Game #08: Blue Jackets vs. Kings
Friday, October 27, 2006
Columbus Blue Jackets (2-4-1)vs.
Los Angeles Kings (3-6-2)
Hey, guys! Can you guess who is in last place in the Western Conference!? I'll give you a hint: their name starts with "Blue" and it ends with "Jackets". Take your time, I know it's a pretty tough question.
I guess that's a little harsh, though. Even after the long weekend last week which consisted of three games over four nights, the Blue Jackets are still at least 2 games behind most teams in the West, with the Blues and the Flames being the only exceptions at 8 games. But that's really just silver lining around a gray cloud if you actually expect the Blue Jackets to win their next two games. And the first of those two games to catching up with a majority of other teams in how many games have been played this season is tonight, when the Kings come to town.
While the Kings aren't bad like the Blue Jackets have been so far, they're also definitely not good, ranking 12th in the West and 4th in the Pacific thus far. Their main goalie -- Dan Cloutier -- is having a rough time, and Mathieu Garon, the backup, has been outplaying him (it could be disputed that Garon is the current starting goalie at this point, too). Their power play is anemic (27th), which is a Godsend for a Blue Jackets team that has given up power play chances by the bushel the past couple games and been spanked thanks to them.
Meanwhile, plenty of things going on with the Blue Jackets, ranging from Fedorov telling Nash to calm down and not press so much, the reuiniting of the Z/Feddy/Nash line, Dan Fritsche returning to the lineup, and Alexandre Picard being sent back down to Syracuse. Your guess is as good as mine as to who is being scratched for tonight's game from those who are healthy and not being sent down. Balastik again? Possibly. While checking out the fantasy news on FOX Sports (yeah, that's a reliable source), I noticed with interest that Jason Chimera's name was not mentioned in the lines that were trotted out and put together by Gallant during this week's practices. No idea what's going on there, but being a Chimmer guy, I'd hate to see him scratched.
I need to get going now though, so apologies for the shorter than usual pre-game speculating and observing. I have a shower to take, a bus to catch, and a Starbucks down by Nationwide Arena to hunker down in for the next several hours along with my laptop and my final project assignments. If anyone out there cares to bug me before the game, look for a guy with shaggy hair, khakis and a dress shirt sipping on tea and eating coffee cake at the Starbucks down there. If you're a C-Bus resident, you know which one.
Go Jackets!
Hey, guys! Can you guess who is in last place in the Western Conference!? I'll give you a hint: their name starts with "Blue" and it ends with "Jackets". Take your time, I know it's a pretty tough question.
I guess that's a little harsh, though. Even after the long weekend last week which consisted of three games over four nights, the Blue Jackets are still at least 2 games behind most teams in the West, with the Blues and the Flames being the only exceptions at 8 games. But that's really just silver lining around a gray cloud if you actually expect the Blue Jackets to win their next two games. And the first of those two games to catching up with a majority of other teams in how many games have been played this season is tonight, when the Kings come to town.
While the Kings aren't bad like the Blue Jackets have been so far, they're also definitely not good, ranking 12th in the West and 4th in the Pacific thus far. Their main goalie -- Dan Cloutier -- is having a rough time, and Mathieu Garon, the backup, has been outplaying him (it could be disputed that Garon is the current starting goalie at this point, too). Their power play is anemic (27th), which is a Godsend for a Blue Jackets team that has given up power play chances by the bushel the past couple games and been spanked thanks to them.
Meanwhile, plenty of things going on with the Blue Jackets, ranging from Fedorov telling Nash to calm down and not press so much, the reuiniting of the Z/Feddy/Nash line, Dan Fritsche returning to the lineup, and Alexandre Picard being sent back down to Syracuse. Your guess is as good as mine as to who is being scratched for tonight's game from those who are healthy and not being sent down. Balastik again? Possibly. While checking out the fantasy news on FOX Sports (yeah, that's a reliable source), I noticed with interest that Jason Chimera's name was not mentioned in the lines that were trotted out and put together by Gallant during this week's practices. No idea what's going on there, but being a Chimmer guy, I'd hate to see him scratched.
I need to get going now though, so apologies for the shorter than usual pre-game speculating and observing. I have a shower to take, a bus to catch, and a Starbucks down by Nationwide Arena to hunker down in for the next several hours along with my laptop and my final project assignments. If anyone out there cares to bug me before the game, look for a guy with shaggy hair, khakis and a dress shirt sipping on tea and eating coffee cake at the Starbucks down there. If you're a C-Bus resident, you know which one.
Go Jackets!
Hopefully it's Shelley getting benched.
yeah... righhhht.
Maybe it will be a "message scratch", with a Modin or Nash *gasp* or Foote getting scratched. Well, not Foote since I don't think we have any extra defensemen currently with the club. But he would actually be my first choice.
Maybe we'll see you down there tonight. Who knows?