Blue Jackets: 2 ... Blackhawks: 4
Sunday, September 24, 2006
On the bright side, at least this time it was just a two-goal differential.
I went to sleep at the start of the 3rd period again. It's hard to stay interested when your only option is the radio, and it's the pre-season. I have a good feeling once games start getting television coverage, it'll be infinitely easier for me to shake off my early to bed sleep schedule and stay up along with the game, as well as others on NHL Center Ice.
So what was I able to draw from this game? Well, Alexandre Picard scored yet again. To be completely honest, if he doesn't make the cut at the start of the regular season I'm actually going to be a little surprised. The kid's scored in three straight games now, and he just seems to keep getting better with each game.
As for negatives, it was once again in net as Fredrik Norrena gave upall four goals on 28 shots. Now we're stuck with a pretty bad situation concerning if it is either Norrena or Ty Conklin who'll be taking the backup role. It's almost as if absolutely nothing has been solved here ... when Norrena has a good game, so does Conklin (a la the 4-1 win over the Sabres where they shared net duty). But if one has a bad game? The other also does, thus keeping the whole contest close.
Don't expect to see either of them in net anymore this pre-season, either. Pascal Leclaire is finally being put in net as of tonight against the Carolina Hurricanes. We'll see how that works out, since this will be his first full game in goal, and second time since the opening pre-season game against Nashville where the Blue Jackets won 2-0.
Edit (4:25 PM EST): Aaron Portzline's article in The Columbus Dispatch on last night's loss is a Godsend, as it allows me to see a couple of goofs I made. In particular that one of the goals against the CBJ was an empty netter, and that another of the goals was deflected in on a defenseman's skate. So I want to take back a little bit of the heavy handed criticism of Norrena over last night's game.
I went to sleep at the start of the 3rd period again. It's hard to stay interested when your only option is the radio, and it's the pre-season. I have a good feeling once games start getting television coverage, it'll be infinitely easier for me to shake off my early to bed sleep schedule and stay up along with the game, as well as others on NHL Center Ice.
So what was I able to draw from this game? Well, Alexandre Picard scored yet again. To be completely honest, if he doesn't make the cut at the start of the regular season I'm actually going to be a little surprised. The kid's scored in three straight games now, and he just seems to keep getting better with each game.
As for negatives, it was once again in net as Fredrik Norrena gave up
Don't expect to see either of them in net anymore this pre-season, either. Pascal Leclaire is finally being put in net as of tonight against the Carolina Hurricanes. We'll see how that works out, since this will be his first full game in goal, and second time since the opening pre-season game against Nashville where the Blue Jackets won 2-0.
Edit (4:25 PM EST): Aaron Portzline's article in The Columbus Dispatch on last night's loss is a Godsend, as it allows me to see a couple of goofs I made. In particular that one of the goals against the CBJ was an empty netter, and that another of the goals was deflected in on a defenseman's skate. So I want to take back a little bit of the heavy handed criticism of Norrena over last night's game.
