Columbus Blue Jackets (Official Thread)

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

BLUE JACKETS NOTEBOOK
Fedorov may return this weekend
Center?s bum shoulder showing improvement
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Michael Arace
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

</IMG>


Blue Jackets center Sergei Fedorov participated in drills with the team yesterday. He wore a yellow "no contact" jersey.
Fedorov, who suffered a sprained left shoulder during an exhibition game four weeks ago, is inching toward a return. There?s a chance he?ll be back this weekend. The Blue Jackets play host to Toronto on Friday night and play at Pittsburgh on Saturday night. San Jose visits Nationwide Arena on Monday.
"We?ll know more soon," coach Gerard Gallant said. "We?ll wait and see how he feels."
Center/winger Dan Fritsche similarly suffered a sprained left shoulder a week ago. He was encouraged by a magnetic resonance imaging, which showed that the previous surgery, to tighten his shoulder, was intact.
"I?m slowly but surely getting there," Fritsche said. "There?s a ligament in the shoulder that has to heal. The good news is, we don?t have a lot of games (bunched together), so, hopefully, I?m not going to be missing too much."
Fritsche skated on his own yesterday. His left arm was tethered, at the bicep, to his body. An intricate, Velcro-laden thingy served as the tether.
"The guy who invented this," Fritsche said, "I hate him."
Disa and data

After losing 5-0 to the Minnesota Wild in St. Paul on Saturday night, the Blue Jackets had an off day Sunday. Yesterday, they had a long practice. "It was a good, skating practice," Gallant said. "We got the feet moving and the bodies going. We did a little defensive-zone work at the end, which we?ll do almost every day." ? Jackets enforcer Jody Shelley was happy to get his first chance to drop the gloves this season. He had an elongated bout with Wild behemoth Derek Boogaard. "I would have loved to fight with (Vancouver?s) Georges Laraque on opening night, but it didn?t pan out," Shelley said. "I was getting kind of anxious. But it was good. I like the long ones." ? Blue Jackets video coordinator Dan Singleton ran the Columbus Marathon on Sunday. It was his first marathon, and his time for the 26.2-mile race was 4 hours, 16 minutes. His time would have been better had he not needed two Port-O-Let stops. "I had two cups of coffee right before the start," he said. "That wasn?t a good idea." ? Jason Chimera, Aaron Johnson, Manny Malhotra and Anders Eriksson today will visit four area schools to promote the Book Jackets program, created to encourage children to spend their free time reading. [email protected]

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

BLUE JACKETS
Facing boyhood idols can be stuff of dreams
Playing favorite team often a goose-bump moment

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Aaron Portzline
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH




Blue Jackets defenseman Adam Foote was born and raised in Toronto, and he developed a passion for the Maple Leafs that was hard to turn off when he was drafted by Quebec in 1989 and reached the NHL with the Nordiques during the 1991-92 season.
"First time we played in the (old Maple Leaf) Gardens was the only time I?ve ever been benched in the NHL," Foote said. "The Leafs scored a goal and I pumped a fist up in the air. I celebrated just a little bit, and I think the coaches saw it.
"I don?t know what the heck I was thinking, but something just came over me. I had to take a couple of shifts off after that, and it never happened again."
Foote might have embellished the tale a bit ? he later hinted he was "just joking" ? but the story illustrates the conflicted life for many NHL players who grow up rooting for one club and end up playing against it.
Case in point: Friday, when the Blue Jackets play host to the Maple Leafs in Nationwide Arena, only the second Leafs trip to Columbus.
For Foote, a 14-year NHL veteran, it won?t be a big deal. He has played the Leafs enough times to get over the aura of facing perhaps the most famous sweater in hockey.
For left winger Rick Nash, who has played only twice against Toronto, the aura still glistens. His childhood wasn?t so long ago.
"It?s pretty special," Nash said. "It?ll be a thrill, and my family will all be watching back home (in London, Ontario) because that?s what we did a lot when I was a kid.
"They?ll be rooting for me ? I hope."
Nash was a bit surprised that only two Blue Jackets players ? he and Foote ? named the Maple Leafs as their childhood favorites. But then again, the Leafs are a love-?em-or-hate-?em organization.
"I can see it, them being one of the most hated teams in the league," Nash said. "They?re sort of like the (NHL?s version of the) New York Yankees."
Four members of the Blue Jackets grew up fans of the Edmonton Oilers, the most mentioned club in a highly informal poll of the dressing room yesterday.
Jody Shelley, Jason Chimera, Mark Hartigan and Fredrik Norrena latched on to the Oilers during the high-scoring reign of Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and Jari Kurri in the 1980s.
The Blue Jackets play Edmonton four times each season.
"To actually play in that building (Rexall Place, formerly Northlands Coliseum) the first time, with all the banners, the retired sweaters, all the history, it was just too surreal," said Shelley, a left winger who first faced the Oilers during the 2001-02 season. "It was a fantasy world for me. I never thought I?d be playing there, on that very same ice."
Chimera, born in Edmonton in 1979, was drafted by Edmonton in 1997.
"Dreams come true, absolutely," the left winger said. "But they fall apart, too."
Chimera was traded to Phoenix in 2004. A year later, he was traded to the Blue Jackets.
"Now I hate the Oilers, probably more than any other team in the NHL," Chimera said. "Isn?t that wild? I can?t stand them.
"I?ll probably always hate them, too, be a grumpy, old retired man, hating the Edmonton Oilers."
Goaltender Pascal Leclaire was raised in Repentigny, Quebec, with "no choice, really" but to root for the Montreal Canadiens.
"I went through a Nordiques faze," Leclaire said. "But mostly it was the Canadiens."
Defenseman Duvie Westcott will never get a chance to play against his childhood team, the Winnipeg Jets. They moved to Phoenix in 1996.
Nor will defenseman Ron Hainsey, whose beloved Hartford Whalers moved to Raleigh, N.C., for the 1997-98 season and became the Carolina Hurricanes.
And nobody will likely match Blue Jackets coach Gerard Gallant?s tale of his NHL debut with the Detroit Red Wings during the 1984-85 season.
"I was a huge New York Islanders fan as a kid," Gallant said. "I got called up from the minors midway through the season, and my first game was against the Islanders.
"They were a great team, the Islanders. We weren?t a very good team, and I was so damn nervous. My first shift was against (right winger) Bobby Nystrom, a guy I had a ton of respect for. Right like that, here I am in the NHL, playing against the Islanders and Bobby Nystrom. It was pretty unbelievable. I scored my first NHL goal that night and we won 5-4, a game we had no business winning."
[email protected]

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

BLUE JACKETS NOTEBOOK
Fedorov will make call on playing Friday

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Aaron Portzline
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH




Blue Jackets center Sergei Fedorov will decide Friday whether he?ll play later that evening against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Nationwide Arena.
"It?s a fact now that the ligament has healed," Fedorov said of his injured left shoulder. "Now I?m trying to make it stronger. Every day, stronger ? that?s what?s the next few days are about for me."
Fedorov suffered a separated shoulder when he was upended and slammed into the boards during an exhibition game against Buffalo on Sept.20.
"It?s been four weeks now since the injury," Fedorov said, "so it?s right where it should be.
"I was hoping earlier, but ? "
Fedorov yesterday practiced for a second straight day with the rest of the Blue Jackets, again wearing a yellow "no contact" sweater.
He was one of the last players off the ice, outlasted only by another injured forward, Dan Fritsche.
"I?d like to play Friday, of course," Fedorov said. "But we?ll see how I feel.
"It?s fair to say I might not know until Friday. That?s probably right."
Coach Gerard Gallant hasn?t decided who Fedorov will replace in the lineup once he?s ready to play.
But he?s eager to see Fedorov on the ice again.
"We definitely miss him," Gallant said. "Anybody would miss him. He?s a world-class player.
"In all areas of the game, we miss him."
President and general manager Doug MacLean said Fedorov will likely play the point on the Blue Jackets power play, which he did extensively in his time with Detroit and Anaheim.
NHL in town

Members of the NHL?s public relations and communications staff were in Nationwide Arena yesterday to get the ball rolling on entry draft planning.
The staffers were checking out the city in an effort to plan the week?s events.
It?ll be the first of many trips between now and draft day, June 23, 2007.
Slap shots

Not Jaromir Jagr. Not Martin Havlat. Not Milan Hejduk. The coverboy for the Czech Republic version of EA Sports? NHL ?07 is none other than Blue Jackets right winger David Vyborny. ? Gallant put the Blue Jackets through another hard practice, including another "cardiovascular" skate at the end. Fedorov and Fritsche (shoulder) stayed on the ice for individual work with assistant coaches Gary Agnew and Gord Murphy.
[email protected]

 

[jimotis4heisman]

i saw alexander picard was waived and started a twenty minute tirade screaming, yelling etc only to have everyone stare at me. i have since then realized it is pic of the flyers. they waived a bunch of guys after a 9 1 whopping last night.

