May 26, 2013

Announcement: DP’s CBJ Coverage Moving to “The Cannon”

April 25, 2011 by 3 Comments

5-hole
I originally came to WFNY in the fall of 2008 with a proposal: there doesn’t seem to be a lot of Columbus Blue Jackets hockey coverage on your blog, but I love your blog, follow the team religiously, and write about sports on my own blog. Let’s join up!

That first year was great as I cut my teeth during the team’s first and only playoff run. It was fun to provide that coverage to the small sect of the WFNY readership that followed along with me. It has been fun, but as the past two years have unfolded it’s become clear that something just wasn’t fitting right here. When the great guys over at The Cannon approached me at season’s end about writing about the Jackets for/with them, it was too great an opportunity to pass up. So, we’re here to announce that going forward, essentially all of my Blue Jackets coverage will be moving to The Cannon. I will be writing for The Cannon on a day-to-day basis, and will trim back WFNY’s coverage to the weekly 5-Hole columns during the season and pertinent links in WWW each morning. I’ve also updated my Twitter handle to @DP_WFNY_Cannon as part of this move. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blue Jackets Tagged With: , , ,

The 5-Hole: Blue Jackets News and Notes – 4/12/11

April 12, 2011 by 2 Comments

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

5-hole

The Week That Was

This Week: 0-3-0, 0 points
Overall: 34-35-13, 81 points (5th division; 14th conference)

It’s mercifully over. The Jackets limped home, finishing their last 21 games with a putrid 3-12-7 record, and earning just 13 points in that stretch to fall not only out of the playoff race, but all the way to second-to-last—AGAIN—in the Western Conference. They went from being firmly in the hunt at the end of February to looking ahead to another ugly off-season in just a few weeks. It was almost stunning how quickly and thoroughly it happened. At any rate, now that the season’s done, we’ll do a shorter recap here in our normal 5-Hole spot. Then, with some help from Jackets GM Scott Howson whom I had the pleasure of interviewing a couple of weeks ago, we’ll take a good hard look at what needs to happen this off-season in a future post.

Filed Under: Blue Jackets Tagged With: ,

The 5-Hole: Blue Jackets News and Notes – 4/5/11

April 5, 2011 by Leave a Comment

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

5-hole

The Week That Was

This Week: 1-1-2, 4 points
Overall: 34-32-13, 81 points (5th division; 13th conference)

We’re finally heading down the home stretch. The Jackets were officially eliminated from the playoffs (something they’ve *actually* been for quite some time; we’re just talkin’ math now) on Thurday night in Washington, though it’s important to note that Columbus played three decent games this week, going to overtime and a shootout against two solid playoff teams. However, the starch seems to be out of the shirts, as the St. Louis Blue came in on Sunday and kicked them in the teeth pretty hard. Oh well, three games to go! The Jackets are currently sitting with the 8th spot in the NHL lottery, if it were held today. That would mean they could end up with either the 5th pick, the 8th pick, or the 9th pick. more on that grisly stuff next week.

Filed Under: Blue Jackets Tagged With: ,

The 5-Hole: Blue Jackets News and Notes – 3/29/11

March 29, 2011 by Leave a Comment

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

5-hole

The Week That Was

This Week: 0-2-1, 1 point
Overall: 33-31-11, 77 points (5th division; 13th conference)

Seven games to go, and the Jackets are all but officially eliminated. If eighth place Chicago earns two points, the Jackets will be mathematically eliminated. Not that this is a surprise; their current 2-8-5 stretch ended their hopes long ago. But, there’s always something so final about the math finally saying it’s over. Columbus still needs four points in their last seven games to clinch their second best point total in franchise history. Not that finishing in 12th with that total would be a positive thing…

Filed Under: Blue Jackets Tagged With: ,

The 5-Hole: Blue Jackets News and Notes – 3/22/11

March 22, 2011 by Leave a Comment

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

5-hole

The Week That Was

This Week: 1-2-1, 3 points
Overall: 33-29-10, 76 points (4th division; 12th conference)

We’ve officially entered the “playing out the string” portion of the season. The Jackets look like a team that’s fun our of gas, both physically (in the midst of a 16-games in March stretch) and mentally. They finished a stretch of three games in four days by getting shut out twice at home. At this point, with 10 games to go in the season, the Jackets have a couple of things to shoot for. With five more points, they will bring home their second-best point total in franchise history. So there’s a little feather for your cap.

