Game One Tonight!

Personally as a Jackets fan, I have been waiting for a good hockey game for quite some time now, and unfortunately after the win against Chicago, that effort seemed far from sight.

But the playoff Jackets are going to be different.  I have my expectations, and my assumptions, and right now, I assume they will take this series very seriously, if not for the fans, for the competition.

We all know Detroit is one of the best teams in the league, but we also know the Jackets come to play with talented teams match up against them.  With their defensive style and possession game, Columbus could stand to stymy a very potent Wings offense.

Some quick notes about the game...  Huselius and Modin have both been cleared to play.  Steve Mason will obviously be getting the start for Columbus.  Also, Derick Brassard was not cleared by doctors yesterday, which is both unfortunate and good in a way.

Lines are...

Huselius - Malhotra - Nash

Umberger - Vermette - Voracek

Modin - Peca - Chimera

Torres - Williams - Boll

Frankly, I think the fourth line should get more minutes than the third line, and I certainly hope they are running a 1a and 1b rather than a line 1 and a line 2.  Realistically, taking Nash off line 1 and replacing him with someone like Modin immediately drops the quality of the line to that of a third line in today's NHL.  I certainly hope Hitch keeps that in mind..

Carry the Flag!

Why the Jackets Can Beat the Wings

Hey there Jacket fans, this is Money here, the newest contributor to Carry the Flag. Before I get started on how the Jackets can take down the mighty Red Wings I'd like to give you a quick rundown about yours truly. Growing up in Canada, I've played the game since birth. I have experience at the college, junior and professional level. I'll try and bring a coach's and scout's eye to Carry the Flag.

On to Columbus versus Detroit. Goaltending is one glaring advantage that the Blue Jackets have over the Red Wings. Conklin and Osgood have both been inconsistent all season, while Mason has been a revelation. This is obvious and has been pointed out by prognosticators as the key to the series. Personally, I think they are wrong. Of course this will be a factor, but not everything. The Wings have had trouble in net all season and finished near the top of the league. Mason was dynamite most of the year and yet the team finished well behind the Red Wings. If the trends in net continue the Wings still should come out on top.

The real story here is the Columbus defence. Very quietly Columbus has become the best defensive team in the league. Mason is a part of it, but not far from the whole story. They have one of the leagues top penalty kills, are great on face-offs, rarely turn the puck over and allowed the least number of shots in the NHL. They are also very physical, finishing sixth in the league in hits. This formula of great defense, physical play and top notch goaltending is the same one used by the Oilers, Flames and twice by the Ducks to eliminate the Red Wings in four of the last five seasons.

The Red Wings are also not the team they used to be. They have regressed slightly when it comes to their puck possession. The last few seasons Detroit has been unbelievable at holding onto the puck. They have fallen off this season. In fact Columbus finished second in the league, with close to 200 less turnovers than the Red Wings. The rare times that the Jackets do turn the puck over they do not allow shots or goals off these chances.

Much has also been made of the leagues top ranked powerplay going up against the leagues worst. If I hear this again I'm going to go on a rampage. Powerplay's go against penalty kills. In this case the leagues worst powerplay is going against the worst penalty kill in the playoffs. And the leagues best powerplay is going against one of the leagues best penalty kills. This is basically a wash.

The key to this series is who controls the puck. Detroit is a puck control team, while Columbus is effective against this type of team due to their physical nature and dedication to defense. While the organization is new to the playoffs, many of the players have a plethora of postseason experience. If the team can continue to play the way they have this season they have a legitimate opportunity to knock off the reigning Stanley Cup champions.

Time to Talk Playoffs..

The red tape is gone, the excitement calmed, and the reality completely settled on the Jackets.  They are officially in their first playoff series against the Detroit Red Wings.

Before I consider what it will take to dethrone the defending Stanley Cup champions, I want to voice a few things regarding how they got to this point.

One week ago, hell, more like half a month ago, the Jackets knew their chances of getting into the playoffs were great.  They followed that optimism with some of their worst games of the year, winning only three of their last ten regular season games.  In the finale Saturday night, they squandered a two goal lead and gave a non playoff team the satisfaction of beating the ever living hell out of them in the final two periods, outscoring the Jackets 6-1.  So badly was the Jackets effort, it left a more than sellout crowd stunned and in pain over their blunder.  Yet another game thrown away, and they handed their chances to a streaking St Louis Blues team.

