WaitingForNextYear

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

Just behind the readership of WFNY, there was no other group who suffered more during the WFNY down-time than the Blue Jackets, sadly (see: Week 2). I’ve broken it up into the two weeks, with last week’s pre-written column falling under “Week 1″ and this week’s under “Week 2″. You might notice a change in tone from week to week, as I actually wrote the Week 1 section last week when things didn’t suck so much. At any rate, happy scrolling!

The Week (1) That Was (11/26 – 12/02)

Week: 2-2-0, 4 points

Overall: 11-10-3, 25 points (4th division; 9th conference)

It was a tough week of games for the Jackets, as they played four games in six night, including a back-to-back on Friday and Saturday that included a trip to Detroit… never an easy task. The slate started off in disappointing fashion, as they gave up the go-ahead goal to Phoenix (quickly becoming “that team they just can’t beat”) late in the third period. The news was not all bad, however, as the Jackets rallied on Saturday and Monday to even the week’s record at 2-2. Steve Mason started three of the four games, winning two with a shut-out. More about the phenom goalie after the scores…

Wednesday, 11/26 in Columbus – Coyotes 3, Blue Jackets 2 (Box Score) – Highlights
Friday, 11/28 in Detroit – Red Wings 5, Blue Jackets 3 (Box Score) – Highlights
Saturday, 11/29 in Columbus – Blue Jackets 3, Capitals 0 (Box Score) – Highlights
Monday, 12/01 in Columbus – Blue Jackets 3, Canucks 2 (Box Score) – Highlights

Steve Mason recorded his second career shut-out against the Capitals, stoning wonder-stud Alexander Ovechkin several times and breaking the reigning MVP’s 10-game point scoring streak in the process. Mason ran his young record to 6-2-1 with some HUGE saves for the win Monday night, and is continuing to put pressure on the team brass to make a decision with their bevy of goaltenders. Click on the highlights links above for the Saturday and Monday games to see some of the huge saves this kid is making to keep his team ahead in very critical moments. At the 4:00 mark of Monday’s highlights, Mason makes quite literally the “save of the year” thus far, stopping a shot at a wide open next by rolling his body and slapping a glove on the shot. This was as the Jackets were clinging to a 1-goal lead with less than two minutes in the game AND killing off a penalty. Add into all of this the fact that Pascal LeClaire has continued to struggle in his return from injury, and that makes things all the more difficult. And yes, there’s even MORE on Mason below in “Hot or Not”.

The Jackets are continuing to struggle on special teams (though Bob Hunter over at The Dispatch sees signs for optimism overall). Going into Monday night’s game, the Jackets were just 2 of 49 in the previous 10 games with the power play advantage, lowering their overall success rate to a dreadful 9.9 percent, good for worst in the league. The Jackets did manage a little fanfare, as they scored an actual power-play goal in the second period Monday night. True to form, however, they also gave up two power-play goals to Vancouver (who, coincidentally, scored, um, two goals the entire game).

In roster news, Kris Russell is back with the team (replacing injured Derek Dorsett; more below), complete with a new jersey number (10). “I really deserved to get sent down,” Russell said. “For one thing, I just wasn’t helping the team in any real aspects of the game. I needed to focus on my game and what worked for me in the past. It was a great eye-opener.” He spent his time in Syracuse getting reacquainted with his puck-handling and offensive skills. “Kris was a little more assertive offensively,” Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson said. “He was a little more aggressive.”

 

Up Next

The Jackets head out on a three-game west-coast road trip this week (they have 15 of their next 23 on the road, in fact), stopping in San Jose on Thursday, LA on Saturday, and Anaheim on Sunday. This is a big swing for the Jackets, as they’ve been playing better road hockey of late, and they need to score as many points against Western Conference opponents as possible. Both San Jose and Anaheim will be tough games, as those two are first and third in the conference in points, respectively.

Full Schedule

 

Who’s Hot, Who’s Not

Hot: The Captain and The Kid. Of course, I’m referring to Rick Nash and Steve Mason. El Capitan is on a tear over the past nine games, notching seven goals and five assists (12PTS) to take the team lead in total points (12G, 11A, 23PTS) from Derick Brassard. And, of course, what else can be said about Mason that I haven’t said already? Oh yeah, he was just named NHL Rookie of the Month for November (the second straight month a Jackets rookie won the award) with a 6-2-1 record in nine games (13 team points), a slim 2.08 goals-against average, and a save percentage that has climbed to .922 (stats include Monday night’s game, technically a December game). Mason is making it tough on GM Scott Howson to continue splitting time between Mason and Pascal LeClaire. It also begs the question: would Howson consider moving LeClaire mid-season to improve other areas of the team and make a playoff push? Stay tuned.