Filed Under: Blue Jackets Tagged With: ,

The 5-Hole: Blue Jackets News and Notes – 3/15/2011

March 15, 2011 by Leave a Comment

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

5-hole

The Week That Was

This Week: 1-1-1, 3 points
Overall: 32-27-9, 73 points (4th division; 12th conference)

The good news: The Jackets finally stopped their slide at seven games without a win (0-4-3). The bad news: it’s too little, too late, most likely. They Jackets are still eight points out of eighth place, though they have three games in hand against the current eighth place team. That said, there are still four other teams between the Jackets and eighth place. It’s still mathematically possible, but it’s a long-shot. A point per game (as they got this past week) isn’t going to cut it. With 14 games to go, Columbus has to win at least 10, and probably 11 of those 14.

Filed Under: Blue Jackets Tagged With: ,

The 5-Hole: Blue Jackets News and Notes – 3/8/11 – And The Bottom Drops Out…

March 8, 2011 by Leave a Comment

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

5-hole

The Week That Was

This Week: 0-2-2, 2 points
Overall: 31-26-8, 70 points (4th division; 12th conference)

Gentlemen, start getting those golf clubs polished. The Jackets ideally needed six or seven points on this five-game trip. They probably should have come home with seven. Instead? They come home with two. And just like that, their playoff chances are all but over. If you blinked, you probably missed it; it was fleeting. There are now 17 games to go, and the Jackets are seven points out of eighth place with four teams to jump over. Math is not on our side here.

Filed Under: Blue Jackets Tagged With: ,

The 5-Hole: Blue Jackets News and Notes – 2/22/11

February 22, 2011 by 2 Comments

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

5-hole

The Week That Was

This Week: 1-0-1, 3 points
Overall: 29-23-6, 64 points (4th division; 12th conference)

There are a few shades of gray here: Columbus continues to play well, BUT they can’t move up in the standings. However, the Jackets have played the fewest games in the conference, meaning they have a chance to make up points on the teams in front of them. BUT, they also play 16 times in 31 days in the month of March, or the same number of games they played in 31 days in December. And, we all remember how that turned out. Finally, the Jackets have been surging, AND/BUT the trading deadline is next Monday, or three games away. Do they make a move?

Filed Under: Blue Jackets Tagged With: ,

The 5-Hole: Blue Jackets News and Notes – 2/15/11

February 15, 2011 by 4 Comments

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

5-hole

The Week That Was

This Week: 3-1-0, 6 points
Overall: 28-23-5, 61 points (4th division; 12th conference)

In trying to keep everything in perspective, I find a few things jump out. The Blue Jackets are now 8-3-2 in their last 13 games (18 points). They still sit in 12th place, but now are just five points out and a mere seven points out of fourth place. Wait, what? Most importantly—and perhaps most relevant—is that if one looks at their record through 56 games during their playoff season, one would see a familiar record: 28-23-5. Woah. Obviously, the standings are different this year, with the Western Conference packed tighter than a sardine can, but the point is that this team is still in it, they’ve made runs like this before, and they’re still playing meaningful—and, for now, good—hockey in February.

Filed Under: Blue Jackets Tagged With: ,

The 5-Hole: Blue Jackets News and Notes – 2/8/11

February 8, 2011 by Leave a Comment

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

5-hole

The Week That Was

This Week: 2-1-0, 4 points
Overall: 25-22-5, 55 points (4th division; 13th conference)

Columbus is now down to nine games remaining before the end-of-February trading deadline. They’re in 13th place, which means they have to hop over at least five teams right now to get to a playoff spot. So, they should be sellers, right? Well, maybe; but maybe not. Despite being five spots out of the playoffs right now, in reality they’re also a mere six points out, which is equal to three games. And, on top of that, they have games-in-hand (i.e., they’ve played less) than all but two other teams in the conference. All of that said, it’s going to take a streak of really, really good hockey, and that streak is going to have to come against some tough, tough opponents. As of right now, though, there is no dirt shoveled on this team just yet.