As though capping off my personal disdain, the Blues beat a disinterested Colorado team today, tying the Jackets in points for the year, and taking control of 6th place.  That gave St Louis the ability to chose their fate, and they took advantage of that opportunity like a true playoff ready squad.  It also busted my pre-season prediction of the Jackets finishing in 6th place, giving me some personal anger, but hey, we can't win them all!

Now, on to this series...

Columbus, based on their recent performance, is far from prepared to play a playoff series.  They are out of sync, questionable defensively, far from consistent offensively, and their special teams remain one of their biggest crutches.  If ever a time for the coaching, leadership, and unity of this team to step it up, this is it.

Focus should be on their defensive game.  Playing a stellar offense like Detroit means zero mistakes in the defensive end.  Steve Mason will have to be their best asset, and stretch passes must only be made when there is a Jacket on the receiving end.

Offensively, Columbus needs to hit the net.  The minute weakness in Detroit is their goaltending, which has been far from consistent this year.  Once a shot opportunity is available, it needs to go hard and low on net, with all other forwards crashing the net hard.  Grinder goals are a major asset for any team trying to get through a playoff series, and Detroit has been on the receiving end of such efforts quite a few times this decade.

Finally, the powerplay.  It should not be something I need to be proclaiming, but I will anyway.  THEY NEED TO SCORE WITH THE MAN ADVANTAGE!  I capitalize that because it is so blatantly obvious that playoff teams succeed from a 20+ percentage on the powerplay.  Pressure needs to be consistent to put Detroit on their heels, and the puck needs to hit the net actively.

I will have a lot more to weigh in on when they finish their first game.  Here is hoping they actually bring their 'A' game for this series, because there is zero room for error.

Carry the Flag!

They Did It.

Well, they did it.

Can you believe it?

I am still pinching myself.
I cried three times. And then Rick Nash came on and talked about Mr. Mac and I cried again. And then I thought about Ryan Salmons holding on for a playoff game in Nationwide Arena and I cried again.

And I was sober!

The first period was a disaster. A complete and utter disaster. I have to be honest with you. Prior to the game I said to Brian, “I bet we lose. And I bet we lose on Friday. And I bet it all comes down to Saturday night. Because that is how my luck works.” Because for better or worse, let’s be honest folks, don’t we all always think that how our favorite team plays revolves around our own personal luck, clothes, mojo, hat, routine, or some other voodoo? I had my bunny ears on because the bunny ears are 2-1 (and 2 is better than none!). Brian changed into his JHM hat before the 3rd period and he swears that is what changed the game. I was wistfully wishing that Boll get into fight, and lo and behold, he did. Not only did he get into a fight, but we scored two goals right after that and I am fairly certain that fight changed the entire tone of the game.

And we were tied and regulation ended and the play-off spot is clinched and I can finally start saying that word.
Playoff playoff playoff playoff playoff!!!

And then the shoot-out.

OMG.

Tyutin? Talk about changing up a routine. Well, okay.

So, for once I decided to change my routine of NOT watching us shoot. See, I can watch us defend but I can’t watch us shoot. Makes no sense I know, but that is the way it is. I make my way through a shoot out by turning away from the screen and watching the reactions of others.

But not this time. I glued my eyes to the set and struggled to watch Tyutin all the way up to the net and watched that glorious shot and that wonderful top-shelfer sling into the net and the horn sounded and we not only clinched our playoff spot, we earned it, boyz!

It’s been the best season ever.

Thank you already.

Carry the Flag!

Mason Award Potential...

Steve Mason has exceeded expectations this year. It seems like only a couple weeks ago the doe eyed netminder was playing in his first game after recovering from knee surgery. Back in the day when Columbus was completely unsure of their goalie situation. Back when Leclaire knew something was wrong, but was not willing to bail on the team because of their instability in goal. Yes, back when Freddy No No was actually looking like a good decision as a backup goalie.

Stellar was really the only word to describe Mason's initial play. Surprising and satisfying were some other words I heard uttered from fellow Jackets fans as Mason saved a team learning to gel. His play paved the way for the surprising surge from the younger players on the team, and opened the door for rookies like Kris Russell to come around and show Hitchcock that he is the future of this team on defense. Steve Mason paved the way for a lot of things, and it looks like he is going to provide the key ingredient to the ideal playoff team.

