in fairness...this is same team that played Chicago.
Tonight was awesome though...
The beginning of Chicago game wasn't that bad. But then Mason and unstable defense (you can't even call it a defense with Lebda and Johnson) blew it as usually. Last night Washington lost 6:0 - we're not alone.
Great game for Columbus; one of their few games this year that have been real fun to watch. Whatever happens in the next week, I just hope that the resultant team can put on a show like that every single game
I really hope Nash isn't traded. He is a special talent. Perhaps not a special Captain, but man can he bring it. That goal was something most players in the league can't fashion. His passing was superb-as it usually is. Replacing him (even with the first pick) is highly unlikely.
Trade anyone else, but not Nash. Or Dorsett or MacKenzie
Reading Puckrakers this morning was a pleasure ... for once. They got the perfect theme. What could have been? What could have been?
Richards has these guys doing the things you are supposed to do to win hockey games. There is traffic in front of the net. Clean passes that actually go to other people on the ice wearing CBJ jerseys. Defensive responsibility (another way of saying AJ was not on the ice)......
The combination of Arniel, Mason and the joke that passed for a defense at the start of the season ruined something that really could have been special. Tonite showed this is actually the most talented team that was ever assembled in CBJ uniforms. Failure of the GM to pay attention to the little details needed to finish the product that undercut what could have been a special year.
Hey, we changed our DEE-TROIT SUCKS chant to HOWSON SUCKS and got a whole bunch of people into it! That was fun. I feel slightly better now.
lee, were you in section 103 (hmm, wearing a #77 sweater with "Smith" on the back)?
EDM, I spotted you in 121 and came around between periods to find you, but we must have just missed connections.
As for the game...BIG FUN!!!
I usually sit about 18 rows up and in the corner (a much better view of the ice), but sitting behind the bench was a very interesting experience. There's much more interaction among player (of both teams), coaches, and officials. On TV or from my seats, it often seems that nobody is talking to anybody (except for Dorsett's constant chirping!), but there is quite a bit more going on than I realized. The players are also much more engaged and relaxed than can be seen from above - Carter and Nash talk more than I had realized, guys joke and smile more than I thought, and the officials have a much more relaxed and animated interaction with the bench than I knew of. All in all, the game of professional hockey looks like it is a whole lot more fun for the players, up close, than it does from a distance!
Last edited by pete goegan: 02-22-2012 at 07:30 AM.
Fun to see how the other half lives and how frustrated the other team was after that Johansen check. Really peeved though that I've worn a beat up hat for the last two-three years waiting for a hat trick to get rid of it....threw it down from the upper bowl thinking it'd get forwarded down to the ice, but it landed next to the only two guys in the arena who didn't seem to have any idea what was going on.
Fun to see how the other half lives and how frustrated the other team was after that Johansen check. Really peeved though that I've worn a beat up hat for the last two-three years waiting for a hat trick to get rid of it....threw it down from the upper bowl thinking it'd get forwarded down to the ice, but it landed next to the only two guys in the arena who didn't seem to have any idea what was going on.
The Johan was very active and physical, tonight, but it was really great to see RJ jump in to protect the kid from having to fight. Too little of that sort of camaraderie has been seen around here.
1) You have to wonder how this win makes ownership/Howson think they've been on the right track, just need patience.
2) You have to assume that Carter and Nasher's price just went up, making deadline trades less possible.
Worst case scenario: we start playing too much better.
Albeit through twitter, and a "second hand from the team" source in Dreger, Howson said that Ownership has been very supportive. My guess is Howson and Priest have free reign to at least make one more big mess of this before the axe seriously starts to be sharpened. And if the nuclear option is truly on the table, Howson and Priest have bought themselves several years more of job security.
As far as Nash goes, I'm not sure his price could go much higher with some on the board here. There is no value for being the "face of the franchise" outside of Columbus.
In summary, we are winning with special teams right now. The PK% is still rather poor. The PP is out of sight. 5 on 5 is terrible. Unless something changes, this streak is not sustainable. A more sustainable 20% on the PP would have netted four less goals.
Bottom line, 5 on 5 we stink. The PK still isn't very good, we need that around 85%. But then again if we take out the one game "anomaly", the PK was 90% for the other 7. Maybe it is coming around.
We are now ranked 16th on the PP. At least we are middle of the road on something.
Just as a FYI, a 20% PP and 85% PK would have us at a -24 goal differential for the year.
2) You have to assume that Carter and Nasher's price just went up, making deadline trades less possible.
Worst case scenario: we start playing too much better.
Not seeing how this is a negative. And there's no deadline to deal for the CBJ...there's just a blackout period that begins on Monday through the end of the season.
