jimotis4heisman;679985; said:i think hiring hitch was a bad idea
Bucky Katt;680289; said:
scarletandgrey;680295; said:
i think some of it has to do with the air in denver on the dumping the puck. hitch mentioned how a lot of teams get smoked in the second due to the elevation.I thought they looked great last night. A little sluggish in the 2nd, but it has been a long time since I have seen them control the play in the other teams zone so much, and the defense was outstanding.
I never thought I would be saying this, but watching the game last night 2 things stuck out to me about the team and Nash. For one, he looked to be just about the slowest guy on the ice last night, not sure what his health situation is, but he seemed quite slow last night. Second, I seem to remember a quote from Hitch at the very beginning talking of getting away from the dump in along the boards and moving the puck into the zone passing. Last night the entire team was really making this work (with good results) except Nash. Nearly every time he approached the blue line instead of looking for someone, he shot it in around the boards and tried to beat one or two guys to the puck in the corner. After reading all the things he has said about buying in to what Hitch is doing I sure hope he is not the one guy who does not. I am by no means a Hockey expert, but I sure hope I am just imagining this, or am completely off base.
J.O. I know you are Rick, so I am sorry to call you out on here.
jimotis4heisman;680377; said:
GOALIE IN CHARGE
Norrena brings an aggressive approach to the game, and now the Jackets have another option
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Aaron Portzline
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
</IMG> Fredrik Norrena opened eyes with 21 saves against the Oilers, but that paled in comparison with his 42 saves in a 3-0 win over the Avalanche.
DENVER ? Growing up in Pietarsaari, Finland, Fredrik Norrena was a playmaking, goal-scoring center. It wasn?t until his early teens, when his club was short on goaltenders and absent of volunteers, that Norrena donned the bulky pads and headed for the other end of the ice. A distinguished career was born that day, but Norrena?s instincts, his love for playing with the puck on his stick, never died. And it is that combination that led him to back-to-back shutouts for the Blue Jackets, including an eye-popping 42 saves Tuesday in a 3-0 victory over the Colorado Avalanche in the Pepsi Center. Three days earlier, he had 21 saves in a 4-0 victory over Edmonton.
"Freddy is so confident with the puck," defenseman Anders Eriksson said. "You see it, even on five-on-threes, when he goes behind the net and plays the puck, rims it around or makes the right pass to get it out of trouble.
"It took us defensemen a little while to get used to playing with him back there, because he doesn?t want you to come and get the puck, he wants you to peel off so he can get it to you.
"He?s like an extra defensemen back there, like a Patrick Roy, in the way he plays the puck."
Easy now, Anders. Patrick Roy?
"I mean that," Eriksson said. "Patrick loved to have the puck. He felt comfortable with it, and he was able to defuse all kinds of situations."
Norrena?s confidence shows in other ways, too.
First, he?s known as a talker, a goalie who will shout instructions to defensemen with their backs to the play as well as pick-me-up comments when players skate near the goal.
Also, he loves to challenge shooters. He does not shrink into the net.
In the second period Tuesday, with Avs center Joe Sakic coming through the faceoff dot alone with the puck, Norrena came charging out, a good 5 feet from the goal mouth, to snuff out Sakic?s wrist shot before it was launched.
Sakic?s take: "Pretty good play right there."
Norrena made a similar play on Milan Hejduk later in the period, during which the Avalanche took 21 shots.
Hejduk?s take: "He?s a hot goaltender right now, no question about it."
The Blue Jackets needed Norrena to get their first-ever regulation victory over Colorado.
"He?s a very experienced goaltender," coach Ken Hitchcock said. "He?s 33 years old. He?s knows what the energy is, what the tempo is. He?s a sharp guy.
"All I know is, the three times I saw him in international play, I thought he was exceptional. I?ve now seen him in about four hockey games here, and he has played very well for us. But to me, this is not surprising."
The Blue Jackets now have a good problem on their hands, heading into their game Saturday in St. Louis.
Pascal Leclaire has played well lately, stopping 61 of 64 shots in the first two games of the trip, losses to Vancouver and Calgary. He is the No. 1 guy, the future of the franchise, etc. But Norrena is the hottest goaltender in the NHL right now. It would be hard to rest him, especially for a club in dire need of victories.
It?s worth noting that after the game Tuesday, several Jackets frontoffice types went out of their way to say the team has two good goaltenders, hoping to steer the hockey world from believing that Norrena has supplanted Leclaire as the club?s No. 1 goaltender.
