July 9, 20195 yr https://www.jacketscannon.com/2019/7/7/20685112/columbus-blue-jackets-forward-sonny-milano-arrested-in-nyc One RFA that I hadn't written anything about was 23-year-old LW Sonny Milano. He was one of many RFA's extended a one-year qualifying offer by team. A team extends a QO to retain negotiating rights on a player. Usually the team negotiates a new deal with the player (see Harrington, Werenski). But the player can also accept the one-year QO (as Murray did last season) and stay with the team. The player can also decline the QO, but since he would remain an RFA without the ability to join another team, that usually doesn't happen. As the above article link states, Sonny Milano was arrested in NYC over the weekend along another NHL player (22-year-old A.J. Greer of the Avs) for allegedly assaulting a 28-year-old man about a Manhattan nightclub bill. It's unknown how this will ultimately affect Sonny Milano's future with the Blue Jackets - but it obviously doesn't help him. The CBJ was already beginning to sour on Milano - even before his NYC arrest. Milano was a 1st-round, 16th-overall pick in the 2014 draft and seemed to be developing fine for a few years. In 2015-16 he joined the Cleveland Monsters and helped them win the 2016 Calder Cup. He followed that up with a better 2016-17 with the Monsters and nearly a full season in 2017-18 with the Blue Jackets, where he had 14 goal and 22 points in 55 NHL games. But Milano couldn't stick with the CBJ in 2018-19, getting only 1 goal in 8 games before being sent back to Cleveland. Then he suffered an injury that kept off the ice for much of the AHL season. Although, he did manage 24 points in 27 games and returned for the AHL playoffs and got 10 points in 8 playoff games. Milano's on-the-ice problem is that he's become a classic "all-offense, no-defense" winger. He can be dazzling when he has the puck on his stick - but looks lost without the puck. Because of Milano's inability to stay at the NHL level, and because the CBJ now has multiple offensive prospects passing him on the organizational depth chart, Milano's name surfaces frequently in trade talks with other teams. This arrest won't necessarily force Milano from the CBJ. All-star winger Patrick Kane and his cousin committed a similar type assault against a cab driver during the 2009 off-season and he returned to the Chicago Blackhawks to help them win the 2010 Stanley Cup (the first of 3 Cups he helped Chicago win). But then, Kane is a former 1st-overall pick who scores at a point-a-game level in the NHL. Milano has 24 points in 70 NHL games for his career. It wouldn't be surprising if the CBJ cuts bait with Milano and trades him for a draft pick or another team's "failed prospect".
July 13, 20195 yr https://puckprose.com/2019/07/12/nhl-rumors-blue-jackets-want-sign-mitch-marner-offer-sheet/ I thought the "trading with Vegas for Gusev" rumor was interesting for the CBJ. But that is nothing compared to this "Mitch Marner offer sheet" rumor in the linked article above. Teams can offer contracts to other team's RFA's (i.e. an offer sheet). However, this happens rarely because the team controlling the RFA player can simply match the offer sheet and keep the player. This has happened once in this off-season when Montreal offered Carolina's talented 21-year-old center Sebastian Aho a 5-year deal at $8,454 mil/year. Carolina quickly matched and signed Aho to this deal. Marner is an even more talented 21-year-old winger who Toronto would like to lock up long-term (like they did with other young stars Matthews and Nylander). Marner is rumored to want a Matthews-type deal worth in the $10 to 11mil/year range. The problem for Toronto is that they only have a little over $9mil in cap space. This is a situation that a team flush with cap space, like the CBJ, could take advantage of by offering Marner a $10mil+/year deal that Toronto couldn't match. Now Toronto could rework their roster enough to clear the required cap space to match a Marner offer sheet deal. Or, they could lose Marner, but get draft pick compensation for his loss. In the $10mil+/year range for Marner, the draft pick compensation would be the next four 1st-round picks from the CBJ!!! (I told you this would be a wild deal!) Since the off-season is also known as the silly season in the NHL, it is certainly possible that nothing whatsoever comes of this Marner offer sheet rumor related to the CBJ. But some reasonably solid sources are now reporting this - and our GM Jarmo Kekäläinen has shown he is willing to swing for the fences and take big risks. So stay tuned...
July 15, 20195 yr Blue Jackets forward Sonny Milano accepts club's qualifying offer -- https://www.nhl.com/bluejackets/news/blue-jackets-sonny-milano-re-signs-2019/c-308261120 -- The first good move Sonny's made this off-season (see previous post ^^)
July 29, 20195 yr https://nhl.nbcsports.com/2019/07/29/devils-acquire-gusev-from-golden-knights-ink-him-to-two-year-deal/ Scratch "trading with Vegas for Gusev" from the list of off-season rumors for the CBJ. New Jersey got him for a 2020 third-round draft pick and a 2021 second-round pick - and then signed him to a two-year, $9 million contract ($4.5 mil AAV). I wish the Jackets could have acquired Gusev - notwithstanding that the CBJ previously traded away the 2020 third and 2021 second-round picks that NJ dealt to Vegas ?. Gusev could have been the "new Panarin" for this team. But since Gusev's two-year deal ends with him being an UFA at the end, maybe Jarmo didn't want to go through that again(!) Still, if Gusev turns out as good as many think he'll be, it would've been worth it. Instead, he strengthens a division rival.
July 30, 20195 yr If only Jarmo hadn't dealt similar picks away for...*checks notes*...Ryan Dzingel. Very Stable Genius
August 9, 20195 yr https://www.jacketscannon.com/2019/8/8/20791870/blue-jackets-announce-signing-of-marko-dano The CBJ got a blast from the past back by signing former 2013 first-round pick (27th overall) Marko Dano to a one-year, two-way contract. Dano had a promising rookie half-season with the Jackets in 2014-15 - scoring 21 points in 35 games. But in the 2015 off-season, Dano was part of trade package used to acquire Saad from Chicago (who later was used to acquire Panarin). After that trade, Dano kind of bounced around the NHL. Later in the 2015-16 season, Chicago traded him to Winnipeg. Last season, Winnipeg put him on waivers and he was claimed by Colorado. Later, Colorado also put him on waivers and he was re-acquired by Winnipeg. Winnipeg declined to make a qualifying offer over this off-season and Dano became a free-agent. At only 24, Dano still might have something to offer for the CBJ at the NHL level. And if not, then the Cleveland Monsters will be getting a quality player for their AHL games.