Filed Under: Blue Jackets Tagged With: ,

The 5-Hole: Blue Jackets News and Notes – 2/1/11

February 1, 2011 by 1 Comment

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

5-hole

The Week That Was

This Week: 0-1-0, 0 points
Overall: 23-21-5, 51 points (4th division; 13th conference)

In baseball, the All Star Break is seen as breaking the season into “halves,” and teams always talk about their “second-half push” after the break. The same is true for the NHL, in a way, except that the “second half” in this case is a mere 33 games for Columbus. They sit in 13th place, just five points out of seventh, but with at least five teams to jump over, depending on how things go for everyone else. The “second half push” begins tonight for Columbus. Let’s see if they were able to carry any momentum through the time off.

Filed Under: Blue Jackets Tagged With: ,

The 5-Hole: Blue Jackets News and Notes – 1/25/11

January 25, 2011 by Leave a Comment

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

5-hole

The Week That Was

This Week: 2-0-1, 5 points
Overall: 23-20-5, 51 points (4th division; 13th conference)

The only way out is through. So it seems for these Jackets, as they’ve managed to play their way through a very tough December and January stretch, and finally look like they’re putting some consistency back together. The Jackets have earned eight points of a possible 10 in their last five games, and while they’re not climbing any closer to the eighth spot in terms of points, they are closing all number of gaps in front of them. They’re just five points behind Chicago for seventh place, and have a game in hand on a lot of the teams in front of them. In short, if they truly have turned a corner, they aren’t quite out of it just yet.

Filed Under: Blue Jackets Tagged With: ,

The 5-Hole: Blue Jackets News and Notes – 1/11/11

January 11, 2011 by Leave a Comment

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

5-hole

The Week That Was

This Week: 0-3-0, 0 points
Overall: 20-19-3, 43 points (5th division; 13th conference)

It’s hard to say much that’s positive after this week. Four straight losses on the road, and the road trip ended with a 20-7 differential in goals. And the seven goals were buttressed by a three-goal third period in LA on the final day of the trip. The most likely explanation for the flat play is the pall hanging over the team with respect to potential roster moves. A big trade has been rumored for quite awhile now, and on top of that the club has been forced into trying to deal Mike Commodore as well. And, with his contract, they’re not exactly dealing from a position of strength.

Filed Under: Blue Jackets Tagged With: ,

The 5-Hole: Blue Jackets News and Notes – 1/4/11

January 4, 2011 by 1 Comment

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

5-hole

The Week That Was

This Week: 2-1-0, 4 points
Overall: 20-16-3, 43 points (5th division; 11th conference)

Despite the flat performance on Sunday night, it wasn’t a bad week for Columbus. They handled their business on Thursday and Friday against teams they really needed to handle their business against. This team still strikes me as a team on the rise that’s not going to get to the playoff mountain top this year, but that is certainly improved over last year despite yet another awful December. Preaching patience to this fanbase is a lesson in spitting into a stiff wind, but it really is the realistic state of things right now. They’re getting there. It’s going to take awhile. Please don’t jump ship!

Filed Under: Blue Jackets Tagged With: ,

The 5-Hole: Blue Jackets News and Notes – 12/29/2010

December 29, 2010 by Leave a Comment

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

5-hole

The Week That Was

This Week: 2-2-0, 4 points
Overall: 18-15-3, 39 points (5th division; 12th conference)

This team is starting to take shape. They can hang with the bad teams, but the moment any adversity hits against any teams that are decent, shop is folded up. Their slide from 14-6-0 and knocking on the door for the top seed hasn’t yet reached last year’s levels (the 16 games after their hot 20-game start this season vs. last season: 4-9-3, 11pts vs. 2-9-5, 9pts), but as you can see it’s gotten pretty close. They didn’t win their 18th a season ago until their 47th game, so at least there’s that. Still, things are looking eerily similar as December comes to a close. The crazy thing, though: they haven’t yet played their way out of the playoff hunt at this point, whereas by year’s end last season it was pretty much over and done with.