Not: Assistant coaches Gary Agnew and Gord Murphy. I dug deep on this one, yes. These two were hold-overs from the previous coaching regime, as favors to then-GM Doug MacLean. Agnew was promoted from AHL affiliate Syracuse in 2006 to handle the power play. Murphy has been with the club since 2002, and handles defensive matters and the penalty kill. Notice why they might be in the “Not” category? Yep, it’s because those two areas of the team SUCK right now. The Jackets are 30th (a.k.a., LAST) in the league in power-play success (9.9%), and 23rd in the league on the penalty kill at 79.1%. Come on guys. This is what you’re getting paid for. Act like it!

 

Injury Update

Derek Dorsett broke his finger last Wednesday night against Phoenix in a gigantic fight in the first period. Kris Russell was called up to take his roster spot. Despite the unfortunate outcome, Aaron Portzline waxed poetic about the fight itself: “It was a massive fight, at 8:08 of the first period. Each player landed heavy, heavy punches, and neither was willing to go down.” He also called it “epic” as well.

 

Quotes of the Week

With Mase [Steven Mason], he’s just playing so well right now. He hasn’t had a bad game. He’s so consistent, so big, he reminds me of (Roberto) Luongo. I don’t think there’s a better goalie in the league right now than Luongo, but that’s who Mase reminds me of. –The Captain, on rookie goaltender Steve Mason.

I don’t know what the (heck) I did. A little bit of instinct. I just saw it and I reacted. –Goaltender Steve Mason, describing his game-saving sprawling stop of Vancouver’s Kyle Wellwood with only 1:43 remaining Monday night.

The save Mason made was unbelievable. Terrific. It’s about time we had something like that go our way. We’ve had lots of games like this that have gone against us, and tonight it went the other way. –Coach Ken Hitchcock, on the same save.

I can tell you, if Mason continues to play like this, the way the standings are and how valuable points are, we have to play him. We have to play him quite a bit. –Hitchcock, on the prospect of moving Steve Mason to the #1 goalie spot.

(It’s) way better, way better. Of the teams that are greasing around on the sixth, seventh and eighth spot, we’re a team that has a chance to get better. We can be better in goal and we can be better on the special teams. Our penalty killing is starting to get its grit level down. And our power play, the term I use is we’re taking it to the edge of the ocean. We’re not putting it into the ocean. Eventually, we’re going to put it into the ocean. –Hitchcock, talking about the team’s upside heading into December.

Link(s) of the Week

This one is sort of self-serving for Jackets’ fans (if there are any out there, anyway).

NHL.com’s All Star Voting

The Jackets aren’t world-beaters or anything, but guys like Nash, Brassard, and even Steve Mason (just for kicks) deserve some love (though you have to write the latter two in). Get to it!

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The Week (2) That Was (12/03 – 12/09)

Week: 0-3-0, 0 points

Overall: 11-13-3, 25 points (5th division; 14th conference)

This week was like Sex Panther Cologne: 60% of the time, it works all the time. This team had me convinced they were decent (”they’re made with chunks of real panther, so you know they’re good”), but they played like a used diaper full of Indian food, covered in burnt hair even. Honestly, the trip started out fairly well, as the Jackets gave the Sharks (far and away the best team in the NHL right now) all they could handle on their home ice. It quickly went downhill:

Thursday, 12/04 in San Jose – Sharks 3, Blue Jackets 2 (Box Score) – Highlights
Saturday, 12/06 in Los Angeles – Kings 3, Blue Jackets 0 (Box Score) – Highlights
Sunday, 12/07 in Anaheim – Ducks 5, Blue Jackets 3 (Box Score) – Highlights

I don’t have much to say about this road trip: The LA game was just UGLY. The Anaheim game was basically a game of keep-away, as the Ducks built a lead and just held on for the rest of the game. In true Jackets’ fashion, the CBJ got as close as 4-3 with 45 seconds left in the game and promptly gave up a break-away goal off of the ensuing face-off to seal it.

