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Every Tuesday, WFNY’s The 5-Hole brings you up to date with the goings-on of the CBJ…

The Week That Was

This Week: 2-1-0, 4 points
Overall: 24-27-9, 57 points (5th division; 14th conference)

Well, some of the dust has settled from the firing of Ken Hitchcock. The Claude Noel Era has officially begun, and Noel now has a 24-game audition to try to land the job on a full time basis. Early returns? 2-0. Not too shabby to start. But, things are going to get a lot harder very quickly.

As we passed along last night, the Blue Jackets and coach Ken Hitchcock have parted ways; Hitchcock was fired yesterday, and assistant Claude Noel was named the interim coach for the remaining 24 games of the season.

Aside from that informative note, I wanted to take some time to react to the move from as many different angles as possible, as there’s no black-and-white look to this issue. There are many aspects of Hitchcock’s tenure that probably merited his firing, but you can’t lay the failures of this team all at his feet.

The Good

Hitchcock was hired in November of 2006, and in 3+ seasons compiled a 125-123-36 record. It’s easy to say he was the best coach in franchise history by quite a wide margin. He led the team to its only Stanley Cup Playoffs berth in franchise history last season. “Hitch came to an organization in disarray, and he’s leaving it in much better shape,” GM Scott Howson said. “He brought structure, credibility and legitimacy to our franchise. We’ve all learned a great deal from him.”

Well, though I know one of my readers will not care and will take several comments to point out how little he cares, the Blue Jackets announced tonight that they have fired coach Ken Hitchcock.

The Jackets, fresh off of their franchise-first playoff appearance last season under Hitchcock, are languishing at 14th out of 15 in the conference (22-26-9, 53pts). The season started out well—12-6-2 in their first 20—but has been spiraling out of control for most of the last 10 weeks or so. At one point, the Jackets had lost 21 out of 24 games.

Every Tuesday, WFNY’s The 5-Hole brings you up to date with the goings-on of the CBJ…

The Week That Was

This Week: 2-1-0, 4 points
Overall: 22-26-9, 53 points (5th division; 14th conference)

Well, it’s Groundhog Day. I’m sure I could make a cool metaphor for the Jackets coming out of their hibernation holes and seeing their shadow or not seeing their shadow, but this team is so inconsistent that it’s hard to look at any one game as a turning point or a death knell. They’re still mathematically in the playoff hunt, but unless they rip off seven wins in a row there’s no real chance. And they show no signs of doing that. It’s almost as if they’ve come out of their hibernation, shrugged their shoulders, and said, “Meh. We are who we thought we were.” Or something.

Every Tuesday, WFNY’s The 5-Hole brings you up to date with the goings-on of the CBJ…

The Week That Was

This Week: 1-2-0, 2 points
Overall: 20-25-9, 49 points (5th division; 14th conference)

The Jackets had chances this week, but just couldn’t put it all together. They’ve struggled on the road all season, and despite a rally in Philadelphia and some last second heroics in Boston, there wasn’t much to get excited about this week. Minnesota never had to sweat on Saturday night to hold off Columbus, and they looked flat and defeated.

Every Tuesday, WFNY’s The 5-Hole brings you up to date with the goings-on of the CBJ…

The Week That Was

This Week: 3-1-0, 6 points
Overall: 18-20-9, 45 points (4th division; 13th conference)

The week started with an embarrassing thud in Vancouver, and then a strange thing happened. The Jackets of the last six or seven weeks disappeared, and the team from the second half of last season showed up for three straight games. After a nice slump-buster against lowly Edmonton, the Jackets went on to win two more against much tougher opponents, and looked more like the team I thought we were getting early in this season. I’m not ready to say “all is well” just yet, but it was definitely nice to see them take a big step forward. Though, it begs the question: where the heck have those guys been for the last two months?

Every Tuesday, WFNY’s The 5-Hole brings you up to date with the goings-on of the CBJ…

The Week That Was

This Week: 0-1-2, 2 points
Overall: 15-19-9, 39 points (5th division; 14th conference)

After my perceived “rock bottom” from last week, well, let’s just say that the road hasn’t started back up toward the top yet. The vultures are starting to circle coach Ken Hitchcock, though the front office and ownership continue to insist that his job is safe. The Jackets—losers of 20 of their last 23 games—are certainly not helping his case, though.