It made me wonder what exactly this season could spell for Mason. The Calder trophy does not seem even remotely out of sight for him, considering he single handedly rebounded a team that was doomed to another bottom feeding year to a team currently sitting right in the thick of a playoff race. His goaltending numbers are well within the league’s top ten and could easily get his name in the running for the Vezina with his league leading 10 shutouts. Rarely has there been discussion about another goaltender winning games for teams, unless they are referring to Mason. Sure, Tim Thomas has some of the best numbers in the league, but that can not be said that he won games for Boston unless one is willing to overlook their impressive defensive core.

With all that being said, could it be possible that Mason should be in the running for the Hart trophy? He certainly is not a leader, but he most definitely plays a big game and wins his team games. Once again I think about the mediocre team record prior to his arrival. One can not overlook the fact that he has more than 30 wins and he has not even been available all year. I also believe the team plays differently in front of him. It is almost as though their step is a bit faster knowing that Mase is back there ready to make a miraculous save or ten.

This may seem like I am reaching quite a bit, but I dare anyone to show me a player in the league that has made a bigger difference for their team this year. I challenge the same person to explain to me how the Jackets would be in a playoff battle without Mason in nets.

Carry the Flag!

Three Games Left

Familiarity was thrown out the window quite a few weeks ago.  What is left, at least from the outside looking in, is instability, and uneasiness.

The Jackets found themselves on the wrong end of the overtime column against the Blackhawks Saturday, marking their 4th overtime/shootout loss in the last seven games.  Rather uncharacteristic for a team that lost only six games after regulation throughout the rest of the season, and it is certainly making me wonder if they are beginning to question their abilities on the ice.

Steve Mason was stellar again, but a lack of Jackets offense caused the game to go into the extra frame, which proved to be too much for the Jackets.  A breakaway goal by Versteeg was enough to get me angry at the Jackets and really only see the negative in that game.  For a team that prides themselves on the defensive aspects of the game, they have been turning the puck over and coughing up odd man rushes more than I think Hitch can even comprehend.

I do not think they need more than one more victory to make the playoffs, but realistically, do the Jackets really want to flop into the playoffs with a losing streak, and face one of the strongest opponents in their first playoff series?  Do they want to throw away all their hard work to get into 6th place and finish just barely in?

I am often asking more of the Jackets than most would, but I think having the expectation of a playoff caliber team playing the next three games is quite reasonable.  How are you Jackets fans dealing with the overtime madness?

Carry the Flag!

Filatov Up With Columbus...

An unexpected decision was made this past week by General Manager Scott Howson, bringing young Nikita Filatov up from the Syracuse Crunch to soak in the playoff atmosphere. Unclear towards his intentions, fans have been skeptical about the decision considering Syracuse is in a playoff race of their own, however, the decision was based on the ability to provide one of Columbus’ very promising young players a chance to get some unique experience.

Now, typically this would get me excited, as Filatov has shown the ability to hang with NHL caliber hockey teams.  He has already experienced the thrill of an hattrick and blended well and quickly with different players on the Jackets roster. His experience and size obviously need a boost, but I suspect Howson believes the place to gain that is with Columbus and not Syracuse.

I say typically because there is a catch involved if Nikita plays, which based on the need for scorers on the Jackets roster I would expect he would.  Any coach or GM will do whatever it takes to win, even if it means giving playing time to snipers like Filatov. That catch is obviously his NHL contract, which would kick in if he plays two more games with the big team this year. Not a big deal in the long run I suppose, considering Columbus has plenty of cap space and can spare it here and there, especially assuming Brassard, Voracek, and Filatov are their future up front.

That being said, if Filatov’s NHL contract kicks in this year, he becomes and unrestricted free agent the same year Brassard does. This is not terribly relevant towards cap implications, but it most certainly is an issue in terms of ‘matching’ or exceeding a contract. It is definitely likely that Filatov will have as much success as Brassard if not more prior to entry contract expiring, and because their styles are even minutely similar, this is personally a concern.

It is a double edged sword in reality, and even I can not make up my mind whether the idea of playing him and having his contract kick in is worth the extra round in the playoffs. Many teams do everything they can to win the cup every year, and having Filatov playing rather than Peca or Murray is certainly at the top of my list, but I really do not want to see any sort of animosity between the young players as their contracts expire.