Rather than talk about how disappointing this week was for this team (to drop from 9th to 14th in the conference in one week is a KILLER), let’s talk about what they’re doing to fix it. The coaches have begun two days of meetings with individual players and coaches. Apparently, this is not the first time this season that the team has done this, either. “You have these one-on-ones to measure their pulse and see where they are at,” coach Hitchcock said. “Every team goes through what we are going through.”

I also wanted to spend more time touching on a recurring story within the team. If you read this column regularly, you might remember back during the late summer when prospect Stefan Legein told the team he had lost the desire to play hockey:

Stay tuned, as this story is likely to get wackier as more comes out. As Brett Favre showed us, often-times a player’s first instinct is not always his last one, and when asked if he thought Legein would ever play again, Woods responded: “Absolutely, yes. I think we’re dealing with a case of burnout here. You can’t be filled with that much passion for the sport of hockey and decide, right like that, that you’re done with it. I think he’s going to play again. In fact, I think when the frost hits the ground, he’s going to get the itch.”

Shockingly enough, guess who’s coming to dinner?? “I don’t think anything has changed with Stefan other than he wants to play again,” [agent Doug] Woods said. “He misses the game.” Probably misses the paycheck, too. So, what do his teammates think about all of this? The GM of the club thinks they won’t really mind (”Stef might have some bridges to build with teammates. If he’s ready to do this, and display the necessary passion, I have compassion for him, and we’ll welcome him back. I’m sure his teammates would, too.”) Now, if he had been an NHL-starter, I don’t know that the response would have been the same, but what do I know? Apparently, hockey players are a forgiving lot (”Stefan’s a hockey player,” defenseman Marc Methot said. “He knows that now. Having a couple of months off, he’s probably aching to get back in, and we’re going to support him.”).

Legein, however, is still the guy who was asked to go back home by the organization after two playoff games for the AHL Syracuse Crunch this past spring, so he’s certainly not entirely back in their good graces completely. At least this story is interesting, though, which is more than I can say for the recent play on the ice!

 

Up Next

The Jackets are back home Thursday night against Nashville, and then host the struggling New York Islanders on Saturday. It would be nice to stop the skid at home, before turning around and heading back on the road to Chicago on Sunday. Including this week, the team has 12 of their next 20 on the road. Not good times, if current trends continue.

Full Schedule

 

Who’s Hot, Who’s Not

Hot: No one. No one can win this award as the team is currently skating. Sorry, boys. Even the now-famous Steve Mason!

Not: Don’t make me choose! Well, OK. The penalty kill is still positively DREADFUL.

 

Injury Update

Unfortunately, winger Raffi Torres suffered a set-back in his on-going recovery from ACL surgery, and the team placed him on IR. His options include more rehab, an MRI, and possibly even another surgery. Sigh.

 

Quotes of the Week

They (the Blue Jackets) have told me, ‘You’ve got to work through it, you’ve got to work through it.’ But it’s at the point right now where I can’t work through it because it’s so painful. … We have been trying to work through it in the gym and on the ice. I haven’t felt 100 percent yet. It should be getting better and it’s not — it’s getting worse. … I wouldn’t play me the way I’ve been playing (and that’s) even the game I scored the goal in. I can give them so much more. If I’m not out there (hitting) I’m pretty much useless. If you watched my game (on Monday, 12/01), you would be asking, ‘Who the (heck) is that guy?’ –Winger Raffi Torres, reflecting on the condition of his ailing knee.

That’s an easy way out, and that never works. We look at every aspect of our teaching every day. I don’t look at it as, ‘Geez, I need to improve this area.’ We break down every area of the team game. For us, right now, we must find a way to help the special teams get better. –Coach Ken Hitchcock, reflecting on the team’s dismal special teams play.

Down the line, we need to prove to ourselves we can beat teams — not only teams ahead of ourselves in the standings, but the really good teams. That’s where your confidence develops and grows. –Hitchcock, talking about the steps the team needs to take to get better, in the wake of losing to San Jose, Los Angeles, and Anaheim in the span of four days.

Link(s) of the Week

This one is self-explanatory. The Bleacher Report brings us:

Columbus Blue Jackets (Boo Jackets)

Basically, I am saying that the Columbus Blue Jackets will miss the playoffs once again. There are three reasons why: First, there is a lack of urgency/desperation/emotion/heart, whatever you want to call it. Second, your special teams are not even terrible anymore, they are non-existent. Finally, you simply lose the games that you should be winning without a doubt.