Bleacher Report - Articles by Chris Owens

Columbus Blue Jackets Week in Review

Chris Owens — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 02:08:50 -0500

After blowing a late two goal lead to the defending Stanley Cup champion Penguins the Blue Jackets started this week with a visit to Washington to play Alex the Great and the Capitals. Not normally a place you go to get back on track as a hockey team. With two game tying goals in the third period by Raffi Torres and a beautiful cross crease pass in overtime by Rick Nash to R.J. Umberger the Blue Jackets escaped with a win though. Up next the Jackets had last years Presidents Cup(best overall regular season record) winning San Jose Sharks coming into the friendly confines of Nationwide arena. After a somewhat boring and defensive game played by both teams the Shark wound up taking the extra point in a shootout on a goal by Dan Boyle, as Evgeni Nabokov stood tall stopping all three shooters the Jackets sent his way. The next night the Jackets were in Atlanta to play the somewhat surprising Thrashers. The Jackets were once again lead by Raffi Torres and his two second period goals. It was not a pretty win though as being on the second end of a back to back caught up to the Jackets as they were committing lazy penalties all night long. Eight in total, including the last seven in the game. The addition of Jan Hejda in the line-up and a strong outing from backup goaltender Mathieu Garon allowed the Jackets to kill of 6 of 8 though and escape with a 4-3 regulation win. Finally, the Jackets returned home for a Saturday night match-up against early lottery pick front runner Carolina Hurricanes. The 'Canes came in losers of eleven straight games including a loss to the two win Leafs the night before. It was a classic trap game and trapped the Jackets seemed to be, at least until the third period began. Trailing 1-0 going into the third period the Jackets came out firing on all cylinders as they scored three goals in a span of 2 minutes and 41 seconds, capped by Rick Nash's 11th of the season. There was a scary moment the game though as 'Canes star goaltender Cam Ward was hurt early in the first period when Nash's skate inadvertently cut his thigh leaving a puddle of blood in his crease. Thankfully, Ward is said to be okay. Sadly, this likely will end any hope of him making the 2010 Canadian Olympic team. The Jackets finished the week going 3-0-1 and picking up seven of eight points. While going undefeated in regulation is great. The more important stat is the Jackets holding these four teams to 2.75 goals against which is half a goal below their season average of 3.25 goals a game.

Begin Slideshow

Monthly Outlook: Why the Blue Jackets Will Make a Move in November

Chris Owens — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:55:31 -0500

After the best start in franchise history, winning five of their first six games, the Jackets finished the month of October with an ugly six games stretch going 1-4-1. In those final six games, the Jackets gave up an average of 4.83 goals a game: not exactly a typical Hitchcock hockey team.

Although recent play might not suggest it, the Jackets are prone to go on a roll in the month of November.

One of the main factors that went into the Jackets ending the month as poorly as they did was due to the fact that they had to make two separate trips to the west coast and it caught up to them toward the end of the month. In the month of November, the Jackets only have to leave the Eastern Time Zone once.

Another key factor is the fact that defenseman Jan Hedja, who is a combined +51 in 2+ seasons as a Jacket, was limited to only five games in the first month of the season due to a knee injury.

In the five games he has played this year, the Jackets are giving up only 2.2 goals a game, compared to the 4.83 when he is not in the lineup.

The good news? He is due back this Wednesday against the San Jose Sharks, which should be a huge boost to the team.

Finally, the Jackets play six of their 14 games in the month of November against teams from the Eastern Conference; not really that big of deal for most teams.

The difference? Most teams do not have a guy by the name of Steve Mason between the pipes. Mason's career numbers against the East are a ridiculous 12-1-1 with a 1.14 goals against average, .959 save percentage, and six shutouts.

Nobody can really expect him to match those numbers from last year, but anything remotely close should be good enough to win most games.

The Jackets will need more than just that to improve on their average 6-5-1 record though.

Coming into the season big things were expected from center Derick Brassard after putting up a point per game pace before his season ending shoulder injury last year. He will need to pick up his play, offensively and defensively, if the Jackets want to start putting winning streaks together.

In addition to Brassard, defenseman Mike Commordore is still trying to get into game shape after missing most of training camp and the beginning of the season with various injuries. He will need to start logging more minutes to give the young defense of the Jackets a little more stability.

All in all, the month of November is shaping up to be a memorable one for the Jackets. In addition to the points noted above, one more thing to keep an eye on is the emergence of captain Rick Nash as an elite player in the National Hockey League.

Blue Jackets-Thrashers: Columbus Gets Down and Dirty in Atlanta

Chris Owens — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 10:30:52 -0500

The game against the Thrashers last night could have been described as "critical". The Jackets had plenty of time to dwell on their 7-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers and without a good showing last night, any confidence that the Jackets had built up in the early parts of November would have been all but gone.