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

i saw alexander picard was waived and started a twenty minute tirade screaming, yelling etc only to have everyone stare at me. i have since then realized it is pic of the flyers. they waived a bunch of guys after a 9 1 whopping last night.

Onee of them should have to spell his name Alexander instead of Alexandre. Those zaaaany Canadians!!!!

 

[jimotis4heisman]

seriously i flipped, tsn.ca even had the cbj one not the flyers one listed. then i realized wow a bunch of other flyers ok. you have no idea. if it wasnt for my size id bet anything id be in a straight jacket now...

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

BLUE JACKETS
Berard upbeat about back surgery
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Aaron Portzline
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

</IMG>


Blue Jackets defenseman Bryan Berard will have surgery this morning in Los Angeles to fix a herniated disc in his lower back and could be out until January.
"As difficult as this is, I?m ready to have the surgery, and I?m actually fired up to start rehab," Berard said. "I?m just glad we got a diagnosis and it?s a fixable problem. I?ll be able to play half a season, at least."
Berard, 29, underwent a similar procedure in March. Both times it has involved the lumbar vertebrae in the lower part of the back. Then, it was the disc between the L4 and L5 vertebrae; this time, it?s the disc between the L3 and L4 vertebrae.
"When I got hurt last season, it turns out I hurt both at the same time," Berard said. "But the symptoms I was having made it seem like it was all coming from the L4 and L5 areas.
"It?s possible that the pain from that area was masking the pain I?m feeling now, which is actually a real sharp pain in my leg."
Berard put on a happy face after the surgery last season, saying he felt fine and expected to be fully recovered by training camp. Even early in training camp, Berard and the Blue Jackets said he was being kept out of practice and the first two exhibition games as a precaution.
Now, the truth can be told.
"Probably within the first week after I had surgery in March, I knew something wasn?t 100 percent right," Berard said. "But I was anxious to come back. I just wanted to play, more than anything. I was hoping it was something I could just battle through."
When the pain didn?t go away, Berard was flown to Los Angeles to meet yesterday with Robert Watkins, a back surgeon. Watkins performed Berard?s surgery in March, and he?ll perform today?s.
It?s expected that Berard will stay in Los Angeles for 10 days, then fly to Columbus to begin rehabilitation. In similar cases, rehabilitation takes up to 12 weeks.
"A week ago, I was miserable," Berard said. "I didn?t know if there was going to be a solution. Now I have answers, and that?s a relief. Any time you have surgery, it?s a setback, yes. But now I?ve also got a light at the end of the tunnel. I?ll be back playing hockey this season, and that means a lot to me."
The Blue Jackets signed Berard to a two-year, $4.5 million contract before last season. Since then, he has played in 44 of 86 regular-season games.
The native of Woonsocket, R.I., has not enjoyed an easy career.
On March 11, 2000, while playing for Toronto, he was struck in the eye by an inadvertent high stick by Ottawa?s Marian Hossa.
Seven surgeries later, he?s able to play with a contact lens that helps him achieve the NHL?s minimum of 20/400 vision.
Last January, Berard became the first NHL player known to test positive for steroids. He was given a two-year ban from international competition.
[email protected]

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

BLUE JACKETS NOTEBOOK
Malhotra checks on friend
Carolina?s Letowski reportedly doing OK

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Aaron Portzline
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH




