Blue Jackets: 2 ... Maple Leafs: 4
Friday, October 20, 2006
Well, my mood that was pretty sour leading in to the final minutes of the game was at least temporarily alleviated in thanks to Alexander Svitov's goal at about 30-40 seconds left to go in the game. A little novacaine for the soul and whatnot ... though once it wears off I'll probably be smarting.All in all, what a miserable experience. It isn't so much the loss that bothered me as much as the fact that where I was sitting (dead center upper row, which was an awesome view by the way) was also where the unofficial Glee Club for the Maple Leafs were. Seriously, it's like about 80% of the Leafs fans who made the trek down to Columbus for the game all planned in advance to sit together in one spot.
Now, the cheering and the "Go Leafs! Go!" chant wasn't what got under my skin. That's just what happens when you got a large contingency of visiting fans from a place like Toronto. But, dude ... dude ... this one guy two rows behind me. It was like he thought he was Jaws from ESPN and the NFL. Either that or he was the disembodied spirit of Jaws possessing a Leafs' fan for the night while his body was shut off since it wasn't the NFL weekend. Me and the people next to me were all but groaning every few minutes at his voice and some of the things he said.
But either way, this all has no bearing on the game, which was about as exciting as reading the unabridged version of War and Peace in one sitting. That first period was the end-all, be-all of snore-fests ... probably the worst first period so far out of any game for any team this season, both by the Leafs and the Jackets.
Things picked up in the 2nd period with a tit-for-tat of goals between the Jackets and Leafs, but then when Toronto got those two goals just a little over 30 seconds apart by Kyle Wellwood and Michael Peca, well ... it was like getting stabbed in the eye with a syringe.
What a disgusting effort by the defense, who sat on their haunches and look dumbfounded for at least two or three of the goals on Leclaire. And even more of a disgusting effort on the power play. Nothing like going 0-for-8 to bring back memories of last year's total man-advantage implosion that lasted the whole season. The boos when the CBJ didn't convert, of course, also meant everyone else had the same memories in mind.
But, hey ... let's look on the bright side (yes, there's a bright side): again, it's just five games in. The Jackets had to deal with one of the worst time off schedules ever for a team at the start of a season, and they still have five points out of a possible ten. And considering their history in October, it could be a Helluva lot worse than that.
Tomorrow? The Penguins in Pittsburgh! I got a feeling this won't be a 7-2 massacre like last season when the Crosby Express rolled into Columbus, but here's hoping the Blue Jackets at least shook off some of that additional rust they built up after a week off.
