Game Report Day 28 - CBJ 2 @ ATL 3

(Columbus, Ohio)

     The Blue Jackets were involved in a tight contest last night, getting edged by Richard Poelkers Atlanta Thrashers. Believe it or not they were beaten in the faceoff circle for the first time in recent memory (one of the few strengths of this team).
     Halfway through the first period the Thrashers struck first on a absolute laser beam from leading scorer Patrick Marleau, his 11th of the season on a sweet feed from cagey vet Viatcheslav Kozlov. Just about a minute later, the Thrashers scored again on a seeing eye slapper from the point from stud defenceman Duncan Keith. J.F. Jacques had seen enough, he decided he had to spark his team and promptly jumped Aaron Asham, and they proceeded to have a good tilt (in which we will later find out the results to :)).
     Five minutes into the second there was another scrap, Columbus tough guy Jody Shelley responded to the result of the previous fight and challenged Aaron Asham. You sure wouldn't know that these teams don't face off very much with the way this game went. At the mid-point of the second period budding youngster Kyle Okposo tapped home his fourth marker of the year past Atlanta 'keeper Craig Anderson.
     Later on in the period Atlanta defender Steve Montador went out looking for revenge, and proceeded to have a go with the Jackets Jody Shelley. The increased playing time has sure given Shelley a lot of confidence.      
Maybe the momentum shifted to Atlanta because shortly thereafter Atlanta went up by a score of 3-1 on a goal from Brandon Yip.
     To open up the third period, 19 year old Columbus defenceman Zach Bogosian blasted a past Anderson to bring the game back within one goal. That was inevitably as close as Columbus would get as the final score did not change after the Bogosian goal. Near the end of the game, something must have really ticked off Duncan Keith, or Jody Shelley was breaking the "code" by dropping the flippers with Keith. I'm sure you can imagine how this one might have turned out.
     The lone bright spot for the Jackets was yet again netminder Marc-Andre Fleury, who made 39 saves on 42 shots and is having a stellar season despite facing a league leading amount of shots per game.
     Up and down the Columbus lineup expectations are not being met, the top line of Koivu-Backes-Vrbata are absolutely snakebitten. None of these players have more than seven points in twelve games. This is the reason that some of the Jackets players may be on the chopping block. When reached for comment after the game about possible trade rumours Radim Vrbata had this to say:

              "All I can do is play hockey. I have many shots, but not many goals. I try hard to score goals, but everything is going not right for me now. I like to play in Columbus, they have been good to me, you know. Hopefully we can turn things around, then maybe rumour will stop. But probably not, we'll see. I will not worry, just keep shooting always."

    
     Clearly Vrbata is not happy, but has shown no ill-will towards the Columbus organization. We are sure many guys are in the same mindframe. Columbus' GM is no doubt working the phones trying to shake some things up. He can't do much worse than he is now, as his Jackets have a whopping two points in twelve games, and a total of nineteen goals. Surprisingly, their only win of the season was against the powerhouse Blackhawks!

That is all for now.....
    

Jackets Complete a Deal

(Columbus, Ohio)

     Last night the Jackets were finally able to deal Mikhail Grabovski, who's name has been swirling around the rumour mill for over a year now. Grabovski was dealt to Detroit, who hope that Grabovski can provide them some offence for a playoff run. In exchange for Grabovski, Columbus received Detroit's first round pick in the upcoming entry draft and young defenceman Jason Demers.(Dealt with Grabovski was the Jackets third round pick).
     Columbus is very happy to welcome Demers, who they hope will develop into a top four defenceman in the future. From here it looks like this may be just the start of many moves that will occur within this organization before the trade deadline. League wide rumours have mentioned Columbus players David Backes, Jay McClement and Radim Vrbata as possible targets for playoff contenders. Inside the organization it has been known for a while now that almost nobody is safe when it comes to shopping players.

Until next time...

    

Team Report

(Columbus, Ohio)

     Things are not going well in Columbus right now to say the least. The Jackets just lost a tight one to Utterstrom Cup contender Calgary last night to send their current record on the season to 1-5-0. Through six games the Jackets are tied for dead last in the league only scoring 1.67 goals per game, yikes. The offence just has not been there so far, as Mikko Koivu has yet to get going, and winger Radim Vrbata is the only real threat so far; he's netted four goals in the first six games. David Backes has registered a measly two points in six games so far as well.
     EVERY single player in the Columbus lineup is currently sitting on the bad end of the +/- category, with Backes coming in a team worst minus six. Absolutely nothing is going right for CBJ right now, the fighters aren't even fighting!
     The lone bright spot so far has been the play of netminder Marc-Andre Fleury, who despite a horrible record has posted a GAA of 3.19 and a Save% of .919. It looks like Fleury is cementing himself as the goalie of the future and will likely get tonnes of playing time.
     With this sudden case of "I don't know how to play hockey" going around in the dressing room, it's no wonder the team has got off to such a rough start. It's only a matter of time until the head honcho starts to mix up his current list of players on the trade market.
     One thing to look forward to is the game tonight vs. Chicago, expect some fireworks. Columbus has even inserted J.F. Jacques on the third line to try and help match up with some of the impressive group of heavyweights boasted by the division rival Blackhawks.

Game Report Day 9 - CHI 2 @ CBJ 3

(Columbus, Ohio)

       The Blue Jackets finally made a mark in the win column last night against the undefeated division leader Chicago Blackhawks. Brad Utterstrom's team may have been suffering some jet lag or may have just underestimated this Columbus team, as on paper this matchup does not look very close. Believe it or not Columbus actually outshot the 'hawks 35-34. Early on in the first period the scoring started when Radim Vrbata took a cross ice feed from Kyle Okposo on the powerplay and put it just over the shoulder of Chicago goalie Tomas Vokoun. The Blackhawks answered back shortly after on a tip-in by Ryan Malone from the point shot of big Hal Gill. Early on in the second Kyle Okposo picked up his second point of the game on a centreing pass from Mikko Koivu, and Chicago again responded quickly with a goal from Brendan Morrow, who blasted a slapper over the blocker of Marc-Andre Fleury. Halfway through the second Zach Boychuk banged home a rebound on a shot from Karl Alzner that would eventually turn out to be the winning goal.
    
