Western Woes

The Columbus Blue Jackets picked up two of a possible eight points on a disappointing western road trip during which quality defense was sparse.

Through four games, the Jackets tallied 15 goals while allowing 22. At times, the offense was spectacular, scoring goals in large numbers. The defense and goal-tending on the other hand, struggled mightily at times, squandering 3 and 2 goal leads in consecutive games.

The Jackets have also allowed the first goal in 6 straight, a trend that must stop if they want to be successful on the road.

Here is this week’s midweek report.

Last Three:

At Edmonton:

After falling to Calgary 6-3 on Tuesday night, the Columbus Blue Jackets headed even further north for a late-night encounter with the Edmonton Oilers.

In a game in which Mathieu Garon got his second start of the year between the pipes, the Jackets gave up the first goal of the game only 58 seconds into the opening period.

The Columbus offense however, had an answer, scoring two goals in the first, and another two to open the second, to take a commanding 4-1 lead.

Kristian Huselius tallied his third and fourth goals of the season; Chimera and Torres also added goals.

But moments later, Dustin Penner would help cut into the Columbus lead, scoring his sixth goal of the season.

Late in the second, Columbus took three consecutive penalties, and killed off the first two, but was not able to withstand the pressure on the third, allowing the Oilers to close the gap to 4-3.

They say when it rains it pours, and in the third period it poured all over the Blue Jackets as they allowed three goals. Two of the three came on the power-play, the later of the two an empty-netter albeit.

Garon stopped 26 of 31 shots. Former Blue Jackets first round draft choice Gilbert Brule missed his second consecutive game because of the flu.

At Anaheim:

On a day where all 30 NHL teams were in action, the Blue Jackets were led by captain Rick Nash who posted two goals and an assist while leading Columbus to their only win on the four game trip.

The two teams traded first and second period goals to reach a 2-2 tie before Jakub Voracek connected on two consecutive goals; both assisted by Antoine Vermette late in the second.

After allowing the Ducks the re-tie the score at four in the third, Fedor Tyutin slapped in the game winner on a shot from just inside the blue line.

Nash added an empty-netter with 16 second remaining to seal the 6-4 victory.

Mason played well in this one, denying Anaheim when it counted.

Blue Jackets Center Samuel Pahlsson skated for 19 and a half minutes, but was pointless against his former team.

At Los Angeles:

The Kings struck early and often in this one, jumping out to a three- goal lead before Antoine Vermette got the Jackets on the board late in the second.

The biggest story of this game may have been the dirty hit L.A.’s Rob Scuderi laid on Columbus’ Jason Chimera. Tuesday, the NHL announced it fined Scuderi an undisclosed amount for the low blow.

Steve Mason appeared to struggle, stopping only 19 of the 25 L.A. shots. The absence of Jan Hejda, who is +8 on the year, also may have contributed to the defense’s struggles.

The Youth:

The young offensive firepower of Jakub Voracek was on full display in Calgary and Edmonton, tallying two goals and two assists in the two games.

Nikita Filatov skated in all three games after sitting out the pervious three. He averaged 6.7 minutes of ice time but did not record a point.

Steve Mason recorded his first point of the year however, an assist on Rick Nash’s empty net goal against Anaheim.

Power Play Watch:

Columbus was 1-4 on the PP against Edmonton, 0-2 at Anaheim, and 1-4 against L.A. for a total of 2-10.

This brings the season total to 9-38, or 24%.

The Kill:

After entering Thursday night’s game with the leagues best penalty kill, things went downhill quickly, killing only 5-8 at Edmonton, 0-2 against Anaheim, and 2-4 vs. L.A.

In the three games, the Columbus PK was abysmal, allowing seven power play goals, after giving up only one in the previous seven games.

The season total is now 34-42, or 81%, dropping 15% in just three games.

Although the defense itself was sub-par when down a man, the real problem may be the fact that they were forced to play that way eight times in one game.