Blue Jackets center Manny Malhotra said he tried this week to phone friend and former linemate Trevor Letowski, after Letowski suffered a gruesome hit in a game last weekend.
Letowski, now playing with the Carolina Hurricanes, was broadsided Saturday by Pittsburgh?s Colby Armstrong, whose shoulder struck Letowski flush in the side of the head. Unconscious before he hit the ice, Letowski?s face dragged across the jagged surface as his body continued to spin.
Letowski, who played 154 games for the Blue Jackets from 2003 to 2006, was taken off the ice on a stretcher and is out indefinitely because of a concussion.
Malhotra spent much of the past two seasons on the same line as Letowski.
"I left him a message," Malhotra said. "I have not seen the hit, but I?ve heard about it, and it doesn?t sound very good. We have the same agent (Paul Krepelka), so I got my update through him. I guess he?s doing well. There?s nothing wrong with his face. He just got his bell rung a little bit."
Malhotra was involved in a hit that same night, but he was on the giving end of the hit, flattening Minnesota?s Mattias Weinhandl.
Weinhandl is out indefinitely because of a concussion.
"I don?t think he saw me coming," Malhotra said. "I was ready to deliver the hit and his helmet came up and got me right in the mouth."
Malhotra suffered a split lip. He himself got up a little woozy.
"I was a little disoriented," Malhotra said. "But nothing too bad."
Day at the rink

Coach Gerard Gallant put his players through another hard skate at the end of practice yesterday.
On his last trip down the ice, right winger Nikolai Zherdev pulled up just inside the red line and coasted the rest of the way.
"All the way, Z, all the way!" assistant coach Gary Agnew barked. Agnew was seen having a one-way conversation with Zherdev immediately after the drill.
As the players gathered at center ice, Gallant delivered a "pep talk," the transcript of which could not be printed in this family newspaper.
"It?s hump day," Gallant said. "The guys are tired of practice; they want to play some games, and that?s how I feel, too. I wasn?t unhappy with practice, honest I wasn?t. It was a slow practice, though. We worked on special teams, that kind of stuff, and I just wanted to get their attention. I wanted to make sure they?re ready when we play on Friday."
The players had a team meeting in the weight room shortly after practice.
Crunch - ed

The Blue Jackets? top minorleague affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, is off to a terrible start this season in the American Hockey League.
The Crunch (0-4-0) have been outscored 22-5, including a 6-1 loss to Wilkes-Barre Scranton last weekend in the home opener.
Part of the issue is that three key members of the 2005-06 Crunch ? Mark Hartigan, Ole-Kristian Tollefsen and Aaron Johnson ? are with the Blue Jackets. But the Crunch hasn?t gotten good goaltending, either. Tomas Popperle, with a 6.01 goals-against average and .826 save percentage, is last in the AHL. Ty Conklin isn?t far ahead, with a 5.00 GAA and a .867 save percentage.
It doesn?t get any easier for the Crunch this weekend. It faces Omaha (3-1) on Friday and Iowa (4-0) on Saturday.
Slap shots

Center Sergei Fedorov (shoulder) did not skate with the rest of the team. President and general manager Doug MacLean said on his weekly radio show that Fedorov will not play Friday or Saturday. ? Center Dan Fritsche has been ruled out this weekend as well as Monday against San Jose. He said he could be ready the following weekend, when the Blue Jackets play back-to-back games against Los Angeles and New Jersey.
[email protected]

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

Jackets in search of an identity
Confidence from wins, consistency are key elements

