has been forced to change defensive pairings and alter matchups due to a heavily populated Injured Reserve.        
            Most recently, the Blue Jackets suffered a monumental setback when Fedor Tyutin sustained a broken hand after blocking a shot on March 6th vs. Phoenix. He expected to miss the remainder of the season.
            Until the injury, Tyutin had been Columbus’ most reliable defenseman. He played every game up to that point. Along with consistency in front of the net, Tyutin also contributed offensively with 26 points through 66 games.
            Three days after losing Tyutin, the Blue Jackets lost another solid defenseman in Marc Methot. In a game against the Dallas Stars on March 9th, Methot sustained a season-ending jaw injury.
            Despite being bitten by injuries in recent games, Columbus’ plight actually started seven games into the season when Radek Martinek was placed on the Injured Reserve. The veteran defenseman would have brought nine years of NHL experience to the Blue Jackets blue line but instead he was forced to hang up the skates prematurely as a concussion put him out for the season.
            Out of the teams’ top six defenseman, two are done for the season and one is doubtful to return.  Despite the disadvantage, the interim-coach Todd Richards can at least take solace in knowing which spots need to be permanently filled and which spots require temporary replacements.
            Arguably, it has been the month long injuries that have had the hurt Columbus the most.
            In late December, James Wisniewksi missed 17 games with a broken ankle. Nearly one month later, Nikita Nikitin took a 12-game hiatus after sustaining a knee injury against the Red Wings.  
            The Blue Jackets struggled to make quick adjustments when Wisniewski and Nikitin were sidelined. In its first five games after losing Wisniewski, Columbus allowed 18 goals. Similarly, in the Blue Jackets first five games after losing Nikitin, they surrendered 19 tallies.  
            Even smaller scale injuries stung the team, such as those to defensemen Aaron Johnson, Brett Lebda, and John Moore. Although their absences never lasted for longer than five games, the injuries forced the Blue Jackets to make impromptu changes to its back line.
These changes often prompted call-ups from the team’s minor league affiliate, the Springfield Falcons.
            With all of these modifications to the lineup, it has been hard for Columbus’ defensive pairings to create chemistry. In recent games, interim-coach Todd Richards has paired Jack Johnson and Wisniewski, Aaron Johnson and Nikitin, and Moore and Lebda.
After taking a few games to settle in, the team has played much better with stability on the blue line. The Blue Jackets have started churning out more wins and keeping more pucks out of their own net.
In their first eight games in March, Columbus’ goalies had a much-improved 2.25 GAA average.
Individually, Mason has played better which could be a result of confidence or familiarity with the men in front of him. Mason’s save percentage in the past five games is 94.6% compared to his season percentage of 89.4%.
            Although the injury bug might not have bitten its final victim on the Blue Jackets squad, it appears that for now Columbus has established a better sense of unity in its own zone, and its paying dividends.

           


Thursday, March 15, 2012

Spring Break

The McGreevy clan is off to New York City for vacation which means I will be taking a week-long hiatus from the blog starting with Sunday night's game in Calgary. Rest assured, you will not be without substantial reading content as I will be writing a feature on how injuries have hurt the Blue Jackets defensive corps and that should be up by the start of the week. Thanks for the support!

Lackluster in Edmonton


Oilers 3, Blue Jackets 0

Not surprisingly, the game between the two worst teams in the National Hockey League was not decided by skill. Instead, it was hard work that made the difference.
Edmonton, responding from a poor performance two days earlier, competed for 60 minutes as they blanked Columbus 3-0 on home ice.
The Oilers dominated the first period as they outshot the Blue Jackets 12-3 after 20 minutes of play. It was the beginning of an active night for Curtis Sanford who turned aside 24 of 26 shots in the game.
In the second period, Edmonton continued to put pucks on net. At 7:40 of the frame, Calder Trophy candidate Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored his 15th goal of the season to make it 1-0.
One minute later, the Oilers put Columbus on a four-minute power play but the Blue Jackets could not capitalize with the man advantage.
Edmonton made it 2-0 before the second intermission with a power play goal from Taylor Hall at 19:55 of the period.
The Blue Jackets outshot the Oilers 9-3 in the third period, but they could not spoil the shutout.
An empty netter with less than two minutes remaining in the game secured the game for the Oilers.
Columbus looks ahead to Vancouver on Saturday for the second part of a three-game road swing.

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Blues Steal Another


Blues 2, Blue Jackets 1

Less than 24 hours after St. Louis ended the Blue Jackets’ four-game winning streak, the Blues continued their dominance against Columbus with a 2-1 victory.
In another physical affair, the teams traded hits and unkind words from the opening draw. The rumbling of the boards provided a soundtrack for 60 minutes of Central Division action.
The Blue Jackets finished the game with 36 hits, a statistic undoubtedly enhanced by the return of Jared Boll to the lineup.
Columbus’ play coaxed its rivals into a few more trips to the sin bin, but with the seventh-best penalty kill in the NHL, St. Louis was not troubled by the increase of penalty minutes. The Blue Jackets were unable to convert on eight power plays.
Jaroslav Halak, perhaps Blues’ best penalty killer, turned aside 33 of 34 shots between the pipes. Playing in front of him, St. Louis’ skaters blocked 22 shots.
With 2:32 remaining in regulation, Halak made his best save of the night when he reached back and snatched the puck off the goal line before Jack Johnson could dive in and tie the game. 
The late-game stop saved the Blues from heading to overtime, a possibility that seemed probable with the way the Blue Jackets swarmed in the final minutes.
Despite the pressure late in the game, David Perron’s goal at 3:46 of the third period stood as the game-winner. Perron, who also scored on Saturday night, beat Curtis Sanford with an ordinary wrist shot from the right faceoff circle.
Columbus’ lone goal came from Mark Letestu at 11:20 of the second period. The tally marked Letestu’s fifth point in four games.
Looking ahead, the Blue Jackets travel to Edmonton where they will face the Oilers on Wednesday night.