August 15, 20195 yr It's still almost a month away from training camp - but Pro Hockey Talk is doing their 2019-20 season previews in alphabetical order. So the CBJ is one of the early teams reviewed. Links below: https://nhl.nbcsports.com/2019/08/09/its-columbus-blue-jackets-day-at-pht-5/ https://nhl.nbcsports.com/2019/08/09/blue-jackets-still-have-reasons-for-optimism-after-free-agency-exodus/ https://nhl.nbcsports.com/2019/08/09/werenskis-contract-goaltending-are-top-questions-for-blue-jackets/ https://nhl.nbcsports.com/2019/08/09/blue-jackets-pierre-luc-dubois-on-verge-of-huge-season/ https://nhl.nbcsports.com/2019/08/09/blue-jackets-need-goalie-to-step-up-under-pressure/
August 15, 20195 yr Also - about Zach Werenski's contract. GM Jarmo and Z's agent don't seem at all concerned that they haven't come to terms on Z's new contract yet: Werenski intends to sign with Blue Jackets before training camp: report Zach Werenski is expected to sign a contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets before the start of training camp in September, his agent told The Columbus Dispatch on Tuesday. "I have been in communication with the [Blue Jackets] throughout the summer," Pat Brisson said. "It's our intention to have an agreement in time for camp. I'm most certain we will be continuing our talks in the near future." "I'm not the least bit worried," Columbus general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said. "He's a good player. We like him. We want to give him a fair contract and continue. We're not the least bit worried." MORE: https://www.nhl.com/news/columbus-blue-jackets-zach-werenski-intends-to-sign-before-camp/c-308528286?mi_u=2000892081
August 24, 20195 yr The NHL virtually shuts down after the July 1st free-agency date until the opening of training camps in mid-September. Which makes natural content for the league's NHL Network channel hard to come by over the summer. So the NHL Network produces some content with a bunch of player rankings. One player ranking that CBJ fans will find interesting is their "Top 20 Defenseman Right Now" ranking: 25-year-old Seth Jones was #5 in the ranking and 22-year-old Zach Werenski was #20 in the ranking. Seth Jones made the ranking last year, but this was the first time Werenski broke into the Top 20. Great to see two young CBJ d-men in the Top 20 this year! https://www.jacketscannon.com/2019/8/19/20812232/jones-and-werenski-crack-nhl-networks-top-20-defenseman-list
August 24, 20195 yr And speaking of Zach Werenski - it is being reported that he is seeking a 3-year "bridge deal" at between 5 and 6 million per year instead of a longer-term, higher AAV deal. This is interesting because a 3-year deal would leave Werenski still under RFA control at age 25 at the end of it. Sometimes a top performing young player coming off his entry-level contract (as Z is) will want to sign a longer-term deal that skips over their RFA years and get into their UFA years for their next contact. Teams will sometimes agree to this if they can "buy out" the player's first few UFA years and lock him up for a longer term. Personally, I would like it if the CBJ and Werenski went for a 3-year bridge deal. With Werenski still under RFA control and at only 25, the Jackets could then offer him an 8-year long term deal that would expire at age 32. If the Jackets went with a 6-year deal now, it would end at age 28 with Werenski as an UFA. A greater risk that other teams could outbid the Jackets, instead having exclusive RFA negotiating rights at the end of a 3-year deal. https://www.dispatch.com/sports/20190821/zach-werenski-seeking-three-year-contract-at-5-million-plus-annually-source-says
August 26, 20195 yr ^The 3 year deal puts both him and Jones up for free agency in 2022. Very Stable Genius
September 6, 20195 yr The weather might still be warm, but it's getting closer to the start of the 2019-20 CBJ season. Last weekend, the ice was installed for the upcoming season in Nationwide Arena. Photo from https://www.reddit.com/r/BlueJackets/comments/cxjt73/new_ice/
September 6, 20195 yr Another sign that the 2019-20 NHL season is not far away is the annual Traverse City Prospect Tournament in Michigan. The tournament takes place from September 6th to the 10th in Traverse City and all games will be streamed at BlueJackets.com and on Fox Sports Go. For the full schedule of the games and a roster list of CBJ players playing in this tournament, go to the link below: https://www.jacketscannon.com/2019/9/6/20852887/traverse-city-prospect-tournament-preview-and-open-thread Much of the CBJ roster is made up of free agent invites that may or may not join the CBJ organization. But there are a number of players on the roster that should have an impact either this season or in future seasons. Offensively, the biggest names are Alexandre Texier, Trey Fix-Wolansky and Liam Foudy. The soon-to-be- 20-year-old (on 9/13) Texier played 7 AHL games, 2 NHL regular-season games and 8 playoff games for the CBJ last season - and looks like he'll be on the CBJ roster for the upcoming season. 20-year-old TFW joined the Cleveland Monsters for their playoff run after captaining his Edmonton junior team to the WHL playoffs - and looks like he'll join the Monsters for the upcoming season. 19-year-old Foudy also joined the Monsters for their playoff games after his London Knights junior team's season ended. Foudy is not old enough to play for the Monsters next season - so he'll either make the CBJ roster or be sent back to his junior team for the 2019-20 season. Although, the NHL/junior agreement does allow the CBJ to play Foudy for up to 9 games, before making that decision. Defensively, only Andrew Peeke stands out. 21-year-old Peeke is joining the CBJ organzation after playing three seasons with Notre Dame (and captaining the Fighting Irish last season) before signing an entry-level contract last April. Peeke is expected to play for the Cleveland Monsters for the upcoming season. However, in the net are two of the biggest goalie names in the CBJ organization: 25-year-old Elvis Merzlikins from Latvia and 22-year-old Veini Vehvilainen from Finland. Neither goalie has played any competitive games in North America yet. But Elvis has been called "the best goaltender not in the NHL" and will be vying for the starting goaltender job in Columbus shortly. Vehvilainen is projected to be one of the primary goaltenders for the Cleveland Monsters in the AHL this upcoming season.
September 9, 20195 yr This is the signing we were waiting for! https://www.jacketscannon.com/2019/9/9/20857024/zach-werenski-signs-three-year-contract-extension-with-columbus-blue-jackets As Matthew McConaughey would say, "Alright Alright Alright" ???
