Train Keeps Rollin’ – Jackets Outlast Blackhawks

AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh

Blue Jackets 5, Blackhawks 3
(Box) – Highlights

Record: 36-27-6  (78pts – 6th place)
Sports Club Stats Rank: 6th, 90.3%

There’s a funny line from a Simpsons episode where Bart accidentally discovers Principal Skinner and Mrs. Krabappel making out. Later on, as the only one who knows their secret, Principal Skinner declares his love for Mrs. Krabappel in front of her class using Bart as his “voice”. After Krabappel places Martin Prince, the class nerd, in charge of the class while she and Skinner leave for some hanky-panky in the janitor’s closet, Martin implores Bart “not to fall in love with me either.” Bart responds under his breath, “Man, even Martin’s scoring off me!”

Wade Dubielewicz is the Chicago Blackhawks’ Martin Prince: “Man, even Wade Dubielewicz is beating us!” I wasn’t able to watch this game (not on TV in Columbus), so I’ll do my best to cobble together a recap from the media sources who did watch it.

In the preview, I essentially gave the Jackets every excuse to lose this game: “I’m willing to give them a bit of a “get out of jail free” card because of how brutal this week has been in terms of their schedule. Couple that with The Dube getting the start, and I can make my peace with a potential let-down tonight. That’s not to say I don’t care if they don’t play well… I’m just willing to give them a pass.” The guys at The Dispatch called it a “trap game” (and the points “bonus points”; well stated). Well, apparently The Dube took umbrage. He wasn’t Mason-spectacular, but he did just enough to win the game:

Dubielewicz was the toast of the dressing room. He did TV after the game, held a media scrum in the back of the room and got lots of fist bumps from his teammates. You know, the stuff winning goaltenders do. It was his first game since Feb. 6 in Pittsburgh. There were lots of shaky moments, but that’s to be expected. He made 27 saves, including a big one early on Chicago’s Duncan Keith and a big one late on Patrick Kane.“It’s a tough job being a back-up,” Dubielewicz said after the game. “Especially when you’ve got a kid like Mason, who’s playing 90 or 95 percent of the games. You try to do the right thing over time, but the bottom line is: I’m not playing in games. It’s in the back of your head that maybe the guys don’t take you for real, or maybe they don’t see you as really being a part of the team. Well, winning a game like this, and seeing how happy they are for you, that makes you really feel a part of it.”

Good on ya, Dube. This game was still in the balance until Rick Nash buried an empty netter—while the Jackets were actually killing of a penalty—with 18.2 second left. The Jackets showed us something, as well, Up 2-0 early, only to have Chicago battle back to 2-2 in the second period, this team could very easily have folded up shop and saved it for Sunday’s matchup with Detroit. But they didn’t.

It was also Antoine Vermette’s night. With 2:16 left in the second period, Vermette buried his second goal of the night, a Power Play tally, to make it 3-2 heading into the third. Vermette also scored the team’s first goal, just 45 seconds into the game. Vermette has fit almost seamlessly into the Jackets’ rotation, and now has six points, scoring points in all four games he’s played with the club (3G, 3A). His abilities have been as-advertised, and his goal late in the second period gave the Jackets a lift they would need to carry them into the third. “I got to say since I got here, the guys have made it easy on me. Everyone is working hard and working the same way,” Vermette said  afterwards. “I couldn’t ask for anything for better than that. Guys are playing pretty well with good structure. I’ve been lucky enough to never miss one playoff. Having a chance to join this group of guys and make a pretty good push, I’m pretty happy about it.”

3:50 into the third on a turn-over/odd man rush, the Jackets engineered a fourth goal by Raffi Torres to give them a more comfortable lead. At that point, it was all about protecting that lead and making it back home with the two points. The Blackhawks made it interesting, netting a PP goal of their own with just under six minutes to go to make it 4-3. But in the end, the Jackets got a key save or two from The Dube, and Nash was able to swipe the puck and bury the empty netter to seal it.

I’ll let Porty (“trap game” link above) bring us home with some notes and fun-facts:

The Blue Jackets were in fifth place in the Western Conference for about an hour tonight. Then the Vancouver Canucks finished off the LA Kings and jumped back over Columbus, pushing the Blue Jackets back to sixth. The big news is that the Blue Jackets now have a six point lead on eighth-place Dallas and a seven-point lead on ninth-place Minnesota and 10th-place Nashville.
Antoine Vermette continues to be a dyamic player. He had two goals tonight, two big goals. The first one came only 45 seconds into the game, putting the Jackets up 1-0. The next game late in the second, after a scrambly period by Columbus a 2-0 lead disappear. Vermette scored to send the Blue Jackets into the second intermission with a 3-2 lead. Vermette now has three goals, three assists in four games. The Blue Jackets are 4-0 with him in the lineup.
Jake Voracek had two assists tonight. He had an extra gear, too. This kid is going to be a monster in the very near future. I see 20-45-65 next season and goodness only knows from there. He now has 35 points. Nash had 39 points in his rookie season.
The Blue Jackets now have 36 wins, a franchise record. They have 14 road wins, one short of a franchise record. They have 78 points, two short of a franchise record.
Five different goaltenders have won at least one game for the Blue Jackets this season: Steve Mason, Pascal Leclaire, Fred Norrena, Dan LaCosta and now Dubielewicz. Consider this: In the first seven seasons of the franchise, nine different goalies won at least a game.

Next up is Detroit, Sunday afternoon at 5:00 PM. Your trusty reporter and frequent reader/commenter Lars will be there. Here’s hoping the Jackets saved some for the Wings. Detroit is probably still steaming from the 8-2 beat-down the Jackets put on them last Saturday. At stake: a season-series win for Columbus (never before done), and two more very very important points in the standings. The Jackets have done well for themselves, but there are those of us who are Ohio sports fans who won’t be comfortable until the mathematical possibilities are certain.

But, eight points in four games—a four game stretch where I honestly could have seen the Jackets getting 0 points—is definitely cause for some celebration.

Other Important Scores
Thanks to the great people at Sports Club Stats, we have started looking at Jackets games in the context of the rest of the conference and who the Jackets are fighting with for those playoff spots. Picking up from the “Who To Root For” section of the preview, here are the “Other Important Scores” from around the Western Conference last night:

Columbus at Chicago – CLS wins, 5-3
Los Angeles at Vancouver – VAN wins, 4-2

Not too many games last night, and the Jackets win pushes them to over the 90% plateau in SCS’s simulations. Huzzah!