Leading 4-2 against Edmonton, Columbus took three consecutive penalties, finally surrendering a goal on the third, after killing off their 28^th and 29^th consecutive penalties.

Central Race:

Despite the losses, the Blue Jackets remain in second place in the central with 12 points.

Chicago leads the division with 15, while St. Louis, Detroit, and Nashville have nine, eight, and seven points respectively.

Columbus leads in goals per game average with 3.3, while Chicago leads in goals against with an average of 2.4.

Injury Report:

According to their official site, the Blue Jackets have placed Andrew Murray on the injured reserve, retroactive to Oct. 20.

Murray is suffering shoulder problems and is expected to be out until mid-November.

Jan Hejda and Fredrik Modin both remain on the IR with knee injuries and Jared Boll is listed as questionable for the Oct. 28 match against the Phoenix Coyotes.

Defenseman Mike Commodore made his fist start of the season Saturday night at Anaheim after missing the first eight games due to a nagging groin injury.

Up Next:

The Blue Jackets come back home for two games to face Phoenix and Pittsburgh before heading east to take on Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on Nov. 1.

A young Phoenix team is led by winger Shane Doan, who has 10 points on the year.

The Blue Jackets will face the defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins Saturday night when Sidney Crosby and company bring their 9-2 record to Nationwide Arena.

Midweek Report 10/21

Last Two:

Los Angeles:

After signing defenseman Kris Russel to a three-year contract extension through the 2012-2013 season, the defenseman returned the favor to the club by assisting on a Raffi Torres power play goal, which turned out to be the game winner.

For the second straight game, Columbus gave up the first goal of the game, but fought back after being down.

LA scored their lone goal of the game 10:08 into the first period on a wrist shot from Dustin Brown.

But with less than a minute remaining in the period, Jason Chimera intercepted a pass in his own zone, drove down the ice, and fired a bullet from the top of the face-off circle to the right of Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick to tie the score at one.

Torres’ second period power play goal proved to be the difference in the game, coming with only 2:58 remaining in the period, assisted by Brassard and Russel.

The Blue Jackets tacked on two insurance goals in the third, a shorthanded goal from the captain Rick Nash, and an empty net power play goal from Jakub Voracek with just over a minute remaining.

The goal by Nash extended his point streak to five games.

At Calgary

The Jackets headed back west for a Tuesday night affair with the Calgary Flames. After quickly falling behind by two goals, the Blue Jackets were able to get on the board courtesy of another Rick Nash shorthanded goal to cut the deficit to 2-1.

According to the Columbus Blue Jackets, the goal was Nash’s 11th shorthanded goal since the start of the 2007-2008 season, which is second in the league behind Philadelphia’s Mike Richards with 12.

The Jackets again fell down by two goals when Jay Bouwmeester added his first goal of the season, but retaliated with two straight power play goals from Derick Brassard and Jakub Voracek to tie the game at three.

In a game where Columbus goaltender Steve Mason struggled, making only 16 of 22 saves, Calgary added three more goals to bring the final to 6-3.

The Youth:

In only the past two games, forwards Derick Brassard and Jakub Voracek have combined for three goals and two assists. Kris Russel also added an assist.

Nikita Filatov did not skate for the third straight game, but is expected to play Thursday night when the Jackets face the Edmonton Oilers.

Power Play Watch:

Columbus was 2-6 with the man advantage Saturday night against Los Angeles with the later of the two coming on a late-game empty net goal from Jakub Voracek.

The Blue Jackets were 2-7 against Calgary, bringing the season total to 7-28, or an even 25%.

The Kill:

Columbus continues to impress on the penalty kill, having scored more than they have given up.

The Jackets were 5-5 against the Kings and 5-5 against the Flames as well, bringing the season total to 27-28, or 96%, which is tops in the league.

With Nash’s shorthander against Calgary, the Jackets have scored three shorthanded goals while only allowing one all year.

Central Race:

With seven games played, Columbus, with ten points, currently sits a half-game behind central leading Chicago, who has played eight games and recorded 11 points.