Filed Under: Blue Jackets Tagged With: ,

The 5-Hole: Blue Jackets News and Notes – 12/21/2010

December 21, 2010 by 3 Comments

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

5-hole

The Week That Was

This Week: 0-2-1, 1 point
Overall: 16-13-3, 35 points (4th division; 11th conference)

What a different a year doesn’t make. Last season, the Jackets roared out to a 26-point mark in their first 20 games, and then promptly lost 21 of 24 to fall completely out of the playoffs. Fast forward to this year: 28 points in the first 20 games, knocking on the door for first in the division and conference. Then, fast forward 12 more games, with only two wins and seven total points, leading to a plunge down to 11th in the standings. Dennis Green is in the wings clearing his throat, getting ready to yell: “THEY ARE WHO WE THOUGHT THEY WERE!!”

Filed Under: Blue Jackets Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

The 5-Hole: Blue Jackets News and Notes – 12/14/2010

December 14, 2010 by 1 Comment

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

5-hole

The Week That Was

This Week: 1-1-1, 3 points
Overall: 16-11-2, 34 points (4th division; 11th conference)

A point-per-game in the NHL is basically treading water. Unfortunately, treading water doesn’t get you any closer to the shore that is the playoffs. At some point, the Jackets have to start swimming again. The silver lining? They have looked a little more like themselves from earlier in the year the past two games. That said, they let a point get away from them last night in Calgary. And, they are in the midst of a crazy stretch of six games in 10 days across four different time zones. Yikes.

Filed Under: Blue Jackets Tagged With: , , , , ,

The 5-Hole: Blue Jackets News and Notes – 12/07/10

December 7, 2010 by Leave a Comment

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

5-hole

The Week That Was

This Week: 1-2-1, 3 points
Overall: 15-10-1, 31 points (3rd division; 6th conference)

Any of you that know me know how much of a nerd I am. So, let me sum up where we are Tuesday morning by quoting the awesomeness that is Spaceballs. Apologies for pushing the jump down a bit:

Dark Helmet: “Are we stopped?”
Colonel Sanders: “We’re stopped sir.”
Dark Helmet: “Good. Well why don’t we take a five minute break?”
Colonel Sanders: “Very good, sir.”
Dark Helmet: “Smoke if you got ‘em!”

Columbus has a five minute break before playing in St. Louis Thursday. If nothing else, the losing streak is stopped. Smoke if you got ‘em.

Filed Under: Blue Jackets Tagged With: , , ,

The 5-Hole: Blue Jackets News and Notes – 11/30/2010

November 30, 2010 by Leave a Comment

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

5-hole

The Week That Was

This Week: 1-2-0, 2 points
Overall: 14-8-0, 28 points (2nd division; 4th conference)

Well, the numbers never lie, but in this case we can make an exception I think. The Jackets finally got a measuring stick as to how good they *really* are with two games back-to-back against the division- and conference-leading Detroit Red Wings. And, while the results weren’t good on the scoreboard, it did show the Jackets that they’ve improved a ton. However, it also showed them just how far they still have to go to be considered a true Cup contender.

Filed Under: Blue Jackets Tagged With: , , , ,

The 5-Hole: Blue Jackets News and Notes – 11/16/10

November 16, 2010 by 4 Comments

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

5-hole

The Week That Was

This Week: 1-1-0, 2 points
Overall: 9-6-0, 18 points (4th division; 10th conference)

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Damn you, Charles Dickens. The Jackets, in back to back games two days apart, went from looking as good as they could possibly look to just about as bad as they could possibly look. For whatever reason, the Colorado Avalanche are like Coach Beaulieu from The Waterboy: no matter how much the Jackets want to stand up to them, the Avs just continue to come in and push Columbus around. And, up next is the first real “road trip” since the trip to Sweden that was over a month ago. We should know a little more about this team in the next five days or so.

Filed Under: Blue Jackets Tagged With: , , , , , ,
«Older Posts