Putting things into perspective.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Okay, so let's put the most insane spin on the current Blue Jackets predicament, just for fun. Trust me, you'll laugh.
-The Blue Jackets are 1st in the Central by 3 points, and 2nd in the West (by the good graces of seeding by division leaders).
-The Blue Jackets have the 4th best power play, and the most goals on the power play (8) in the league. They also rank a not-too-shabby 16th in the penalty kill.
-They have the most goals, tied with Chicago and Buffalo with 12 goals.
-Pascal Leclaire has a .911 Sv.% and 2.67 GAA.
-Three Blue Jackets are in the top ten for points, Nash and Vyborny having 6 and Duvie Westcott having 5.
So, hey! Let's have a party, right!?
But, no. Actually, we as Blue Jackets fans shouldn't be partying hard. We should be optimistic, but patient. So let's tone down the desire to jump out of our seats and start clamoring for the Stanley Cup.
That's better. A little too dull, but it'll have to do.
In any event, let's put things into perspective. Even with Nikolai Zherdev's return, the lamp lighting that it seems a lot of players are doing, the jaw-dropping power play cooked up by Gary Agnew, and the various other positives that we should be heralding, the Blue Jackets are only three games in to the season!
It's also fair to remember who the team's opponents have been so far. The Blue Jackets have faced one team which has been projected between lower rung playoff spot, or just outside the playoffs (Canucks), one team that only Scott Burnside seems to think may pull off a shocking run deep into the playoffs if they make it (Coyotes), and one team that, with the exception of their stellar pre-season and an applaud-worthy win over the Nashville Predators on their opening night, are still considered one of the worst teams around the league (Blackhawks).
Of course Blue Jackets fans are chomping at the bit to grab on to any signs of light after five seasons of woe and misery at the bottom of the NHL heap. We're sick of being pessimistic about each season, and curling up in a hole whenever we hear one of our top players has been injured before the season even began.
But all this excitement has to be tempered. It has to be put in check a little bit, considering we're not even a full week into the season and have yet to play a team that people are projecting to make the playoffs. This Saturday, when the Blue Jackets make the trip to Minnesota to meet the Wild at the X-Cel Center, that'll probably be the team's first real test against a team that people like. And if that isn't enough, two of the last three games this month for the Blue Jackets are against dominant teams, the San Jose Sharks and New Jersey Devils respectively.
I'm not saying sit on your hands and start second-guessing when you should start considering the team the "real deal" or anything. But don't let a strong start out of the gate blind you to what is going to be a very uphill battle from start to finish.
Me? I'll be waiting until after the 10th game of the season -- November 1st at home against the Avalanche -- before I start settling in for however the season is looking. Speaking of which, Army of the Ohio will be on hiatus between November 2nd to November 10th while I'm down in North Carolina to see some longtime friends and girlfriend for vacation after my second to last set of classes wraps up at the end of this month. So just throwing that out there in advance. I'm sure End of the Bench will be more than happy to pick up the slack while I'm gone. :D
-The Blue Jackets are 1st in the Central by 3 points, and 2nd in the West (by the good graces of seeding by division leaders).
-The Blue Jackets have the 4th best power play, and the most goals on the power play (8) in the league. They also rank a not-too-shabby 16th in the penalty kill.
-They have the most goals, tied with Chicago and Buffalo with 12 goals.
-Pascal Leclaire has a .911 Sv.% and 2.67 GAA.
-Three Blue Jackets are in the top ten for points, Nash and Vyborny having 6 and Duvie Westcott having 5.
So, hey! Let's have a party, right!?
But, no. Actually, we as Blue Jackets fans shouldn't be partying hard. We should be optimistic, but patient. So let's tone down the desire to jump out of our seats and start clamoring for the Stanley Cup.
That's better. A little too dull, but it'll have to do.
In any event, let's put things into perspective. Even with Nikolai Zherdev's return, the lamp lighting that it seems a lot of players are doing, the jaw-dropping power play cooked up by Gary Agnew, and the various other positives that we should be heralding, the Blue Jackets are only three games in to the season!
It's also fair to remember who the team's opponents have been so far. The Blue Jackets have faced one team which has been projected between lower rung playoff spot, or just outside the playoffs (Canucks), one team that only Scott Burnside seems to think may pull off a shocking run deep into the playoffs if they make it (Coyotes), and one team that, with the exception of their stellar pre-season and an applaud-worthy win over the Nashville Predators on their opening night, are still considered one of the worst teams around the league (Blackhawks).
Of course Blue Jackets fans are chomping at the bit to grab on to any signs of light after five seasons of woe and misery at the bottom of the NHL heap. We're sick of being pessimistic about each season, and curling up in a hole whenever we hear one of our top players has been injured before the season even began.
But all this excitement has to be tempered. It has to be put in check a little bit, considering we're not even a full week into the season and have yet to play a team that people are projecting to make the playoffs. This Saturday, when the Blue Jackets make the trip to Minnesota to meet the Wild at the X-Cel Center, that'll probably be the team's first real test against a team that people like. And if that isn't enough, two of the last three games this month for the Blue Jackets are against dominant teams, the San Jose Sharks and New Jersey Devils respectively.
I'm not saying sit on your hands and start second-guessing when you should start considering the team the "real deal" or anything. But don't let a strong start out of the gate blind you to what is going to be a very uphill battle from start to finish.
Me? I'll be waiting until after the 10th game of the season -- November 1st at home against the Avalanche -- before I start settling in for however the season is looking. Speaking of which, Army of the Ohio will be on hiatus between November 2nd to November 10th while I'm down in North Carolina to see some longtime friends and girlfriend for vacation after my second to last set of classes wraps up at the end of this month. So just throwing that out there in advance. I'm sure End of the Bench will be more than happy to pick up the slack while I'm gone. :D
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At 10:12 AM,
said…
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At 11:50 AM,
said…
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Drew - Hey, don't sell yourself short in web page designing. Believe me, you're talking to someone who has no idea at all what the frack he is doing when trying to figure out how to make AotO look any good, especially when it comes to graphics and coding!
Kat - Sorry, it's just one person with way too much free time on his hands thanks to the wonders of online classes and no life. :D
Paul - I'm really looking forward to the end of this month, like I said, to see just how the team measures up to "playoff" teams. November should be a real eye opener, too. 3 Preds games, 2 Avs games, and other notable teams sprinkled in like the Red Wings and Flyers. -
At 2:39 PM,
said…
So does that mean I actually will have to post on the weekends while you're gone so CBJ fans are up to date??? Oh man...
On an unrelated note, stop by the site and tell me if the current look (without an updated picture) is better or worse than the old look. I got frustrated by not being able to see links under the old theme.
Go Jackets!