"We?re in a great situation," right winger Anson Carter said. "We have two No. 1?s, as far as I?m concerned. Freddy isn?t well known in North America, but he has a great track record in Europe, and Pascal is a real good, young goaltender.
"It puts us in a great situation where they both want to try and one-up each other."
Norrena doesn?t enjoy talking about himself. Asked Tuesday to pick his best save against the Avalanche, he actually blushed. Then he laughed.
"I don?t really know," Norrena said. "Lot of saves.
"They had a lot of shots, but ? just like the other night in Edmonton ? I saw almost all of the pucks, and the guys did a great job clearing the rebounds. I just felt really comfortable back there."
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BLUE JACKETS NOTEBOOK
Fritsche on points binge
Parma native part of potent third line in recent resurgence
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Aaron Portzline
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
</IMG> The Jackets line of Jason Chimera, from left, Anson Carter and Dan Fritsche has been doing its fair share of celebrating lately, combining for four goals and seven assists the past two games, both road victories.
DENVER ? From Nov. 10 to Dec. 1, Dan Fritsche?s name showed on the score sheet only once, a meaningless third-period goal in the Blue Jackets? 4-2 loss to Nashville on Nov. 18.
But these days he is in the center of the action. He had two assists Tuesday in a 3-0 victory at Colorado. On Saturday, he had one goal and two assists in a 4-0 victory at Edmonton.
Fritsche has three goals and 10 points in 22 games, including a career-best three multipoint games.
"I?ve got more confidence than I?ve ever had in the NHL," said Fritsche, a Parma native. Fritsche, who moved back to center from right wing three games ago, has played the past two games with Jason Chimera on his left and Anson Carter on his right.
"I?m on a line right now with two great players, and it has clicked, almost immediately," Fritsche said. "I just feel really good about things right now."
The trio has been the Blue Jackets? best line during the back-to-back victories, as the No. 1 line of Rick Nash, Sergei Fedorov, David Vyborny has struggled.
In the past two games, Fritsche has five points, Carter has two goals and two assists and Chimera has one goal and one assist. Combined, they have a plus-13 rating.
"We?re now getting different people stepping up every night, making great plays, scoring big goals," coach Ken Hitchcock said. "We?re not relying on one or two guys to win games anymore. We have a lot of people playing really good hockey right now."
Was he the fourth star ?
The age-old hockey tradition of picking three stars for every game is highly subjective.
Take Tuesday night, for instance, when Fredrik Norrena, who had a 42-save shutout, wasn?t listed among the top three players, all Blue Jackets.
They were: 1. Anders Eriksson, 2. Carter, and 3. Manny Malhotra.
Eriksson had a nice game ? one assist, a plus-2 rating and four blocked shots ? but he was no Norrena, not on this night.
"I finally found a guy who knows what he?s talking about," Eriksson deadpanned after the game.
Growing confidence
Since Hitchcock was hired Nov. 22, the Blue Jackets are 3-3, having outscored opponents 15-9. All three losses were by one goal.
"We could have won all of our games since the (coaching) move," captain Adam Foote said. "With this system, we have a chance to win every game, and that?s a good feeling."
Slap shots
The Blue Jackets haven?t allowed a goal in 133 minutes 22 seconds, already a franchise record for a road shutout streak and only 3:51 from the overall franchise mark. ? The Blue Jackets have killed off the past 21 penalties, including a 5-on-3 for 1:20 in the first period Tuesday. ? In six games under Hitchcock, the Blue Jackets have outhit their opponents 112-86. ? A loss Tuesday dropped the once-mighty Avalanche to 12-13-2. Overheard in the press box: "Avs ? as in, average." ? The Blue Jackets did not practice yesterday. They?ll return to the ice today.
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BLUE JACKETS
Third line cashes in on patient approach
Waiting, reading action leads to better scoring
Friday, December 08, 2006
Michael Arace
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
</IMG>
Coach Ken Hitchcock?s plan is coming together and, at the moment, the plan is best illustrated by the so-called third line. Center Dan Fritsche and wingers Jason Chimera and Anson Carter combined for 11 points in the Blue Jackets? past two games, shutout victories in Edmonton and Colorado.
As one Blue Jackets forward capsulated the plan: "Before, it was crash, crash, crash, get the puck, get the puck. (Hitchcock) tells us, ?Stand there. If you?re reading and in the right position, the puck will come to you.? And you?re thinking that?s not right. But there it is, the puck. And you?re thinking, ?Wow.? "
There are reasons the third line has been the first to harness this magic.
