Breaking Down the Penalty Kill

The Blue Jackets currently rank 30th in the NHL on the penalty kill, with a paltry 71.4% being killed without a goal. While that rate wouldn't be the worst all time (that dishonor belongs to the 1979-90 Kings at 67.7%), it would put the current Blue Jackets squad among the ten worst penalty killing teams since the NHL began keeping track of the stat in 1963. Despite the current run of eight straight killed penalties over the last two games, the Blue Jackets could make some small adjustments that would help improve the unit. To figure out these adjustments, lets go to the tape!

Atkinson Sent to Springfield

This news just popped up on twitter thanks to the Blue Jackets beat writers, who took a break from their usual negative stat spewing to share the decision.  The reaction was exactly as I had anticipated, with much disdain and disappointment as it would seem mini-Cam, Gizmo, and other 'not tall' expressions were shared wishing it was someone else.

While the move makes little sense in that Atkinson was one of the harder working players game in and game out, it does make sense in that his contract allows more flexibility than any of the others.  They have the ability to call him up and send him down at any time, unlike the player who I personally would have sent down, Derek MacKenzie.  He would have to clear waivers before going to Springfield, which is fairly risky business for what many consider to be a workhorse fourth liner.

This does come as a very curious decision though, as Jared Boll was scheduled to miss a substantial amount of time with his injured finger, leaving only one reserve player on the Jackets active roster to move in and out of games.  Last night, that 'one' was Maxim Mayorov, who seemed to be one of the more productive forwards in the game against Vancouver.  In any case, this now leaves the Blue Jackets with a full roster on the ice, but no one to replace an injury (or flu-ish type game decision).  Could this mean a trade is looming?

I certainly hope not.  The team has not been 'bad' per se, they have simply had rocky stretches during their games.  Certainly goal scoring has to be a concern (two goals scored in literally every game has them at 19th in the league) which still begs the question of why they would send down one of their goal scorers, who has an absolute cannon of a shot.  Couple that with the fact that they outshot Colorado 30-14 in the first two periods last night, but could only muster a single goal, and I have to wonder if it is not so much the execution of their offense, but the follow up.

Case in point: Rick Nash scored the game tying goal in the second period by following up on his own shot to bang home a rebound.  Interestingly enough, while the play may have been slightly broken, he was the first forward to reach the net after his own shot.  I think the issue here is getting into the harder areas of the ice.  Varlamov was decent last night, but he wasn't closing the door on every shot. The rebounds were there for the taking but the lack of net presence shut the door on many opportunities.

This post was designed to be a simple reaction to the Atkinson demotion, but it seems like there is so much more going on here.  Good teams win their games because they outwork the opposition.  Great teams find a way to win games they have no business winning.  For the Jackets, I think it's time to play a full sixty minutes in order to get classified as a 'good team'.  In 20 games, when they've got everything sorted out, I will start selling that 'great team' concept a bit more.

In the meantime, I hope this demotion is short lived.  Cam brought a lot of fire to a relatively listless (at times) on ice product, and he was quickly becoming a fan favourite.

Carry the Flag!

Questions to the NHL Need Answers

It is often easy as a fan to get the feeling as though the referees and the league is out to get your favourite team. Admittedly, I have tried to avoid getting behind this logic regarding the Blue Jackets, even though there have been many games where after watching, I can not help but think that the league officials and on ice officials simply do not offer the Blue Jackets the same level of respect as their opponents.

Unfortunately, two circumstances in the Sunday game against Nashville bring out rather glaring examples of this. Rather than spend a few paragraphs spouting hateful banter against the league, I will try to reasonably discuss the logic of each decision, and consider both sides of the fence.

First, the no goal call on MacKenzie, who appeared to shovel an Umberger rebound past Rinne for a 1-0 Columbus lead. I fully expect video via youtube eventually, and will update at that time, but for now, let me simply describe it. MacKenzie poked the puck with his stick, which disappeared beyond Rinne's pad (going into the net, obviously, as that would be the only place it could go). A Nashville defender slammed his stick toward the puck shortly after, pressing Rinne's pad all the way into the net. At that time, the puck was not visible on any of the replay angles, including one angle which showed the entirety of goal line, without an inch of black puck visible.