September 12, 20195 yr CBJ training camp began this morning: https://www.jacketscannon.com/2019/9/11/20860887/columbus-blue-jackets-announce-training-camp-roster-schedule
October 4, 20195 yr The 2019-2020 season begins for the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight. The CBJ host the Toronto Maple Leafs (or Leaves, if you want to be accurate and upset those from Ontario!) tonight in Nationwide Arena. Tomorrow they travel to a nearby 'burg to face a team called the Penguins. Back-to-back right off the bat(!) The CBJ promo department has been reminding everyone that Hockey is Back by dropping mounds of snow and blocks of ice around downtown this week - which didn't last too long in this week's 90 degree heat(!) - but they've captured it on their twitter feed at https://twitter.com/BlueJacketsNHL
October 4, 20195 yr So, the CBJ lost longtime All-Star goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and two-year All-Star winger Artemi Panarin to free-agency. Plus they lost top line rental center Matt Duchene and rental winger Ryan Dzingel to free-agency as well. No problem right? Well, the hockey experts seem to think so. The consensus is for the CBJ - who have reached the playoffs in their last three seasons - to not make this season's playoffs. They generally rank the CBJ at either a bubble-playoff spot or a few spots below the playoff line. Not a complete collapse, but not at the playoff level they've been for the past three seasons. There's certainly reason to think this. Bob was a proven NHL goalie and his potential replacements are unproven at the NHL level. And how do replace the scoring power of Panarin. The answer is, you can't. At least not with any individual player you can't. The Jackets did acquire a solid veteran winger in Gustav Nyquist to make up some of Panarin's loss. And they'll need some players to improve on a down season last year (Wennberg & Nash). But they'll also need to see if some of their young prospects can add some scoring punch (Texier & Bemstrom). While also needing some players who had a good season last year to maintain it w/o the Bread Man on their line (Atkinson & Dubois). This looks like a transition year for the CBJ. They've lost some veteran talent - but they've got some young talent coming in. Without the expectation of a playoff berth, this is a good chance to play that young talent (especially at the goaltender position) and see what they have to offer. Here's my breakdown of the opening 2019-2020 roster: OFFENSE TEXIER - DUBOIS - ATKINSON -- Pananrin drove this top line last season and 21-year-old center Pierre Luc Dubois and veteran 30-year-old winger Cam Atkinson benefited. Cam tied the team record with 41 goals (69 points), while PLD avoided a sophomore slump with 61 points (27G-34A) in 82 games. Now they'll need to do it with a 20-year-old rookie winger (Alexandre Texier). Texier is a talent, as he showed in his brief stints with Cleveland and Columbus last season. But even a talented rookie will have his ups and downs. Texier might move up and down in the lineup throughout this season, but he'll he'll get a chance on the top line at the start. NYQUIST - WENNBERG - BJORKSTRAND -- 30-year-old winger Gustav Nyquist, added via free-agency, might see some playing time on the top line with Dubois and Atkinson. But to start, he is being paired with fellow Swede 25-year-old center Alexander Wennberg. Wennberg needs to regain the spark he had three seasons ago when he had a 59-point season at age 22. Since then Wennberg has had two disappointing seasons - bottoming out with a 2-goal, 25-point season last year. With Wennberg in the middle of a 6-year contract, the CBJ need to get him back on track or they'll be forced to trade him at a loss. Pairing Wennberg with a savvy veteran like Nyquist and an up-and-coming winger like Bjorkstrand is his best chance for a resurgence. Plus, Bjorky likes to shoot the puck and Wenny likes to to pass the puck - a natural match. FOLIGNO - JENNER - ANDERSON -- This is a rugged third line. Or an alternate second-line, depending on how one perceives it, because each player brings a combination of grit and skill. Team captain Nick Foligno at 31 isn't quite the goal scorer he was in previous seasons. But he's still got enough ability for a middle-6 role. Boone Jenner at 26 has developed into a reliable two-way center after beginning his career on the wing. Josh Anderson at 25 has been steadily improving and had 27 goals and 47 points in 82 games last season. This is a line that could also serve in a shutdown role for late-game situations. LILJA - NASH - BEMSTROM (MILANO) -- This somewhat non-traditional fourth line is centered by 30-year-old Riley Nash. Nash was a free-agent addition for last season, but got off to a terrible start - having almost zero offensive production until a late season turnaround. But Nash was still productive defensively and on the PK and is capable of rebound year. I've got him paired with two first-year Swedish wingers in Jakob Lilja and Emil Bemstrom. The 26-year-old Lilja and 20-year-old Bemstrom were line-mates on a Finnish team in which Bemstrom set a rookie goal-scoring record in the top Finnish league last year. 23-year-old Sonny Milano - a former 2014 1st-round, 19th overall pick - who made the final cut in this year training camp - is trying to get his career back on track. Milano is offensively-talented with the puck, but also frequently a defensive liability without the puck. Milano could see time on this fourth line, or he might serve as the 13th forward and fill in on higher lines as needed. INJ: DUBINSKY -- 33-year-old Brandon Dubinsky has been dropping down the depth chart over past few seasons. During training camp it was announced that he was going to be out indefinitely with a wrist injury. It has plagued him since 2015-16 and required surgery in May 2017. There's talk that the injury might place Dubinsky - and his $5.85 million salary-cap hit - on long-term injured reserve. But that's yet to be determined: https://www.dispatch.com/sports/20190925/blue-jackets-center-brandon-dubinsky-out-indefinitely-with-wrist-injury INJ: FOUDY -- 19-year-old center prospect Liam Foudy suffered an upper-body injury early in training camp that will cause him to miss 4-6 weeks. At 19, and playing for a Canadian junior team, Foudy was only eligible to play in the NHL or go back to his junior team. It was unlikely that Foudy would have made the CBJ roster for the full season. But NHL rules do allow for a 9-game tryout in NHL before deciding whether to send him back to the juniors. This injury made the decision for the CBJ and Foudy will play for his London Knights junior team in 2019-20: https://www.dispatch.com/sports/20190919/blue-jackets-prospect-liam-foudy-injured-will-miss-4-6-weeks AHL: DANO - HANNIKAINEN - ROBINSON -- These are the AHL-level players that are the most likely for promotion and NHL playing time. Former 1st-round draft pick Marko Dano was one of the last forwards cut, and could be an interesting chance-of-pace fourth-line player. Hannikainen and Robinson each saw some NHL time last season, but would probably need to be an injury call-up to see playing time this season. DEFENSE JONES - MURRAY -- 25-year-old Seth Jones is the top d-man for the CBJ. NHL Network ranked him as the 5th-best d-man - in the entire league! Jones is an alternate captain and has become a steady leader for the team. He's a classic 6'-4" do-everything minutes-eating top-line defender and anchors a deep and talented d-corps for the CBJ. 26-year-old former #2-overall pick Ryan Murray is the next best all-around d-man for the CBJ. Unfortunately, he is also a classic talented-when-healthy player. And saying healthy has been a problem for Murray. But