Friday, October 20, 2006

Aaron Portzline
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

</IMG>


Almost without exception, the best teams in the NHL have developed a clear identity, a style of play they carry into all 82 games and a well-honed plan for which opponents must prepare.
Look around. The Calgary Flames are brutally physical. The Buffalo Sabres are frighteningly fast. The Detroit Red Wings play keep-away with the puck. The Ottawa Senators are a goal-scoring machine. The Edmonton Oilers roll four lines relentlessly, all of them with lots of grit.
Now, set your gaze to the Arena District.
Six seasons into their existence, what identity have the Blue Jackets forged? What most concerns the Toronto Maple Leafs when they face the Blue Jackets tonight in Nationwide Arena?
"In a lot of ways, I think we?re still working toward finding an identity," coach Gerard Gallant said. "We?ve been working for that, trying to develop it, for the last couple seasons.
"To me, it starts with guys fitting into roles and it starts when you get a consistent effort from all the guys. We?re not there yet, but I don?t think we?re far away, I really don?t. The work ethic needs to improve, but we?ll get there."
The Blue Jackets have played only four games ? fewer than any other team in the NHL ? so an identity has been hard to create, much less detect. Gallant was a rough-and-tumble forward for 10 seasons with Detroit. Given a choice, he?d probably prefer a club such as Calgary, which plays in-your- face hockey that opponents must summon the will to match.
"But it?s out of our character for some of our guys to play like that," Gallant said. "We?re not built to play that way, not for 82 games, anyway."
Gallant points to the Blue Jackets? collection of forwards ? Rick Nash, Nikolai Zherdev, Sergei Fedorov, David Vyborny, Fredrik Modin and Anson Carter ? and said the Blue Jackets might turn out to be more like Ottawa or San Jose than Calgary.
"Maybe we won?t score that many goals (as the Senators or Sharks)," Gallant said. "But we?ve got the firepower up front that we should be able to concern some people. We don?t want to play wide-open hockey, but we?ve got to be able to move the puck and score."
The Blue Jackets are a young team, with eight players 25 or younger. But the veterans in the room know the importance of developing an identity. Most say it coincides with playing winning games.
"We?ve got very good potential," center Sergei Fedorov said. "With a little confidence, a little feel for one another, a little rush from beating a good team ? that will give us an identity."
Center Manny Malhotra said the first step should be playing high-intensity hockey. Who knows where the path might lead from there?
"I couldn?t say if we?ll be a club like Calgary or Buffalo or Ottawa," Malhotra said. "It?s your own identity that has to be created. The pieces of the puzzle here are unique to us. Nobody else has a Rick Nash. Nobody else has an Adam Foote. We need to grow as a club, and it?s the journey that will give us an identity."
It?s a journey that must be made this season, though, if the Blue Jackets are to make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.
So far, in the previous five seasons, they?ve been out of the playoffs race by the first snowfall.
The Blue Jackets, one might say, haven?t had an identity since their first season, when a ragtag bunch of players wanted to prove they belonged in the NHL.
"We had an identity, certainly, that was greater than our talent level," former Blue Jackets coach Dave King said with a chuckle. "We all realized quite early on that we had no choice but to play hard. And those guys were special, because whatever the situation was, they went hard. We didn?t have many coasters.
"But a good hockey club has an identity, and you have to spend the whole season building it, strengthening it and convincing all the guys to buy into it, to fill a role. It?s not easy to achieve, not at all. But if you achieve it, you can be on your way toward something special."
[email protected]

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

BLUE JACKETS NOTEBOOK
Well-rested Jackets finally get to play
Friday, October 20, 2006
Michael Arace
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH



The Blue Jackets played one game in 10 days. Tonight, after a long wait, they will have an opponent when the Toronto Maple Leafs visit Nationwide Arena.
"We?re hungry to play," captain Adam Foote said.
They?re going to play. They?re in Pittsburgh on Saturday night and then play host to the San Jose Sharks on Monday night. That?s three games in four days.
"We?ve got to take it like, not only do we want to get through the next few games, but get through them effectively," Foote said. "The upside is, somewhere down the road, we should have the benefit of having those three long spans of good, hard practices."
The Blue Jackets (2-1-1) played four games in the first 14 days of their season. Coach Gerard Gallant has had his opportunities to drill the players. Everyone involved would have preferred more games.
"The guys are getting tired of practices and I am, too," Gallant said. "When you go four or five days (without a game), sometimes you get frustrated with the players, and they get frustrated, too. You try to keep them sharp and it?s tough."
Gallant?s feeling is that his players will be on their toes if only because the Leafs are making only their second visit to Nationwide Arena in six seasons.
"A lot of stuff, you just don?t see in practice," goaltender Pascal Leclaire said. "As a goalie, you can get out of rhythm. But we?re all in the same boat. We?ve just got to adjust."
Fedorov waits

Center Sergei Fedorov, out for a month because of a sprained left shoulder, was hoping to return tonight. But it?s unlikely.
On Wednesday, Blue Jackets president and general manager Doug MacLean publicly announced that Fedorov would neither play against Maple Leafs, nor in Pittsburgh.
"Whatever Doug says, that?s correct," Fedorov said after practice yesterday.
Fedorov felt markedly better yesterday. Gallant told him to go through the morning skate today and weigh things carefully.
"Will he play this weekend? We don?t expect him to," Gallant said. "But I wouldn?t close the door on it all the way."
Fedorov said he?s free of pain. He said his primary task is strengthening the shoulder.
"I feel better every day," he said. "I?ve got a few things to do before this goes away, and I need a couple of contact practices with the team."
Berard has surgery