Every Tuesday, WFNY’s The 5-Hole brings you up to date with the goings-on of the CBJ…

The Week That Was

This Week: 1-2-0, 2 points
Overall: 15-18-7, 37 points (5th division; 14th conference)

Well, as we’ve seen with the Browns this season, there always seems to be a proverbial “rock bottom” with struggling sports teams. I’m not going to say that last week was officially that rock-bottom point for the Jackets, but things appear to have at least leveled off. The Jackets even finished off the week with a win over the hated Detroit Red Wings, and the numbers this week show a couple of trends that seem to show improvement. Whether it’s too late to fix the whole thing or not… that is another question entirely. But, you have to crawl before you can walk, and the Jackets at least crawled a bit this week.

Every Tuesday, WFNY’s The 5-Hole brings you up to date with the goings-on of the CBJ…

The Week That Was

This Week: 0-3-1, 1 point
Overall: 14-16-7, 35 points (5th division; 14th conference)

The wheels are now officially all off for this team. They are a heap of smoldering wreckage. They are one point out of being last in the conference, though the team behind them has a game in hand. So, you could argue that they are officially the worst team in the conference. If it weren’t for my brother’s lowly Carolina Hurricanes, they could be the worst team in the entire league.

Every Tuesday, WFNY’s The 5-Hole brings you up to date with the goings-on of the CBJ…

The Week That Was

This Week: 1-2-1, 3 points
Overall: 14-13-6, 34 points (4th division; 12th conference)

The week started with a bang, and ended with a resounding thud. This team is just not very good right now. They shut out Florida, who is thankfully much, much worse. Beyond that, there wasn’t much to get excited about.

Every Tuesday when there’s not a holiday, WFNY’s The 5-Hole brings you up to date with the goings-on of the CBJ…

The Week That Was

This Week: 0-2-1, 2 points
Overall: 13-11-5, 32 points (4th division; 11th conference)

The car has stalled. The ship is sinking. The horse is out of the barn. Water over dam. Baby out with bathwater. Eagle has landed. No, wait, scratch that last one. The Jackets, quite frankly, are a ship adrift right now. They have only won once in the last nine games (1-5-3, 5pts). They are playing with no fire. They are turning the puck over religiously. They seem to be lacking heart. There is no joy in Mudville.

Every Tuesday when there’s not a holiday, WFNY’s The 5-Hole brings you up to date with the goings-on of the CBJ…

The Weeks That Were

Two Weeks: 2-3-2, 6 points
Overall: 13-9-4, 30 points (t3rd division; t9th conference)

My apologies for not giving an update last week, but my wife and I were in and out of airports and then parked on the beach for the duration of Tuesday. At any rate, you’re about to get double your normal 5-Hole this week to make up for it. The Jackets finished their longest road-trip of the year, though it started with a bang and ended with a prolonged whimper. Including two home games on Saturday and Monday, however, they have eight of their next 11 at home, though they will have to battle on without one of their most important players. Who is it? Read on to find out!

Columbus Blue Jackets (11-6-2, 24pts)
vs.  Dallas Stars (9-5-6, 24pts)
American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX
Thursday, November 19, 2009
8:30 PM EST
FSOhio TV/WWCD(fm)/WBNS(am)

(Dispatch Preview / SportsDirect Preview)

The Jackets bounced back from the 9-1 drubbing at the hands of Detroit by finishing their home stand with two shoot-out wins. In those wins they did not play up to their full potential, but were able to get the win. That’s a main difference between Jackets teams of the past and this year’s team: they have been able to win games when not bringing their best effort because they have more talent and experience. Dallas has always been a proverbial thorn in the side of the Jackets, and this first meeting kicks off a five game road trip for Columbus.

Every Tuesday, WFNY’s The 5-Hole brings you up to date with the goings-on of the CBJ…

The Week That Was

Week: 2-1-0, 4 points
Overall: 11-6-2, 24 points (2nd division; 6th conference)

The beat goes on. The Jackets aren’t playing great hockey, but they’re winning more than they’re losing in spite of a rash of injuries and inconsistent play. The only rub this week, however, is that the one loss was a HUGE one. Detroit came into Nationwide Arena and all but toyed with the Jackets, jumping out to a quick 4-0 lead in the first period en route to a 9-1 victory. But, they rallied back from that to win two straight to keep themselves in good shape in the standings.

Every Tuesday, WFNY’s The 5-Hole brings you up to date with the goings-on of the CBJ…

The Week That Was

Week: 2-0-1, 5 points
Overall: 9-5-2, 20 points (t1st division; t3rd conference)

Those numbers are a beautiful thing. The NHL functions much like the NBA, wherein the three division leaders in each conference get the top three seeds. It’s ironic that what was thought the be the deepest division in the conference to start the year is actually one of the worst in the conference. The Jackets’ 20 points would put them even or behind four of the five teams in the Pacific Division, for example. But, you just have to win your own division; that’s all that matters. The Jackets are currently tied with Chicago for first place with identical records.