when he is healthy, he'll be paired with Jones to form a top-line shut-down pairing. WERENSKI - SAVARD -- Zach Werenski was the next highest ranked CBJ d-man by the NHL Network (they ranked him 20th-best for the entire league). So why is he on this second line? At 22, Werenski's defensive game isn't as well-developed as his offensive game. So dropping him to this second pair - and pairing him with veteran defensive-defenseman David Savard - gives him easier match-ups during 5-on-5 play. Plus, Z will get lots of prime power-play time to exploit his offensive abilities. As Z's defensive game rounds out, he'll start seeing some playing time with Jones on the top d-line. NUTIVAARA - GAVRIKOV (KUKAN - HARRINGTON) -- 25-year-old Nutivaara is talented enough for a top-4 pairing. But because of the CBJ's defensive depth, he'll start on the third-pairing. But when injuries inevitably happen, Nuti can slide up in the defensive order. I've got 23-year-old Vladislav Gavrikov as the d-pairing with Nuti. But Gavrikov, and the pair of 26-year-olds Dean Kukan and Scott Harrington, could be basically interchangeable for the 6th d-man on the roster. Each player brings a difference combo of NHL experience/talent. Gavrikov played in two 2019 playoff games for the CBJ (but has two full seasons in the KHL) and potentially has the highest talent ceiling. Kukan is in the middle for NHL experience (25 CBJ games last season) and for talent for this trio. Harrington played 73 games for the CBJ last season and became an unassuming and mostly reliable 6th d-man (I say "mostly" because my friends at the Jackets Cannon refer to him as Hot Scarrington!). Whichever combo is used, the Jackets can boast 8 NHL-level d-men, which is one of the deepest d-corps in the entire NHL. AHL: CLENDENING -- Because the CBJ can field 8 NHL-level defenders, it is unlikely that they'll need reinforcements from the AHL. But if the injury bug does bite, 26-year-old Adam Clendening would be the first call-up. The well-traveled Clendening (who has 90 games on NHL experience with 7 different teams!) only played 4 regular-season games for the CBJ last season, but played in 7(!) playoff games last year, after a wave of d-corps injuries hit the CBJ. PROSPECTS: PEEKE - CARLSSON -- Also because of the aforementioned defensive depth, it is unlikely that these prospects will be called up to Columbus from Cleveland. But they're worth noting for the future. 21-year-old 6'-3" Andrew Peeke was the final d-man cut during training camp. This will be Peeke's first pro season, after he spent three seasons at Notre Dame. He was also named captain and defensive player-of-the-year in his final ND season. 22-year-old 6'-5" Gabriel Carlsson is a former late 1st-round pick in 2015 that burst onto the scene with 5 CBJ playoff appearances as a 20-year-old in 2017. But Carlsson has yet to regain that level of play in the two seasons since. But sometimes defenders take longer to develop, and the Jackets can afford to have him play another season for the Monsters to see if he comes around. GOALTENDING JOONAS KORPISALO -- With Bob gone to Florida, his 25-year-old former backup will get a shot at his vacated starting job. As a 22-year-old, Korpi put up some OK numbers in 31 appearances while Bob was injured during the 2015-16 season. But in the three seasons since, with infrequent starts as Bob's backup, he put up some not-OK numbers. Which one is the real Korpi? Will he be better with more consistent playing time? We'll find out this season. ELVIS MERZLIKENS -- Elvis is also 25-years-old. But unlike Korpi, Elvis has zero NHL experience. However, he does has alot of European league experience - where he has posted some stellar numbers. So much so that Elvis has been referred to as "the best goalie not playing in the NHL". Well, that will change this year. It's been difficult to gauge Elvis in the pre-season games because many don't feature the full regular-season rosters that would play in front of him. But Elvis has made some spectacular Bob-quality types saves - along with some inconsistency that might be due to adjusting to the smaller NHL ice surface. Elvis and Korpi might share playing time until a front-runner emerges. Korpi might get an early-season nod due to his NHL experience. But if Elvis turns out to be as good as everyone (including himself) thinks he could be, we might see Elvis get the lion's share of starts during this season's second-half. I kind of feel that this starting goalie position is Elvis' to win, if he can play with consistency. Because it appears that he has the higher ceiling of the two. AHL: VEINI VEHVILAINEN - MATISS KIVLENIEKS -- These are the two primary goaltending prospects who will play for Cleveland. VV is a 22-year-old Fin playing his first North American season. For the past two seasons, he's put up some outstanding numbers in the top Finnish league. MK has put up some terrible numbers for Cleveland over the past seasons, and this is likely his last season to impress the CBJ. PROSPECT: DANIIL TARASOV -- Some analysts think this 20-year-old 6'-5" Russian could end up having the highest talent ceiling of all the CBJ goalies mentioned thus far. After two seasons in the Russian junior divisions, he'll be playing in the top Finnish league this year.
October 5, 20195 yr Unfortunately, it ends with a 4-1 loss. ?☹️ Despite the lopsided final score, the Jackets played well. It was 2-1 going into the final period until Toronto took care of business with a goal two minutes into the third and a final power-play goal with six minutes remaining. Korpi looked mostly OK in net. But the CBJ can't give up five power-play chances to the elite offensive lineup that Toronto has. The Leafs converted on two of the five PP's. And their big four offensive stars all came through (Marner 2G-1A; Matthews 1G; Tarvares 2A; Nylander 1A) plus star d-man Rielly with three assists. One of the Jackets' offensive stars came through - Cam Atkinson with an unassisted power-play goal in the second period. Plus the CBJ equaled Toronto's SOG output 29-29. But the CBJ had two breakaway chances that Toronto goalie Andersen stuffed. And that was the story of opening night - TOR converted on their best chances, while the CBJ did not. On to PIT for game 2 tonight. Starts the same time as the OSU/MSU game! That recall button on the TV remote will be getting a lot of use tonight(!)
October 6, 20195 yr Game 2 in PIT. Elvis Merzlikins made his debut in goal and the game 1 bottom d-line pair of Nutivaara-Harrington got switched out for Kukan-Gavrikov. The offensive lines were unchanged, meaning Milano was a healthy scratch again. Elvis' debut went great in the first period (stopping 10 of 10 shots) before it unraveled in the second with PIT scoring 5 goals(!) on 14 shots. Elvis settled down after that, only giving up 2 goals on 16 shots in the third. But it looks like we'll need to postpone adding Elvis' name to the Vezina Trophy right now - because his NHL leaning curve will be something to get past before he can dazzle us with highlight reel saves. https://www.jacketscannon.com/2019/10/5/20900583/pittsburgh-penguins-chase-elvis-merzlikins-out-of-the-building-rout-columbus-blue-jackets
October 6, 20195 yr So ... 0-2 after the first two back-to-back games against TOR & PIT. Is it time to panic? Possibly yes, but mostly no according to this opinion piece from the Jackets Cannon: https://www.jacketscannon.com/2019/10/6/20901186/cannon-blasts-dont-panic-yet-columbus-blue-jackets Next week sees the CBJ hosting Buffalo on Monday, and Anaheim on Friday; then travelling to Carolina on Saturday. BUF, ANA and CAR have all won their first two games. That's interesting ?. So we'll see where the CBJ stand after next week's play on next Sunday morning.