St. Louis and Detroit follow with seven points apiece, while Nashville brings up the rear with a 2-4-1 record and five points.

Columbus leads in goals against average at 2.5, while Chicago leads in goals for with an average of 3.6 goals a game.

Injury Report:

Defenseman Mike Commodore is still recovering from a groin injury but has began practicing, and is expected back in the lineup soon, according to the Columbus Blue Jackets Official Website.

Fredrik Modin and Jan Hejda both remain on the injured reserve with knee injuries and are expected to be out until late October and mid November respectively.

With the absence of both Commodore and Hejda, defenseman Fedor Tyutin has seen his playing time rapidly increase, logging a team leading 17:06 minutes in Saturday night’s victory over Los Angeles.

Up Next:

The Blue Jackets continue their western road trip with stops in Edmonton, Anaheim, and LA.

Columbus faces-off with the Oilers Thursday night in Edmonton.

Edmonton is 5-2-1 on the season and currently sits in third place in the Northwest Division.

Former Blue Jacket Gilbert Brule has tallied four goals and three assists in only seven games played with the Edmonton.

#5 Ohio at #4 Delaware - Preview

After splitting a series last weekend against Penn State, the Ohio University hockey team is faced with another tough test this weekend on the road in the undefeated and fourth ranked Delaware Blue Hens.

The Blue Hens are led by coach Michael DeAngelis, who is a personal friend of Ohio Head Coach Dan Morris, and speaks very highly of both the Ohio hockey program, and coach Morris himself.

I really like the style they play, it’s the epitome of hockey,” DeAngelis said. “They do a really good job of showcasing the talent of the ACHA.”

As for Coach Morris, DeAngelis said he believes Morris is the best coach in the ACHA. “I really hold him in high regard,” DeAngelis said.

The Bobcats played two physical games last weekend against Penn State, winning 2-1 on Friday night, but dropping Saturday night’s contest 4-3 in overtime.

“The guys handled it great last week,” said Morris. “I feel like we outplayed them both nights, we just didn’t get the result we wanted Saturday night, but we’re a team looking to improve, so any chance we get to play good competition, we look forward to it.”

Morris said that they do not prepare any differently for a game of such great stature, but use the games as a test to see where the team is, and what they need to work on. “Good teams expose those things,” he said.

Delaware Coach Michael DeAngelis said although they try to keep things business as usual for games like this, they may pull out a few extra things they wouldn’t use against an unranked opponent.

“Ohio plays a hard-nosed, physical brand of hockey,” said DeAngelis. They’re built to punish.”

One advantage DeAngelis feels his team has is that Delaware plays on an Olympic-sized sheet of ice, compared to the smaller 190' by 85' rink size that OU is accustomed to.

As far as keys to victory for his team, DeAngelis said discipline would be huge. “We don’t want to put them on the power play,” he said. “Good teams are great because of special teams.”

Offensively, the Bobcats are looking to improve on finishing their chances, and putting the puck in the net, said Morris.

“We need to concentrate for 60 minutes,” said the coach. “We look forward to the opportunity in front of us.”

Midweek Report 10/14

Three games later, the Columbus Blue Jackets are still off to their best start in franchise history. A loss on the road at San Jose Thursday night, followed by consecutive victories over Phoenix and Calgary led the Jackets to their 4-1 record, and a spot atop the central division.

Last Three:

At San Jose:

After successive wins over Minnesota and Vancouver to start the season, the Blue Jackets took their winning streak on the road to face Dany Heatley and the San Jose Sharks.

Columbus struck first with an opening period goal from Rick Nash, but San Jose was relentless, scoring four times in the second, and twice again in the third to reach the 6-3 final.

Heatley, acquired by the Sharks from Ottawa only a month ago, recorded his eighth career hat-trick, with the third goal coming on a late-game penalty shot.

