Pre-Season in Columbus..

Last night, the Blue Jackets played host to the Minnesota Wild, in their first home pre-season game of the year. The big line of Nash, Brassard, and Huselius were together, firing on all cylinders, and all seemed well. While Minnesota only had a handful of NHLers in the lineup, Columbus took the opportunity and ran with it, scoring five goals, and taking full control of the game.

While I would normally break down some of the finer points of the game, I think it is time for me to step in ahead of many hockey pundits "chirping away" at what was an 0-3 pre-season record for Columbus. Conceptually, the pre-season is designed to warm up for the season, get the developing youth of the front lines, and experiment with systems. So far, this tactic has been extremely useful for Columbus, as it has really allowed John Moore to stand out and make a name for himself.

Even on some of the Jackets-centric sites I have seen some negativity towards their play, making me wonder if they even bothered reading the scoresheet, let alone watching the game. In at least two of the games, Garon played great hockey until he was replace by an up and comer. In fact, I believe in both situations, the Jackets had the lead up until that point.... pretty impressive for 10-15 AHLers and a backup goaltender.

I think the best advice I can give about the NHL pre-season, is do not treat it like any other sport might. This is a chance to truly experiment for coaching staffs and young players, and a team like the Jackets would be foolish to not take full advantage of that.

Carry the Flag! Let's bring down the Bruins tonight!

Columbus vs. Pittsburgh 9/15

There are a lot of ways to look at pre-season hockey. Some teams use the opportunity to experiment with new line combos, other teams like to throw the load on young developing players to see how they handle themselves, and some teams use the experience to simply gear up for the season. I think for most Jackets fans, last night was a breath holder with the new back up netminder Garon between the pipes, hoping the goalie could impress Hitch enough to actually utilize more than just Steve Mason this year.

There was no question Garon could bear the weight. Stopping all 21 shots he faced, including a couple of very strong attempts from Crosby, Garon really built his credibility with at least this fan, and likely most others. While he was the bright spot in net, after removed for the third period in favour of a young Danny LaCosta, it showed that both Mason and Garon are going to have to remain healthy this year.

Pittsburgh brought a lot to the final frame, tying the game twice before winning early into overtime. While it was an unfortunate series of events and a true wakeup call for LaCosta and a couple young Jackets defenders, it was also the perfect opportunity to display the teams resilience. Losing a three goal lead is very hard on a team, and I will take a lot out of them coming back and scoring their fourth goal.

There were other positives to the game. The Jackets abysmal powerplay managed to score two goals on four opportunities. Mayorov had a pair, with Voracek netting the other goal. Young Filatov and Moore both had assists, looking strong on the ice, and Blunden, fighting for a roster spot, managed to impress with a solid game.

All in all, games like these are a lot more relevant in substance than in scoring. It will certainly be more clear how they have developed over the summer once their full roster dresses, but at this point, I am more than comfortable suggesting that last night was a strong success.

Carry the Flag!