October 9, 20195 yr https://www.jacketscannon.com/2019/10/7/20904083/columbus-blue-jackets-buffalo-sabres-the-jackets-earn-their-first-win-of-the-season I'm not planning on doing a recap of every single game for the 2019-20 CBJ season! But this first win of the season in Game 3 deserves some note. This wasn't a "must-win" game for the CBJ. But it kinda felt that way after the 0-2 start, the bad loss at PIT, and the way everyone was talking about us after the off-season roster losses. So the 4-3 OT win definitely felt good. Milano drew into the roster as Anderson was out with an undisclosed day-to-day injury. And the defense got a slight shake-up. Werenski joined Jones on the top d-line. Murray moved down to the second paring with Savard. Nutivaara and Gavrikov formed the third paring (good move-IMO). The Jackets looked real good for the entire game against a 2-0 Buffalo team - outshooting them by an amazing 44-18 margin by game's end. Unfortunately, that domination didn't reflect on the scoreboard. The CBJ got off to a 2-0 lead in the first on goals by Bjorkstrand and Atkinson. Then let Buffalo tie it up 2-2 during the second period. But then Foligno got a power-play goal (with an assist from Bemstrom) six minutes into the third to give the CBJ a 3-2 lead. A lead that held until just over 2 minutes remained in the period, until a very stupid hand-pass-off-a-face-off penalty was taken by Boone Jenner. Buffalo scored on the power-play to tie it 3-3 and sent it into overtime. Fortunately, the Jackets were able to pull out the win in the 3-on-3 OT. It was on a great forechecking play by captain Nick Foligno. A Buffalo player made a back-pass to their young super-star Jack Eichel at the back wall behind the Buffalo net. Foligno comes in with a check to dislodge the puck from Eichel, gathers the puck - and passes to a wide-open Texier who shoots the game-winning goal(!) -- see the video at the JacketsCannon link above! I'm sure the team was happy to get their first win of the season. I'm sure getting this win with three days until their next game was also nice. The prospect of a "Torts-Torture practice" might have been in the offering if they had gone down 0-3! Instead, the team got a complete day-off today (as was confirmed by Foligno in an NHL Network interview today). There's still work to do - but it's great to get off the snide.
October 14, 20195 yr The Jackets split their pair of games last weekend. Two pretty well-played low scoring games - a 2-1 loss vs. ANA on Friday and a 3-2 win at CAR on Saturday. Korpisalo was in net for both games and looked good. Elvis hasn't seen the net since his horrid start at PIT. He'll get his chances, but Korpi's in the early lead for starting goaltender. The CBJ are 2-3-0. Three good games that went 2-1-0; one meh loss vs TOR; and one bad loss at PIT. Not great but not terrible either. Especially considering they're trying to figure out their goaltending situation and have the youngest roster (25.7 years) in the entire NHL as of opening night. Apparently we are the Benjamin Button of NHL teams(!) https://www.jacketscannon.com/2019/10/14/20912960/cannon-blasts-early-season-stock-report-columbus-blue-jackets-korpisalo-merzlikins-texier-jenner The Jackets next four are: Wed, 10/16 vs DAL; Fri, 10/18 at CHI; Sat, 10/19 vs NYI; Mon, 10/21 at TOR
October 16, 20195 yr Some injury updates (and a preview of tonight's game): Injury updates, as per the Dispatch: "Josh Anderson skated with the team's conditioning coach in the Ice Haus on Monday, the first step toward his return from an upper-body injury. Anderson, who was placed on injured reserve retroactive to Oct. 5, is eligible to return at any time. Monday’s skate marked his first time on the ice since suffering the injury against Pittsburgh." "Liam Foudy, the Blue Jackets’ first-round pick in 2018 (No. 18 overall), was activated off injured reserve Monday and loaned back to the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League. Foudy, 19, missed training camp after suffering an upper-body injury at the Traverse City prospects tournament." The Jackets have won two of their last three, and could win three of their last four if they can defeat Dallas tonight in NWA. Dallas has gotten off to a terrible 1-5-1 start and lost on Monday at Buffalo 4-0. Since they are in the West, we only face Dallas two times every season. So, this seems like a good time to face them(!) That's said, I definitely agree with this Jackets Cannon headline for tonight's game: https://www.jacketscannon.com/2019/10/16/20916744/game-6-preview-columbus-blue-jackets-stars-need-to-show-up-vs-the-dallas-stars
October 16, 20195 yr And for a completely off-ice - but also completely adorable - bit of news, that was also posted in the Jackets Cannon game preview:
October 17, 20195 yr https://www.jacketscannon.com/2019/10/16/20917445/game-6-recap-a-fun-win-due-to-unlikely-heroes A fun win last night at NWA. Werenski got the first goal. Wennberg got the second goal - his first of the season (which is significant because he only scored two goals in the entire last season!). Then Sonny Milano scores his first of the season in this highlight reel play: Milano's goal turned out to be the game-winner because Dallas scored with 3.8 seconds left to make the final score 3-2. Korpi had another great night in the net, stopping 30 of 32 shots (would have looked even more impressive if not for that final meaningless extra-attacker Dallas goal). The CBJ are now 3-3-0 going into this weekend's games.
October 17, 20195 yr ^ Milano's goal was amazing. Good for him. He's been getting hammered by the fans for not playing well (and rightfully so), so hopefully this is the spark he needs to turn things around! Korpi also had a pretty solid game. So far in 2019: Korpi - 2.6 GAA Bobrovsky - 3.9 GAA Interesting ?
October 17, 20195 yr 1 hour ago, cbussoccer said: ^ Milano's goal was amazing. Good for him. He's been getting hammered by the fans for not playing well (and rightfully so) Not really. He actually plays pretty well...when he's allowed to play. The dumb coach plays him 8 minutes a night, though. Very Stable Genius
October 17, 20195 yr 3 minutes ago, DarkandStormy said: Not really. He actually plays pretty well...when he's allowed to play. The dumb coach plays him 8 minutes a night, though. Is this sarcasm?