Secondary to all of this, the referee responsible for waving off the goal was against the boards along the goal line, likely over twenty feet away from the play, and on the opposite side of the net. As replay very clearly indicated, he began moving the whistle to his mouth well after the Nashville defender shoved Rinne's pad into the net. With that explained, the first question I would like answered, would be how the ref could conclusively claim at that time that he saw and believed no goal was scored? His decision to call a 'no goal' was reinforced by the war room in Toronto, claiming insufficient visible evidence to call a good goal. Had the referee been in proper position to view the puck crossing the line, or in other words had he made the opposite call, the goal would have stood.

The last concern I have with the no goal call, and one I would love to have answered by the league, is if there is no visible evidence of the puck either on the line or even near the line, especially with clear video evidence of the entire line unobstructed, how could it not be logical to assume that the puck was clearly in the net, especially with visible evidence some seconds later showing a Nashville player pulling the puck back across the line? Nothing in their logic adds to a fair and logical decision.

Here is the 'before' freeze frame, where you can clearly see the puck sitting in front of the post;

Here is the after.  Weird, no puck!

Now, on to my second question. How is it possible that Shea Weber, after being hit by Umberger and getting cut, spending some time on the ice, was able to continue playing the game? Here is the ruling I found in the NHL Rulebook provided by NHL.com

8.3 Blood – A player who is bleeding or who has visible blood on his equipment or body shall be ruled off the ice at the next stoppage of play. Such player shall not be permitted to return to play until the bleeding has been stopped and the cut or abrasion covered (if necessary). It is required that any affected equipment and/or uniform be properly decontaminated or exchanged.

Based on this rule, as Weber had clearly sustained a facial cut which was bleeding consistently, he should have been sent off the ice prior to play resuming with 5.5 seconds left of the clock. Weber was clearly infuriated by the decision to not call a penalty on RJ Umberger leading to his cut, and began to take his frustration out on any Blue Jacket player coming near him, including two rather vicious cross checks on Fedor Tyutin as time expired. Tyutin, bothered by the aggression, stood up to defend himself, at which time Weber threw a very clear suckerpunch, knocking Tyutin back down to the ice.

This dangerous misconduct could have easily been avoided had the referees followed the rule clearly stated above, forcing Weber off the ice for repair. I would hope that the league makes a point of holding the referees responsible for what should have been a textbook decision, and furthermore, make an example of Weber for clearly going beyond the rules to take revenge against the opposing team.

It is a shame that we as fans are forced to lose enjoyment of the game to tolerate these kinds of mistakes by both on and off ice officials. I will not be the person to comment on here about the penalties that were missed (which went both ways) as the game is fast, and those mistakes are much easier to make, but the two concerns I have outlined above are simply not excusable.

Carry the Flag!

Adversity Mounts.. Nash on the IR

Concerns are once again running amok in Columbus with captain and leading scorer Rick Nash moving to the IR.  According to the Dispatch, his injury was not healing the way they anticipated, and I am left wondering whether they are simply not willing to create a bigger injury, or whether they are downplaying his leg injury to ease the minds of fans..

At any rate, MacKenzie has been recalled from the Crunch, which actually is not the worst thing.  He had tremendous hustle in training camp and in the pre-season, consistently being one of the names I would write down in regards to grit and effort on the ice.  While his time in Columbus has been minimum, he has appeared in 23 games for Syracuse, amassing 8 goals and 10 assists.  He should be the perfect fit on the third or fourth line playing with Boller and Dorsett.

This move also makes one question what it will take for Howson to pull the trigger on a trade, be it big name or mediocre name.  Blunden was clearly a minimal trade and really did not suit the needs of the Jackets, considering he has been in the AHL all season, and he is known for his injury woes.  Cory Murphy was waived by the Panthers today, who is a puck moving defensemen with a salary under one million.  Could it be possible that Howson makes a move for him to replace a guy like Russell, who has a great deal of trade value considering what he has brought to the Jackets over the last month or so?

I personally hope Russell stays around, as he is easily the most visible defensemen on the Jackets squad in terms of puck movement, and I think his removal would be a clear loss for them when it came to game time.

But stay positive and Carry the Flag.  The guys are playing well, and as a unit.  Here is hoping they can hang on until some of the major names can return from what Anna likes to call their "visit from the injury ninja."