The Blue Jackets have played their past four games on the road, where they are without the benefit of the second change. So it?s more difficult to create favorable matchups for the top lines, which are faced with dogged checkers most every shift. At the same time, opportunities are created for checking and/or energy lines. The Fritsche line is built to take advantage of these opportunities.
"I think they are three quick guys who are now playing patiently one-onone, biding time for guys to get open," Hitchcock said. "Their quickness and their strength is a good combination. They get open for each other very quickly, and they?re tenacious around the net. Look at where their goals are coming from."
In the past, Fritsche, a former second-round pick, has been an enigmatic winger jerked from line to line. He?s happy to be back in the middle.
"It?s where I?ve always played, and I?m definitely more comfortable there," he said.
Chimera, the fleetest of Blue Jackets, has been a staple on the checking line, but now he?s displaying a newfound consistency.
"I can?t put a finger on it, but the line has just sort of clicked," Chimera said. "I think we?re going to the net and we?re getting some bounces. The pucks are kind of laying on the crease for us. I?d take that the rest of the season, that?s for sure. For me, personally, I?ve got to work to score goals and whenever I play physically, the opportunities come my way."
Carter, acquired on the eve of training camp, has been seeking a comfort zone since the start of the season, and he might have found it.
"We?re three guys with different styles, but when you?re all playing the same system, it works," Carter said. "Regardless of whether you?re a speed guy or a finesse guy or a grinder, you?re all on the same page."
It starts on the back end. The Blue Jackets are breaking out with more alacrity. There?s a more defenseman-todefenseman passing and less rimming. They?re starting to utilize the weak side as a means to alleviate pressure, maintain momentum up the ice and create numbers advantages. For the third line, with its size and speed, it?s adding up to scoring chances, and finishes.
"They?ve been the best line," Hitchcock said.
As for the other two lines, Hitchcock made some minor adjustments yesterday. He moved Fredrik Modin up to play with center Sergei Fedorov and Rick Nash. He had a look at David Vyborny with center Alexander Svitov and Gilbert Brule.
"The part I like (about the Fedorov line) is they?re hemming the other team in their own zone now," Hitchcock said. "The next step is more scoring opportunities. Svitov?s line ? if we can get more quickness there, it?s really going to help, and Vyborny is arguably the quickest guy on the team."
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BLUE JACKETS
It?s no joke: Eriksson a valuable blue-liner
Worldly veteran likes chirping, chipping in
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Michael Arace
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Anders Eriksson, left, came to Columbus after playing for former Blue Jackets coach Dave King in Russia.
One-liners fly from the northwest corner of the Blue Jackets locker room, where Anders Eriksson has a seat next to the goaltenders. What a wall that is: two goalies and Bubba. Where?s Shemp?
When Eriksson showed off a new spandex undershirt, he said, "What do you think? Superman, right? "
After Rick Nash was slashed in a sensitive area, Eriksson said, "He took one in the next generation."
When Eriksson was named the first star of the game in Colorado the other night, he said, "I finally found a guy who knows what he?s talking about."
Blue Jackets management seems inclined to make a deal, maybe for a defenseman, what with Duvie Westcott (broken finger) and Bryan Berard (back surgery) out for extended periods. Even when those two key players were healthy, there seemed to be a need for another quality blue-liner. And when Eriksson was signed last summer, it didn?t feel substantial enough, especially against the backdrop of the strong defenses in the Central Division and Western Conference.
There is a tinge of irony in that preseason prattle. It is that the defense has held up fairly well, all things considered. And for those who?ve wondered why Eriksson is still in the NHL, he has provided an answer. He has played in 25 of 26 games and averaged better than 18 minutes of ice time. He has nine assists and a plus-5 rating. With 14 penalty minutes, he has stayed out of the box.
Now, it?s fun again. Like everyone else in the Blue Jackets locker room, Eriksson has an unshakable sense that a fresh start has been made after six games under coach Ken Hitchcock.
"It?s night and day," Eriksson said after practice yesterday, before the team jetted off to St. Louis. The Jackets play the Blues tonight.
"It?s really hard to describe the change, especially when you?ve been losing as much as we were losing. The biggest thing is we?re really committed to the system. It?s belief and trust. And obviously, Hitch is a good teacher. We?ve got a young team and we need that."
Eriksson has been around and seen much. He has played 438 NHL games, 237 American Hockey League games and 190 games combined in Sweden, Finland and Russia. He has seen a lot of coaches and he cottons to perfectionists who focus on playing the game well, and not necessarily on winning and losing.
A dozen years ago, Eriksson learned his first lessons from coach Scotty Bowman in Detroit.