Defenseman Bryan Berard yesterday had surgery to repair a herniated disc in his back. He?ll be out of the lineup at least 12 weeks.
Foote understands what Berard will experience in the next few months.
"I?ve been through what he is going through ? I even had the same doctor," Foote said. "Once you get it right, it?s right. I haven?t had any issues in 13 years. I?ve been telling him that. All he needs is a little patience. He?s going to be fine."
[email protected]

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

Although there has been speculation in Vancouver, British Columbia, that Blue Jackets rookie Gilbert Brule might be returned to his junior team there, Giants center and good friend Tim Kraus told the Vancouver Province this week that it?s all just wishful thinking on the part of local fans.
"He?s in good spirits, he?s happy to be there," Kraus said. "He?s not the guy that?s going to sit there and take it. He?s going to work hard. He?s going to push, push, push until the coach is forced to play him more. "The kid has proven everything he can in this league. He?s not going to get any better in this league. Anybody who is saying that he might be back is just hoping, because he?s been so great here."

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

MAPLE LEAFS 4 BLUE JACKETS 2
Jackets show up soft
Gallant criticizes effort after power play draws blank in lackluster loss
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Michael Arace
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Bryan McCabe of the Maple Leafs checks Jason Chimera of the Blue Jackets into the boards.

Jaroslav Balastik of the Blue Jackets races to the puck after Ian White of the Maple Leafs loses his balance in the first period.


The Blue Jackets, playing at home for the first time in 11 days, gave the fans in Nationwide Arena a reason to chant last night. The chant went "Go, Leafs, Go" and it came from a large and boisterous contingent of Toronto faithful, clad in blue and white, here for a brief holiday romp.
On went the Maple Leafs to a 4-2 victory over the Blue Jackets in front of a non-sellout crowd of 17,303. Bryan McCabe and Kyle Wellwood each had a goal and an assist. Michael Peca and John Pohl had goals. Goaltender Andrew Raycroft was good when he needed to be ? and the Leafs (4-2-2) were fairly dominant.
"Our so-called best players were reaching for the puck, not finishing their checks, playing soft," Blue Jackets coach Gerard Gallant said. "You see San Jose and some of those other teams, and their top guys play hard. We were just not competing."
The Blue Jackets, by a quirk of schedule, were playing only their second game in 11 days. They lost both, by a combined score of 9-2. They went 102 minutes, 33 seconds without scoring a goal, a stretch that ended in the second period last night. Their power play is 0 for 12 in the past two-plus games.
"We didn?t have the puck on the power play," said David Vyborny, who played in his 400 th career game, all with the Jackets. "We didn?t get set up, we didn?t make the passes, we didn?t even have opportunities, not even five-on-three."
Manny Malhotra and Alexander Svitov had the goals for the Blue Jackets, Svitov?s coming with 12.1 seconds remaining in the game. Goaltender Pascal Leclaire (23 saves) didn?t see a ton of shots, but he had no chance at stopping any of the Leafs? goals, such were the Jackets? defensive breakdowns.
Funny, but it started well enough for both sides. Gilbert Brule, Mark Hartigan and Malhotra had golden opportunities thwarted by Raycroft in the first period. Down the other end, Leclaire also looked sharp. The game was up-and-down and the energy level was high.
Things tilted in the second period, at the start of which the Blue Jackets had three power plays in succession. They didn?t manage a shot on the first two power plays, which included 21 seconds of two-man advantage. They heard derisive cheers when they finally got a puck on net, at 6:19 of the period.
"Tonight, it was sloppy," defenseman Ron Hainsey said. "Obviously, the fans were giving it to us, and rightfully so."
The score was 1-1 after goals by McCabe and Malhotra, the latter scored at 12:59 of the second period. Then, in a span of 34 seconds, the Leafs scored twice ? Wellwood and Peca were open in front for redirects ? and the building deflated. Or, mostly deflated; the Leafs fans were certainly heard. These are folks that can?t get tickets in Toronto or Detroit, and now that Buffalo demand is exceeding supply, they spotted a rare opportunity in Columbus. The Leafs, making only their second appearance in Nationwide Arena in six seasons, put on a show for their Canadian commuters.
"There was a mob at our hotel," Leafs coach Paul Maurice said. "It was awesome. As for the game, our goaltending was great early, our penalty kill was excellent and our fourth line won us the game."
Gallant voiced a hope that the Jackets? long layoffs are the primary cause of their drawn-out malaise. His team is 2-2-1, with more losses than victories, and headed to Pittsburgh for a game against the Penguins tonight. Look for Fredrik Norrena to get his first start in goal.
"We don?t have many options (to change the lineup), to tell you the truth," Gallant said. "I?m not happy and a lot of people were not happy with our performance tonight."
[email protected]

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

COMMENTARY
Popular foes are great and all, but Jackets must win
Saturday, October 21, 2006
BOB HUNTER
As it turns out, there is still an NHL team in Toronto. We have always suspected as much given highlights on cable and standings in the paper.