October 17, 20195 yr 23 minutes ago, cbussoccer said: Is this sarcasm? Not at all. Look up his CF%, xGF%, and points/60. He's always been a positive possession player and scores at pretty high rates (it's just that his ice time is always kept low). Torts is dumb for not utilizing an offensive weapon like Milano more often. Very Stable Genius
October 21, 20195 yr The CBJ played a couple of solid games this weekend that were both regulation ties that ended with 3-2 OT losses. Friday at Chicago, then Saturday hosting the Isles. Both games displayed the good, and less good aspects of this young season for the CBJ: Good: Solid 5-on-5 play; lots of shots generated; Elvis had a strong bounceback game at Chicago; Korpi still playing well. Less good: Power-play needs to be better; need better shot accuracy; the 3-on-3 OT play really misses Panarin(!) In regards to the shots generated vs shot accuracy issue, the Jackets Cannon had a nice rundown about this at https://www.jacketscannon.com/2019/10/20/20923531/cannon-blasts-when-shooting-the-puck-goes-wrong-columbus-blue-jackets In the above Jackets Cannon link, there was this twitter link addressing shot quantity vs quality for all NHL teams - and its interesting where the CBJ are after their first 8 games: Right in the middle-of-the-pack for both shot charts. Obviously there is room for improvement - but with what we lost from last season and with the need to incorporate new young players into this season's roster - I'll take middle-of-the-pack to begin this season. Speaking of middle-of-the-pack, the Jackets record is now 3-3-2 going into tonight's match at Toronto. Then its Thursday hosting Carolina and Saturday at Philadelphia. On the injury front, Anderson might return to the lineup for tonight's Toronto game - and Ryan Murray has an undisclosed upper body injury and is listed as day-to-day (shocker, right?). Murray got pelted with some shots in the Friday Chicago game and missed all but one shift of the third period, and then was out for Saturday's game.
October 22, 20195 yr 22 hours ago, Columbo said: Speaking of middle-of-the-pack, the Jackets record is now 3-3-2 going into tonight's match at Toronto. Then its Thursday hosting Carolina and Saturday at Philadelphia. On the injury front, Anderson might return to the lineup for tonight's Toronto game - and Ryan Murray has an undisclosed upper body injury and is listed as day-to-day (shocker, right?). Murray got pelted with some shots in the Friday Chicago game and missed all but one shift of the third period, and then was out for Saturday's game. CBJ now 4-3-2 after last night's 4-3 OT win at Toronto. Full recap at https://www.jacketscannon.com/2019/10/21/20926241/columbus-jackets-win-ot-beat-toronto-4-3-gustav-nyquist Anderson and Murray both drew back into the lineup (Lilja was the scratch) and both looked okay. A thrilling OT win against a high-flying team at "the center of the hockey universe". Korpi was in net again, and played well again. The CBJ took a two-goal lead, then allowed the Leafs to score the next three goals before re-tying it 3-3 in the third to force OT. Unlike the previous two games, the CBJ survived the first minute of OT until Nyquist had a breakaway and was hooked by Marner as Gus was about to shoot the puck - which the refs deemed worthy of a penalty shot - which Nyquist converted to win the game(!!!) Very nice victory. Interestingly, the Jackets scored their four goals in four different ways: Goal 1: Shorthanded goal by Nash (after a TO forced by Nash and a nice assist by Foligno) Goal 2: Even strength goal (5v5) by Dubois Goal 3: Power-play goal by Wennberg Goal 4: Penalty shot goal in OT by Nyquist
October 30, 20195 yr The CBJ split their last two games with a Thursday 4-3 OT win hosting CAR and then a Saturday 7-4 loss at PHI. Thursday's 4-3 OT win against CAR was the CBJ's fourth straight OT game and their second straight OT win. The win also gave the CBJ a six-game point streak going into PHI on Saturday. Early in the third period at PHI it looked like it would be a seven-game point streak with the Jackets up 4-2. And then the bottom fell out when the Flyers scored the next five goals(!) An empty-netter and PP with 14 seconds left made it seem extra bad - but it still hurt. Something else that hurt from Saturday's game was Ryan Murray and Alexandre Texier getting injured and being put on the IR afterward (see the tweet below): The CBJ games for this week: Wednesday: Edmonton Friday: at St. Louis Saturday: Calgary
November 5, 20195 yr On October 24th, the CBJ held a respectable 5-3-2 record going into a weekend game at PHI. Korpisalo had also been riding a series of seven quality starts (while also starting 7 of the last 8 games). Both runs of positive play came crashing down with a 7-4 loss at PHI on 10/26 and a 4-1 loss hosting EDM on 10/30. Korpi got pulled in the EDM game after giving up 4 goals in the first 25 minutes (Elvis Merzlikins came in and stopped 19 of 19 shots to finish the game). Those two losses dropped the CBJ's October record to 5-5-2. To finish out last week, Elvis got the start on Friday 11/1 at STL and looked good - as did the rest of the team - with a 3-3 regulation tie. But then STL got the victory 8 seconds into OT(!) - because apparently that how the 3-on-3 OT's are going to go this season! Still, it was a decent game that could have given the CBJ some momentum if they played well the following night against Calgary in C-BUS. But it didn't go that way, as the CBJ lost 3-0 to the Flames. So, going into this week's games - the CBJ have had 3 bad losses in their past 4 games and now stand at 5-6-3. They could use some better outings this week against these opponents: Tuesday, 11/5: Home game against Vegas Thursday, 11/7: at Arizona Saturday, 11/9: at Colorado
November 5, 20195 yr The two bad losses hosting Canadian teams weren't without some entertainment though - as provided by links from https://www.jacketscannon.com/2019/11/4/20947251/cannon-blasts-sometimes-you-feel-like-a-nut-markus-nutivaara-scott-harrington-john-tortorella-idiot: Western Conference teams like Edmonton only play one game in Columbus every season. So it is somewhat understandable if the visiting journalists from Alberta, Canada get startled when the cannon goes off in Nationwide Arena. Understandable, but still amusing: For Saturday's game against Calgary, Columbus native Kole Sherwood was called up and played. Early in the second period Sherwood took a nasty sucker punch from noted thug Milan Lucic. Lucic was given the equivalent of two-minute minor for this and Sherwood was forced into the locker room for concession protocol (he returned later in the period). This was a weak call from the on-ice refs. Lucic deserved either a full double-minor - which would have given the CBJ a 4-minute power-play - or a "2 and 10" game misconduct ejection. Jackets fans will recall when Lucic was with Boston four seasons ago and tried a similar move on Dalton Prout - only that time Lucic did it facing Prout and got one-punched to his knees by Prout! Now loser goon Lucic attacks from behind without warning. At least the NHL did the right thing and suspended him for two games for his repeated goonery:
November 12, 20195 yr Recapping last week's games against three strong teams from the West: -- Good Tuesday game that led to a tough 2-1 loss hosting Vegas. -- Strong Thursday 3-2 win at Arizona. -- Disappointing Saturday 4-2 loss at Colorado. The Colorado loss was made even more disappointing because of two incidents during that game. The first was Korpi losing his temper after he gave up a fourth goal that clinched the victory for Colorado. This is happened earlier in the season and is something that the coaching staff warned him about. As a result, Merzlikins will be getting the start tonight at Montreal. The second incident was a second period mid-ice collision between captain Nick Foligno and a Colorado player. Foligno attempted a body check and ended up elbowing the Colorado player in the head. Foligno was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct during the game and was given a 3-game suspension by the league afterward.