"When I got to Detroit, Steve Yzerman was a 100 percent offense guy," Eriksson said. "Scotty told him, ?You?ve got to think backward. You?ve got to think defense first.?
"Stevie (scoffed) at first, but then he became one of the best two-way players in the world. Nasher and those guys who can score, if they can play that way defensively, they?re going to be so much better players, and it?s going to be so much better for the team."
At the end of last season, Eriksson was a stalwart on coach Dave King?s Mettalurg-Magnitogorsk team that lost in a semifinal of the Russian Superleague tournament. The experience was worth months in a soot-covered city in Siberia where, he said, he used the bus because driving a car was a contact sport.
"The best thing that could have happened was for me to go to Russia," Eriksson said. "I could just get away from everything, play my game, get the minutes. I?m a better player and a better person for being coached by Dave King. There?s no doubt about that."
King, the Blue Jackets? first coach, recommended Eriksson for return duty in Columbus. Eriksson has settled in with his wife, Beth, and his daughter, Abby, 6 months. From his corner of the locker room, he chats away, jabbing anyone who crosses his path.
"I remember how it was when I was younger and I put a whole lot of pressure on myself," Eriksson said. "You?ve got to joke. You?ve got to have fun. You?ve got to cut laces."
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BLUE JACKETS 5 BLUES 1
Jackets extend streak to three
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Michael Arace
</IMG>
ST. LOUIS ? Scores of the blue seats that rim the arena were empty. The fans had little to cheer about, and their frustration sheathed them. Angry rants issued forth from the cheap seats, boos were common and the coach?s seat was so hot, wisps of smoke wafted from the bench.
This was Nationwide Arena a month ago. This was the Scottrade Center last night, when the Blue Jackets finished off a string of five road games with a resounding victory over the St. Louis Blues. If the Jackets? early struggles have made the playoffs a mathematical improbability, their aesthetic has turned distinctly Mayish. They outpoised, outthought and outworked the Blues for a 5-1 victory.
"I think we?re getting to a good spot," Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock said. "We?re trying like heck to play the right way. ? And our younger players are starting to get up to speed where they?re not just survivors anymore, they?re contributors every night."
The Jackets have won three in a row. In that span, they outscored their opponents 12-1, goaltender Fredrik Norrena posted consecutive shutouts and they went 166 minutes, 6 seconds without allowing a goal, a franchise record.
Norrena, too, set a franchise record with a shutout streak of 155:28, dating to November. His streak was snapped at 12:44 of the second period, when the Blues had a two-man advantage and sniper Bill Guerin scored through a screen. So did two and a half hours of perfection come to an end. Norrena (24 saves) shrugged it off and won his fourth consecutive start.
"I never thought about (the streak) at all," Norrena said.
Gilbert Brule had a goal and an assist. Fredrik Modin scored on a tap-in, Adam Foote roofed a wrist shot and Sergei Fedorov scored twice. It went like that. David Vyborny shed a six-game pointless streak with two assists. Rick Nash shucked a five-game pointless streak with two assists. The Jackets raised their record under Hitchcock to 4-3.
The Blues, who have the worst record in the NHL, lost their seventh game in a row. New team president John Davidson has to have a list of potential coaching candidates tucked into his wallet because it?s nakedly apparent that the players, including such luminaries as Doug Weight, Keith Tkachuk and Guerin are no longer tuned in to what coach Mike Kitchen is telling them. Last night, the announced crowd was 11,831, and the little mob was angry.
The Blues had a couple of early power plays and went hard at the visitors. Then the Jackets got a power play and cashed in immediately. Two lovely passes ? one by Fedorov through a defender and another by Nash from the back wall to the top of the crease ? made Modin?s goal a simple affair. Instantly, there was a seismic shift in momentum. It was like the Blues were done, right there, at 16:58 of the first period.
With 26 seconds remaining in the first period, the Jackets scored another goal. This one was Fedorov?s and it came right after another successful penalty kill. Manny Malhotra charged out of the box and was loosed on a two-on-one, with Fedorov on the right wing. Malhotra made a fine crossslot feed, Fedorov whiffed and the puck went off Fedorov?s back skate. The puck then slid, tantalizingly, through the crease and under the armpit of Blues goaltender Jason Bacashihua, who was sprawled going post-to-post.
Midway through the second period, Foote took a drop pass from Vyborny and scored on a wicked wrist shot that found the underside of the crossbar. That made it 3-0. The rout was on.
"It does feel right the way we?re playing right now," Fedorov said. "Everyone has bought in, everyone has chipped in. Now, it?s a question of effort, and continuing to do it every day."
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