</IMG>

But the Maple Leafs haven?t been seen in Nationwide Arena since March 20, 2003, so it was hard to be sure.
It?s tempting to say that after watching the Leafs? 4-2 win over the Blue Jackets maybe it?s a good thing they don?t make it here very often. But that would be unfair to all the Leafs fans who would be denied a chance to come here and buy tickets. The games are all sold out in Toronto, so those poor, hockey-starved folks have a chance to chant "Go, Leafs, Go" somewhere.
But all kidding aside, the Leafs should be more than a rumor in an NHL city a mere 5?-hour drive from Toronto, especially given their widespread popularity.
The schedule heavy with intradivision games that the NHL adopted two years ago doesn?t look any better today than the Blue Jackets looked last night.
Want to be here when the Blue Jackets get a little homeice revenge on the Maple Leafs? Don?t despair. If things stay the way they are, Toronto will be back in town for the 2009-10 season.
"I think you should go everywhere at least once a year," Blue Jackets goaltender Pascal Leclaire said. "When you play 82 games, there?s room I think to at least go everywhere once. I know they want to create division rivals, but at the same time, a lot of people want to see the different players."
Although those "people" aren?t at the top of the priority list of any professional sport these days, the NHL didn?t try to dump on ticket buyers in this case. When the NHL adopted this scheduling format ? eight games a year against division rivals ? familiarity figured to breed contempt, which would make for more-intense games.
Whether it did that is debatable. What it definitely did was keep the brightest stars from being seen in every NHL city.
Is it a good idea to go three years without having Rick Nash play a game in Toronto, an area where he grew up?
"I remember listening to what was said and going along with it because of rivalries," Blue Jackets president and general manager Doug MacLean said. "It doesn?t make that big a difference to me. ? But you know what? If I had Nashville here tonight, I?d have 1,500 more tickets sold. So if the goal was to create rivalries, it seems to have done that."
The suspicion here is that the availability of tickets ? attendance was 17,303 ? had more to do with the calendar and caliber of the team?s play than the opposition. Hockey has always been a tougher sell here during football season, and the 2-2-1 Blue Jackets haven?t done much to convince fans that all that preseason talk was any more than that. In three games at home, the Blue Jackets have been ripped twice and cruised once, that against a Phoenix team that has been crushed by just about everybody.
"It was the same as Minnesota (a 5-0 loss), we played a pretty decent first period," coach Gerard Gallant said. "Then it comes back to the same old thing: There?s no battle in us, we?re losing all the one-on-ones, nobody?s competing hard enough, nobody?s finishing checks, so-called skilled best players playing real soft ? you?re not gonna win like that."
If the Jackets don?t work harder, nonsellouts could become standard here, no matter the schedule.
Bob Hunter is a sports columnist for The Dispatch.
[email protected]

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

NHL
Jackets don?t take advantage of power play
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Aaron Portzline
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

</IMG> The Blue Jackets? Nikolai Zherdev is tripped up by the Maple Leafs? Bryan McCabe as Mats Sundin follows the play.