November 22, 20195 yr The Jackets finished their 21st game of the 2019-20 season last night - just past the first quarter mark - so this is a good time for a 1/4 season recap: The CBJ are on a three-game winning streak to push their current record over the .500 mark to 9-8-4. Prior to this current three-game winning streak, the CBJ lost 7 of the previous 8 games (1-5-2). In my preseason notes, I would have thought that goaltending issues would have been the reason for this. However, the goaltending from Korpi and Elvis have been "good enough" as the Jackets rank a respectable 11th in goals allowed per game. During that losing streak, it was the Jackets struggle for goals that led to the losses. Prior to this current winning streak, the CBJ were 30th in the NHL in goals scored per game. The reasons for the goals struggle were a combination of a team-wide underperformance in goal scoring - led by veteran offensive skaters Aktinson, Foligno, Bjorkstrand, Wennberg and Anderson - plus having a power-play and penalty-kill ranked in the bottom third of the league. However, although the Jackets ranked 30th in goals scoring, they also ranked 7th in shots taken per game. So, there was some hope that more puck luck and an increase in power-play production could solve the goal scoring struggles. In the past two games, the Jackets have scored 5 goals in each win (a season high). Those included some PP goals to bump the CBJ power-play up to 20th after 21 games. This goal scoring mini-surge has also bumped the CBJ to 28th in goals scored per game after 21 games. PLD is having a strong third season for the CBJ with 9 goals and 7 assists for 16 points in 21 games, while centering the top line. New acquisition Nyquist has 3 goals and 10 assists for 13 points in 21 games. Top d-pair Jones and Werenski are rounding into form with 6 goals and 7 assists for Z and 1 goal with 11 assists for Jones. Atkinson and Bjorkstrand got goals during recent wins to break their goal-less streaks and reach double-digit point totals for the season. Jenner has a surprising 6 goals to be among the team leaders in goals-scored. Bemstrom, Gavrikov and Robinson netted their first-ever NHL goals. Eric Robinson is the most surprising of that rookie bunch, as Robinson netted 0 goals and 0 assists in 13 CBJ games last season. But when Foligno went on a three-game suspension, Robinson was called up from Cleveland and scored 3 goals in the past four games(!) Murray and Texier have returned from the IR. Nutivaara and Sherwood are currently on the IR. So, at the quarter-season pole, the CBJ are 9-8-4 with 22 points in 21 games. Not outstanding, but also not a washout. They currently sit 4 points behind the final wild-card spot in the East (and further behind the Metro Division playoff spots because some Metro teams like the Caps and the Isles are off to blazing starts). But given their goal scoring problems thus far, the CBJ are not in a terrible position. If the Jackets goal scoring continues to improve and the goaltending stays stable, the Jackets could be in a better position by the half-season mark.
November 27, 20195 yr On 11/22/2019 at 2:37 PM, Columbo said: So, at the quarter-season pole, the CBJ are 9-8-4 with 22 points in 21 games. Not outstanding, but also not a washout. They currently sit 4 points behind the final wild-card spot in the East (and further behind the Metro Division playoff spots because some Metro teams like the Caps and the Isles are off to blazing starts). But given their goal scoring problems thus far, the CBJ are not in a terrible position. If the Jackets goal scoring continues to improve and the goaltending stays stable, the Jackets could be in a better position by the half-season mark. Another early season NHL benchmark from ESPN. Since the introduction of the salary cap in 2005, 76% of NHL teams in playoff position on American Thanksgiving have gone on to make the playoffs, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. However, the St. Louis Blues famously bucked the trend last season, and went on to win the Stanley Cup - so its not etched in stone. For this week's ESPN NHL Power Rankings, they took a spin on buying or selling whether teams will stay in their current postseason position. Here's the one for the CBJ: https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/28170426/nhl-power-rankings-1-31-poll-plus-do-buy-sell-team-current-playoff-status Quote Power Ranking #26: Columbus Blue Jackets Previous ranking: 25 Current status: Out Buy: You can look for bright spots in the 2019-20 campaign, but the Blue Jackets don't have enough overall talent to make the playoffs, and slumping veterans haven't helped. I can't disagree with their brief assessment. However, I still think if the slumping veterans come around, the scoring will improve and the record with it. But I do acknowledge that it will be an uphill climb.
November 27, 20195 yr Since the Jackets rose above .500, they suffered a tough loss at Winnipeg on Saturday and followed it with a tight home win on Monday: The Winnipeg loss looked like it was into overtime until late game Merzlikins mistake gave the game-winning goal to the Jets. Merzlikins (who had been playing well) made a poor decision to clear the puck down the middle, got it intercepted by a Winnipeg skater, who quickly shot the game-winning goal with just under two minutes remaining. The CBJ got three power play goals on the night in the 4-3 loss. They followed with a tightly played 1-0 home win against Ottawa on Monday. Bjorkstrand scored the game's only goal 21 seconds into the third period on a deflected Werenski shot from a Jenner face-off win. Korpisalo got his first shutout of the season (and his second career shutout) with a steady 25-save performance. The Jackets now face a tough three-games-in-four-days stretch, with only Thanksgiving Day off: The before Thankgiving game is tonight against Philadelphia at Nationwide. It is nationally televised on NBCSN. Which make me nervous because the CBJ have a history of poor performance in their rare nationally televised games and the Flyers are off to a good start. The after Thankgiving game is Friday against Pittsburgh at Nationwide. The Jackets finish the Pennsylvania-double against another team off to a good start. This is despite Pens star Sidney Crosby being out with an injury. Let's hope Black Friday isn't a reflection of this game's outcome(!) Saturday, the CBJ travel to NYC to face the Islanders. An Isles team that is off to an even better start than the Pennsylvania duo and an Isles team that just snapped a 17-game point streak.