At Phoenix:

Recently acquired goaltender Mathieu Garon got his first start Saturday night in Phoenix, and capitalized on the opportunity.

Garon was perfect, stopping all 36 Coyote shots, and leading his team to a 2-0 victory in the desert. It was the first shutout of the year from CBJ net-minders, after reigning Calder Memorial Trophy winner Steve Mason recorded ten a year ago.

Rick Nash tallied his second goal of the season on a beautiful tic-tac-toe pass from Huselius and Brassard. R.J. Umberger put the icing on the cake with an empty net goal with 17 seconds remaining, also his second on the year.

Calgary:

Tuesday evening’s affair was the first game back on home ice since the season opener, and offered a tough test in the then 4-1-1 Calgary Flames.

Calgary got on the board first with a goal from former Blue Jacket Curtis Glenncross, and led 1-0 after one.

The Blue Jackets countered with two goals just 2:04 apart, scored by two former Flames in Anton Stralman and Kristian Hueslius, the first coming on a five-on-three man advantage late in the second period.

Rick Nash assisted on both goals, extending his multi-point game steak to four. Huselius has also put-up points in four straight games.

Mason was able to hang on for the victory, making 22 saves in a 2-1 Columbus victory.

The Youth:

After spending a brief one game stint down on the second line, Derick Brassard returned to the top line for Saturday night’s game against Phoenix, and has played well since, recording assists and creating opportunities in both games.

Jakub Voracek and Nikita Filatov have been quiet recently; both were pointless through the past three. Filatov was a healthy scratch against Calgary.

Mathieu Roy tallied an assist on a Chimera goal at San Jose, and is +1 on the year.

Power Play Watch:

Columbus was 1-3 on the PP against San Jose, 0-2 against Phoenix, and 1-4 against Calgary. This brings the season total to 3-15, or 20%

The power play was an area of need for the Jackets a year ago. The 20% the team is averaging this year is much improved from the 11% the team averaged last year.

The Kill:

The penalty kill, on the other hand, seems to be an area of great strength for the Blue Jackets. Columbus entered Tuesday night’s game as the best penalty-killing team in the NHL, and did not do anything to hurt that status, killing off the only penalty they took all night.

Columbus was 4-4 on the kill at San Jose and 6-6 at Phoenix, including a late-game double minor to Derick Brassard.

On the year, Columbus has killed 17 of 18 penalties, or 94%.

Fortunately the Jackets have done a good job killing off the penalties, but an even better way to prevent power play goals is to stay out of the box in general, somewhere many Jackets have spent significant time over the past few games.

Central Race:

With eight points, Columbus has claimed their spot at the top of the central, but is closely followed by Chicago, who sits just a point away with a 3-1-1 record.

St. Louis, Nashville, and Detroit each have four points.

Chicago leads in goals for with 19, while Columbus leads in goals against average with 2.2.

In recent years, with Columbus, Chicago, and St. Louis all struggling, the division was know as the “Comedy Central.” Now, the division may be the best in all of hockey. Who’s laughing now?

Injury Report:

Defenseman Mike Commodore (groin) and winger Fredrik Modin (knee) both remain on the injured reserve.

Commodore is listed as questionable for Saturday night’s game against the Los Angeles Kings and Modin is expected to be out until at least late October.

Up Next:

The Blue Jackets face off against the 4-1 Los Angeles Kings Saturday Oct. 17 at Nationwide Arena, then head back on the road for a four-game western trip making stops in Calgary, Edmonton, Anaheim, and Los Angeles.

The Kings have won four in a row after dropping their season opener and are led by wingers Anze Kopitar and Ryan Smith who each have four goals on the season.

Midweek Report

Coming off the best season in franchise history, the Columbus Blue Jackets are off to the best start in franchise history. The team is 2-0 for the first time sice their inception into the league nine years ago.

The Blue Jackets have been getting good play from the entire team and have propelled themselves to victories over Minnesota on Saturday, and at Vancouver on Monday. Here is the midweek report.