How bad was the Blue Jackets? effort last night?
So bad that even with a man-advantage for nearly 14 minutes, the Blue Jackets looked to be playing five-onfive with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Blue Jackets blew multiple chances early to seize control on power plays in a 4-2 loss.
"The power play lost us the game tonight," left winger Rick Nash said. "It was terrible. We weren?t getting to loose pucks. We weren?t getting the puck into the zone. We weren?t setting up. It was terrible."
For six of the first eight minutes in the second period, the Blue Jackets were on power plays. Of that, 21 seconds were spent with a two-man advantage.
And what did they get?
"Nothing," defenseman Rostislav Klesla said. "We weren?t able to generate anything."
The Blue Jackets generated only two shots on goal during those six minutes ? a wrist shot by Klesla and slap shot by right winger David Vyborny ? and both were turned away with ease by Toronto goalie Andrew Raycroft.
Worse yet, most of those precious seconds were spent digging the puck out of their own end, chasing to get it away from Toronto?s killers, or trying to figure out a way to set it up in the Maple Leafs? zone.
It was ugly. And 17,303 in Nationwide Arena let the Blue Jackets know about it.
"In tight games like this, the power play makes a big difference," Vyborny said. "We have to get at least one goal there. To come up without a lead, it?s unacceptable."
When the Leafs? run of penalties ended, the score was still 0-0. A good team would have been up 1-0, maybe 2-0 or 3-0.
"That was huge," Blue Jackets coach Gerard Gallant said. "Our power-play guys ? they were soft. They didn?t want to finish any checks.
"Even with the man-advantage, you have to pay the price. When you?re dumping the puck in, you have to finish checks. When you start reaching with sticks, trying to beat guys one-on-one, it?s not going to work."
The Blue Jackets? inability to win faceoffs was a huge problem all night. The Leafs won 41 of 63 (65 percent), including 10 of 14 (71.4) when they were killing penalties.
Vyborny won just 1 of 8 power-play faceoffs.
"We miss Sergei (Fedorov, who?s out with a shoulder injury)," Vyborny said. "That?s why I?m out there (at center) on power plays. And it?s not easy. (Maple Leafs center) Mats Sundin is a big, strong player."
The Blue Jackets were second in the NHL with a 28.6 power-play success rate before last night.
But the 0 of 7 puts them at 0 for their past 12.
"You know it can?t click like that ? 30 percent ? all season," Nash said. "But it can?t be that bad."
[email protected]

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

BLUE JACKETS NOTEBOOK
Fedorov?s return still couple of days away
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Aaron Portzline
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH



Sergei Fedorov worked up a good sweat yesterday at the Blue Jackets? morning skate. But when he sat down at his locker stall, he greeted a gathering scrum of reporters with this: "Not going to play, guys."
If it were the playoffs, Fedorov acknowledged, he probably would have been in uniform last night against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Nationwide Arena.
"I need to get stronger in my shoulder," Fedorov said. "It?s close. It?s almost there. It?s getting better. But it?s not all the way strong enough."
Fedorov said it is doubtful he will play tonight, too, when the Blue Jackets face the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh.
"Of course I?d like to get in the lineup," Fedorov said. "But this injury has different stages where you have to be a little smart about it. You don?t want to hurt it again and be right back where you started."
Fedorov?s goal, it seems, is to play Monday, when the Blue Jackets play host to San Jose.
Nash is fine

A fright was thrown into the crowd near the end of the Blue Jackets? 4-2 loss to the Maple Leafs. Star forward Rick Nash went down in a heap by the boards and then limped off the ice.
From certain vantage points, it looked as if he might have been taken down from behind by Leafs defenseman Hal Gill, but that was not the case. Nash was hit on the right knee as the puck was rimmed into the Leafs? zone. Nothing nefarious.
"It was just a puck to the knee, a stinger," Nash said. "I?m fine. It feels fine now."
Hanging in there

The Blue Jackets have groused about playing one game in 10 days before last night.
Imagine how defenseman Aaron Johnson feels. Johnson was a healthy scratch for a third straight game. He last played in a win Oct. 7 in Chicago.
"It?s tough," Johnson said. "Obviously you want to be in the lineup, but things are different here this year. It?s a battle to be in the lineup. I?m just trying to be ready for when I get an opportunity."
In a sense, Johnson, 23, is stuck with the Blue Jackets. He would have to clear waivers to be sent to the minor-league affiliate in Syracuse, and it is a near certainty that another NHL club would claim his rights.
"This is where I want to be," Johnson said. "Even if you?re not playing, you?re still practicing, you?re still learning things. You can learn a lot by watching.
"(Adam Foote) has spoken to me quite a bit, actually. He?s helped a lot, you know, just reassuring me that guys go through this a lot early in their careers. The guys who can get through this a lot of times are the ones who can stick."
Back at it

Defenseman Bryan Berard came out of back surgery Thursday with no complications, president and general manager Doug MacLean said.
The best guess is Berard will miss up to 12 weeks, meaning he could return in mid- to late January.
"The doctors said that because he?s so strong in his core, it could be an even quicker recovery than the normal," MacLean said. "Bryan?s hope is to play 40 games here this season." [email protected]