     Later on in the period, the fisticuffs started with "Z" taking on monster AHL heavyweight Steve MacIntyre. Right near the end of the game a frustrated Ryan Malone took on Columbus blueliner Mark Stuart. Surprisingly, things did not get out of hand considering some of the tough guys invovled in this contest: Rypien,  Boogaard, Janssen, Orr, MacIntyre, Engelland, Shelley, Boll, Konopka, and Theo Peckham. With only the two fights, there was still 70 Pims handed out in this contest. The Blackhawks likely got an earful from their coach after the game and will be out to avenge their loss the next time they face Columbus. Don't be surprised to see their next meeting to be a fight filled affair.

2010-11 Jackets Season Preview

(Columbus, Ohio)

The Jackets are now entering their second full season under the command of GM Brett S.. The rebuilding effort has been relentless since he took over the Blue Jackets two seasons ago, but the results have been so far unimpressive (5th last two years ago, 1st round playoff loss in four games last year). By the looks of things going into this season there may have been a stall in the rebuilding efforts, with many players not developing as hoped. Ideally they would like to contend for a playoff spot but if it looks inevitable that the Jackets will miss out on the playoffs, don't be surprised to see Springinotic continue the rebuild by dumping players for picks. Let's take a look at the upcoming roster for the season.


We will start at the centre position, leading things off with big Finn Mikko Koivu. Koivu is the Jackets best player by far, he's very defensively responsible and is an absolute whiz in the faceoff dot; he isn't wearing the "C" for no reason. Add to all that he posted a team high 91pts last season to lead the Columbus attack.

Mikko Koivu

Playing centre on the second line is Mikhail Grabovski, who has been in trade rumours for what seems like the duration of his career in Columbus. Newcomer Jay McClement controls the middle on the third line, adding great defence and faceoff ability. Rounding out the centre position on "O" is the man known as "Z", Zenon Konopka. It's pretty clear what Z has been brought in here to do (to use his hands, and not on his stick!). Sitting up in the pressbox at centre is Oscar Moller, who was nabbed in the second round of the dispersal draft, and whom the Jackets have high hopes for. Also, regretably, Derek Dorsett will likely not see much ice time this year either with the addition of Z, but Dorsett appears to have a good shot to crack the lineup next year.

Jody Shelley

Flying co-pilot on the left side of Mikko Koivu on the top line is Czech native Radim Vrbata. Vrbata put up a very impressive 41 goals and 85pts last year and similar numbers are expected of the sniper this year. Playing second line left wing for the first part of this year will be young Canadian Zach Boychuk. Nikita Filatov, the young Russian elite talent will likely draw into some games on the second line also. Both of these players were nabbed in this years entry draft, just part of the rebuilding effort. Ruslan Fedotenko skates on the third line as of now, but who knows how long he will last. Banging and crashing on the fourth line this year again is heavyweight Jody Shelley, who posted an impressive 343 pims last year and believe it or not will be looking to "improve" on those numbers. Left wingers who likely won't see much time this year with the Blue Jackets: Alex Giroux and "Crazy Train" J.F. Jacques.

Wayne Simmonds

Riding shotgun with Koivu and Vrbata on the right side this year again is U.S. olympian David Backes. Backes had a Great Season last year for Columbus, netting an impressive 48 goals. Backes will be relied upon heavily this year to provide offense for the Jackets. Kyle Okposo is another member of this team that will have to put up stellar numbers for this team to succeed and make a run for the playoffs. Third line right-winger Wayne Simmonds is a burgeoning young power forward who likely will play out a long career in Columbus red and blue. Returning for his second season to continue his pugilism on the Jackets fourth line is rugged winger Jared Boll, who along with Jody Shelley and Zenon Konopka will be in all his glory this year especially when matching up with division rival Chicago Blackhawks and their list of NHL heavyweights. The lone right winger who likely won't see ice time this year is 2010 draftee Michal Repik.

On to the D core. Heavily depleted after the blockbuster trade involving Tom Gilbert, there are a few guys who will have to be relied upon heavily this year to try and stop opposing attacks on Jacket 'keepers. The first
D-pairing consists of big, rugged Matt Greene, and swift-skating youngster Kyle Cumiskey. It has long been known that the GM has had a soft spot for Cumiskey. Matt Greene is a shot blocking extraordinare and defensive specialist who should have a spot on this team for a long time. Playing first/second pairing D also is 20 year old Zach Bogosian, who was a 6th overall pick in the entry draft two years ago and figures to be the future leader of this team. Gritty defenders Mark Stuart and Theo Peckham should log their fair share of minutes this year as long as they continue to play physical and get into a few dust-ups. Karl Alzner will likely play to his games limit, and free agent claim Martin Skoula should fill in to make up for the games missed by Peckham and Alzner.
Peckham Huge Hit

Last but not least we come to the goalies. CBJ GM is actually quite satisfied with the situation in net. He has grizzled vet. Nikolai Khabibulin as a solid backup to Marc-Andre Fleury. Fleury was acquired in a trade prior to the season that saw the Jackets bidding farewell to Matt Stajan and Tom Gilbert. He is very confident in Fleury's ability and believes he will only get better with time. All we know is that he will have to be lights out to keep this team afloat this season.

That is all for now, look forward to more entries as the season rolls along.