Last two games: 2-0

The Jackets opened the ’09 season with a 2-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild, in front of a sold-out Nationwide Arena on Saturday night.

The teams played a relatively uneventful first period after a rambunctious pre-game opening ceremony, ending play in a scoreless tie.

The Jackets were on the board for the first time of the year in the second period when forward R.J. Umberger scored on a shorthanded breakaway goal. Moments later Captain Rick Nash was presented with the same opportunity, but was not able to capitalize on the breakaway.

Minnesota tied the score with a third period goal from Andrew Brunette at 4:43. Minutes later, the only remaining original Blue Jacket celebrated his new four-year deal with the club by putting the finishing touches on the teams first victory of the year.

Rostislav Klesla scored at 10:10 of the third and the reigning Calder Memorial Trophy winner Steve Mason held on for the win. Mason finished with 32 saves in all.

Monday night’s affair with the Vancouver Canucks offered a new test for Columbus. It was the first road game of the year, and the first of a three game western road trip for the Jackets.

Vancouver struck first, at 15:29 in the first, but Columbus responded, killing off a five-on-three man advantage and scoring just moments after the penalty expired to end the first in a 1-1 tie.

The Jackets would add three consecutive goals in the second, scored by Huselius, Klesla, and Filatov before Vancouver added one more to close the cap to 4-2.

The Canucks made it close with a third period goal from Willie Mitchell, but Columbus added some insurance courtesy of a power play goal from Fedor Tyutin with 4:57 to play.

With the win, Columbus climbed to 2-0, while Vancouver fell to 0-3 for the first time since 2001 despite averaging 40 shots a game.

The young guys:

The younger guys performed well in the first two games. Nikita Filatov tallied his first goal of the season against Vancouver. Brassard seems to be fully recovered from his surgery and the shoulder injury he suffered last December, and appears to be poised to center the top line with great strength.

Jakub Voracek is bigger and stronger, and posted assists in both games. Even young Mathieu Roy has gotten in on the action, and has filled in nicely while Mike Commodore had missed time due to injury.

Power play watch:

Columbus was 0-2 on the PP on Saturday night and 1-4 with the man advantage on Monday. That puts the season total at 1-6, or for those of you who can’t do it in your head, about 17%.

The penalty kill was 3-4 on Saturday and 4-4 on Monday, bringing the season total to 7-8 or 87.5%.

Central Race:

The Jackets currently sit in a two-way tie atop the Central Division. St. Louis is also 2-0 while Chicago lurks close behind with three points at 1-0-1. Nashville is in fourth with a 1-0 record and Detroit is bringing up the rear at 0-2.

St. Louis leads the division in goals for with 9, while Detroit leads in goals against with 9.

Injury report:

After taking a cheap hit Monday night from Vancouver’s Darcy Hordichuk, Jared Boll was taken off the ice and is listed as questionable for Thursday night’s game. Fredrik Modin is still on the IR due to knee problems. Mike Commodore is expected to play against San Jose on Thursday.

Next up:

Thursday night, 10:30 pm at San Jose.

Will most likely be the premiere of new Jackets defenseman Anton Stralman.

San Jose is 1-2 coming off a 6-4 loss at Los Angeles.

The Sharks sit in a four-way tie atop the Pacific Division with two points.

Everything you need to know about opening night

Coming off the franchise’s first ever playoff birth, the upcoming season may be the most highly anticipated Columbus Blue Jackets season since the inaugural season back in 2000. Here is everything you need to know about opening night.

The Blue Jackets are 3-3-1-1 all time on opening night, and 2-1-1-1 at home. This is the first time that the Blue Jackets have opened their season with the Wild, a team that entered the league the same year as Columbus.

The Jackets have opened with the Blackhawks twice, in 2000 and 2002, but have never opened with any other team more than once. The other teams the Jackets have seen on opening night are St. Louis, Atlanta, Washington, Vancouver, Anaheim, and Dallas.