Lucky for the Jackets, they played the exact type of game that Coach Hitchcock had been preaching since he arrived in Columbus.

They jumped out to an early 1-0 lead at 8:36 in the first period. Captain Rick Nash extended his goal-scoring streak to six games when he buried a rebound off a shot from defensemen Ole-Kristian Tollefsen, who picked up the primary assist on the goal. Rookie point leader Derick Brassard also picked up an assist on the play.

After the early goal, the Jackets defense buckled down and only allowed a total of 15 shots for the game. This allowed a light night for rookie goaltender Steve Mason, who picked up his first career NHL shutout.

"It's tough holding a one-goal lead for the majority of the game," Mason said. "The defensemen did a great job of blocking shots and making sure I could see the puck. They made it easy for me." —courtesy of Bluejackets.com

The Blue Jackets put the game away with an empty net goal from R.J. Umberger. Rick Nash also picked up his second point of the night by picking up the only assist on the goal. Umberger scored his eighth goal of the season. He didn't pick up his eighth goal last season until January 20th.

Notes and Observations:

Rookie center Derick Brassard picked up his 20th point of the season in his 19th game. Brassard sits tied at 19th in the NHL in points.
Columbus allowed its fewest amount of shots on goal this season. They gave up only 15, which is one short of a franchise record.
Columbus coach Ken Hitchcock announced after the game that Mason would be between the pipes Wednesday against Phoenix.
After 20 games, the Blue Jackets sit at 9-8-3. This has them sitting in ninth place in the Western Conference.
The Blue Jackets have picked up points in nine out of the last 11 games, including 12 points in the month of November with three games remaining.

Blue Jackets Travel into "The ATL" to Face the Thrashers

Chris Owens — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:21:02 -0500

After having to live with the sour taste of dropping an egg and losing 7-2 to the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night that Columbus Blue Jackets travel into Atlanta to meet former Jacket Ron Hainsey and the Atlanta Thrashers.

The Thrashers are currently on a three game losing streak after falling to the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 Thursday night. The good news for the Thrashers is historically the Blue Jackets have been able to heal slumping teams and players. You do not have to look very far to see the last example of it either.

On Tuesday night, the Oilers came into Nationwide Arena licking their wounds after looking like a peewee hockey team the night before in Detroit and awoke to a tune of seven goals on just 19 shots. Not to mention slumping Dustin Penner scored his fourth goal of the season after going pointless in the three previous games.

The key storyline to this game is this is the only time this season the Blue Jackets get to see former teammate Hainsey in action. Hainsey had 19 goals and 64 assist for a total of 83 points in his three seasons spent on the blue line in Columbus before signing with the Trashers this past off season.

Hainsey is off to a good start this season putting up 12 points in 18 games including six power-play points. Also, right winger Derek Dorsett will make his return the the Jackets lineup tonight, which should add some much needed spark to a energyless hockey team.

Keys to the Game

Can the anemic Blue Jackets power play take advantage of the man advantage? The Jackets are dead last in the league converting on only 12.1 percent of their chances. Look for newly found play maker Jason Chimera as the point man of the second power player unit. Speaking of special teams. Can the penalty kill get back on track after giving up two power-play goals on only three chances against the Oilers on Tuesday.
After a subpar performance by starting goaltender Pascal Leclaire, rookie Steve Mason will get his fifth career NHL start against a wide open offensive team. Can the kid step up and make big saves to keep the Blue Jackets in it?
Score first! Columbus is 0-6-3 when giving up the first goal of the game.

Players to Watch

Hainsey—how will he play against his former team?
Rick Nash—after a slow start, he is on a four-game goal-scoring steak. Can he keep it up?
Derick Brassard, after winning rookie of month in October, has yet to come back down to the real world. He has 19 points in 18 games, including points in five straight.

Derek Dorsett to Return to CBJ Lineup

Chris Owens — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 19:42:16 -0500

After an ugly 7-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers, the Columbus Blue Jackets have re-called Derek Dorsett (pictured above) from their AHL affiliate the Syracuse Crunch. The move is not a surprising one at all. The Blue Jackets came out flat and looked like they were playing bumper cars all night instead of playing hockey.

"Derek gives the team a lot of energy," coach Ken Hitchcock said. "He doesn't bring it once in awhile. He brings it all the time." —The Columbus Dispatch

Energy is something the Blue Jackets definitely need. They currently sit at 10th in the Western Conference with a record of 8-8-3 and a total of 19 points. The good news is that they are only one point out of a playoff spot.

During his tenure with the Blue Jackets earlier this season, Dorsett showed that he was not afraid to agitate and mix things up with the opposing team to get the energy flowing through the hockey club. He played 10 games and had a goal, an assist and led the team in penalty minutes with 56.

Keep an eye out for Dorsett come Saturday night in Atlanta, where the Blue Jackets get their first look at former teammate Ron Hainsey.