Three times have the Blue Jackets opened the season with an overtime game. The first, a tie against St. Louis in ’01, then an overtime loss at Vancouver in ’06 and a victory over Dallas a year ago.

The Jackets have scored 22 goals on opening night in their nine-year history. The team leader for goals on opening night is Rick Nash with three. David Vyborny and Dan Fritsche each have two. Fritsche’s pair came in the same game, a loss against Washington back in 2005.

The quickest goal scored by a Blue Jacket on opening night was scored just 31 seconds into the first period by Geoff Sanderson in a 3-3 tie to St. Louis in 2001.

The Jackets first all time goal was scored by Bruce Gardiner in the team’s first opening night game in 2000.

The goaltender with the most opening night wins for the Blue Jackets is Pascal LeClaire, with victories in 2007 and 2008. And if you care, Blue Jacket goaltenders have allowed 21 total goals.

The all-time Nationwide Arena opening night attendance is 90,396, including four sellouts.

Opening night is Oct. 3. Come support your team, and help them add another victory to the all-time total.

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Grad skates his way from ACRN to NHL in-game host

If you have been to a Columbus Blue Jackets game over the past few years, you’re sure to have heard the voice of Mike Todd.

Todd is the in-arena host at Nationwide Arena, and one of three in-game personalities to have graduated from Ohio University.

As a telecommunications major at OU, Todd was involved in many campus wide activities including the All Campus Radio Network, Campus Crusade for Christ, as well as some political groups.

While at OU, Todd met his ACRN radio show co-host and current Blue Jackets PA announcer, Greg Murray. Together the two hosted the university station’s morning show "Murray, Todd and More", and even set an Ohio record for most consecutive time on the air, over 99 hours.

Todd, unlike Murray, was a big hockey fan in college. “We used to go over to Bird Arena and rattle the chain link fence they had around the ice during hockey games, it was always a good time,” Todd said.

Although he was always a fan of the game, he never saw himself doing what he does today. Like Murray, he knew he wanted to work in radio when he graduated, but initially took at job at Compucard as a phone salesman. “I needed to put food on the table,” he said, “working at Compucard really helped me when it came to people relations.”

He also spent time working at several central Ohio radio stations before a good friend of his made him aware of the Blue Jackets job posting on the website and suggested he try out. Todd then called Greg Murray, the Blue Jackets PA announcer, and asked him what he thought. “He told me I better be prepared to get the job,” Todd recalled. “I didn’t recommend him to anyone, but I knew he would get it,” Murray said.

Todd did get the job, and now is one of the more recognizable personalities at a Blue Jackets game. During the game, Todd is in charge of the games and contests and is often found hanging around with the Pepsi Power Patrol or Cannon Crew.

Before each game, Todd and Murray script and perform a pre-game show called “The Rink Report”, which previews the upcoming opponent and also takes a look at other games around the league.

Along with being the in-arena host, Todd also does a lot of charity work with The Blue Jackets Foundation. Events include a golf outing, a fashion show called “Black Ties, Blue Jackets” to support pediatric cancer research, and according to the foundation’s official website, “a day long extravaganza throughout Nationwide Arena of games, autograph sessions, locker room tours, interactive photo stations, auction, and more”, known as Hockey Fest. “The work we do with the Blue Jackets Foundation is very rewarding,” Todd said.

Todd also became very close with the late Ryan Salmons and his family during his fight with cancer. “Getting to know Ryan and his family was a great privilege of mine,” Todd said.

When asked about his favorite part of the job, he responded by saying it is the people. “I have the pleasure of working with a lot of wonderful and talented people,” Todd said, “including Greg Murray.”

Besides his work with the Blue Jackets, Todd owns and operates three restaurants in the central Ohio area, as well as his own DJ business with which he works parties and weddings.

“Coming from a small town, OU allowed me to experience different viewpoints and cultures,” Todd said. “Through the telecommunications school, and organizations such as ACRN, I was able form the relationships and gain the experience needed to be successful.”