December 3, 20195 yr The CBJ finished their second month of 2019-20 play -- and it looks a lot like the first month. 5-5-2 record in October, followed by a 6-6-2 record for November. Not great, but not bad. Just kinda meh. The finish from last week shows this pattern: a tight 3-2 loss against PHI; a great looking 5-2 win over PIT; and a rough 2-0 loss at NYI. The rough loss against the Islanders got rougher when 21-year-old phenom d-man Zach Werenski went out with a shoulder injury early in the first period. He did not return and was diagnosed with a sprained AC shoulder joint - out for four weeks. Below is the video of how the injury happened: This is the same left shoulder Z got surgically repaired in May 2018. That surgery was for a torn labrum. The good news is that he didn't re-injure the labrum. Instead, an AC joint injury does not require surgery - just rest and an arm in a sling for a few weeks. But Z will be out for four weeks - so both Werenski and Nutivaara (who is recovering from a concussion) are both on the shelf currently. So the Jackets called up 21-year-old rookie d-man Andrew Peeke from Cleveland, who might make his NHL debut. Peeke has been playing very well for the Monsters this season after three seasons with Notre Dame: https://www.nhl.com/bluejackets/news/blue-jackets-recall-andrew-peeke-from-cleveland/c-312076424
December 3, 20195 yr As for this week's games: Tonight hosting Arizona - the final time we'll face them this season Thursday hosting the NY Rangers - which will mark the return of Artemi Panarin to Nationwide Saturday at Florida - in which the CBJ might face former goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. However, Bob has been benched by Florida after a terrible start with a 3.48 GAA (which ranks 50th in the NHL), and a lowly .884 save percentage (which puts him 51st). Both are the poorest numbers he’s logged during his 10-year career. And since his replacement (a 25-year-old rookie) got a shutout in his debut game, we might only see Bob on the bench instead of the net: https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/panthers-bench-sergei-bobrovsky-after-disappointing-start-in-florida-162555699.html
December 9, 20195 yr Playing mostly decent hockey but losing close games has been the Jackets MO this season. 4-2 loss (w/empty netter) against Arizona; 3-2 loss against NYR (w/ Panarin getting a goal - of course); then a 4-1 loss at Florida (w/ Bob now playing like Vezina Bob - of course). So the CBJ are riding a four-game losing streak into Washington for tonight's game. And the Caps are 22-4-5 and riding a six-game winning streak. Awesome Then its at Pittsburgh for a Thursday night game, followed by a trip to Ottawa for a Saturday afternoon game.
December 10, 20195 yr 10 hours ago, Columbo said: So the CBJ are riding a four-game losing streak into Washington for tonight's game. And the Caps are 22-4-5 and riding a six-game winning streak. So of course this meant the CBJ would win 5-2 tonight. We'll take it: https://www.jacketscannon.com/2019/12/9/21003975/game-30-recap-columbus-blue-jackets-washington-capitals-snap-losing-streak
December 11, 20195 yr Rookie forward Emil Bemstrom is expected to be sidelined six to eight weeks due to a dislocated rib and broken cartilage suffered in last Saturday's game at Florida: https://www.nhl.com/bluejackets/news/blue-jackets-emil-bemstrom-out-six-to-eight-weeks/c-312457968
December 16, 20195 yr The Jackets good-but-not-good-enough season continues into the last games before the NHL's Christmas Break. The CBJ had arguably their best game of this season in a 5-2 win at Washington on Monday. But then they followed it up with a pair of OT losses on Thursday and Saturday. The 1-0 OT loss at Pittsburgh would have been encouraging - if the Pens weren't missing both Crosby and Malkin from their lineup - and if the CBJ weren't limited to only 17 total SOG - and if the CBJ hadn't gifted the Pens a penalty in OT that lead to the loss. The 4-3 OT loss at Ottawa saw the CBJ put 20 SOG in the third period alone(!) in a comeback that saw Texier get two goals to send the game into overtime. But once again, a CBJ penalty in OT gifted a power-play game-winning OT goal. So, the Jackets are riding a three-game point streak - but only is a win (1-0-2). Good, not good enough. The game at Ottawa also cost the Jackets in player availability. Josh Anderson, Sonny Milano and Ryan Murray were all injured during Saturday's game and are listed as day-to-day. Forwards Marko Dano and Kevin Stenlund were called up from Cleveland and will draw into tonight's lineup. With Anderson, Milano and Murray out, they join Bemstrom, Werenski, Nutivaara and Sherwood on the injury list. This is a bad time to have seven players unavailable because the Jackets are beginning a five-games-in-eight-nights stretch leading up to the Christmas Break: Washington (Monday, 12/16 - tonight) at Detroit (Tuesday, 12/17) LA (Thursday, 12/19) NJ (Saturday, 12/21 at NYI (Monday, 12/23)
December 17, 20195 yr https://www.1stohiobattery.com/columbus-blue-jackets-analysis/2019/12/4376/three-things-joonas-korpisalo-blanks-capitals-as-bjorkstrand-scores-twice Sometimes sports is just plain weird. The Caps have only 6 regulation losses this season. Two of them are to the CBJ! The 13-14-6 Jackets now have a pair of impressive three-goal wins over the 24-6-5 Capitals. A 5-2 win at Washington a week ago and a 3-0 win tonight in Columbus. Korpisalo gets a 30-save shutout. Bjorkstrand nets two goals. And the CBJ avoided getting another defenseman put out of the lineup when Peeke took a puck to the face in the first period - but returned to play the second and third periods (with an additional face shield).
December 17, 20195 yr Such a weird season. We very well may lose to Detroit tonight one night after absolutely dominating the best team in the league. It wasn't just 3-0. The Caps couldn't do anything. It seems Torts has figured out the Caps the last couple seasons after being humiliated the previous five+ years against them. I just wish he could get his teams up for games against lowly opponents as well. After beating the Caps a week ago, and then taking a hard 1-0 OT loss to the Pens, there's no reason we should have lost at home to Ottawa. OT or not. Tonight's showing against Detroit I'm hoping gives me some answers on who this team is, and where they're capable of heading.
December 17, 20195 yr 5 hours ago, aderwent said: Such a weird season. We very well may lose to Detroit tonight one night after absolutely dominating the best team in the league. It wasn't just 3-0. The Caps couldn't do anything. It seems Torts has figured out the Caps the last couple seasons after being humiliated the previous five+ years against them. I just wish he could get his teams up for games against lowly opponents as well. After beating the Caps a week ago, and then taking a hard 1-0 OT loss to the Pens, there's no reason we should have lost at home to Ottawa. OT or not. Tonight's showing against Detroit I'm hoping gives me some answers on who this team is, and where they're capable of heading. The biggest problem this season has been goal scoring (and kinda reminds me of the Crew this past year!). I saw this stat that reflects this lack of goals: In the games where the opposing team scores first, the CBJ have a 0-10-5 record(!). I thought the goaltending might be a big trouble spot this season. But Korpi has been much better than in previous seasons. I didn't think the goal scoring would drop off this much. But Atkinson, Bjorkstrand and Texier have had two-goal games recently and might be getting on-track (Bjorky and Tex in particular). Nyquist has been a good pickup. However, Wennberg continues to be a mystery, while Anderson has become one this season. The defensemen have been very solid, while the overall d-depth is bailing the team out with three of the original six d-starters currently out of the lineup. I'm not really that disappointed with the CBJ this season - because I always thought this would be a transition season for the team. The team needed to figure out who their #1 goaltender would be going forward. The team needed to figure out which young players/rookies are NHL-ready and which aren't. And the team needed to figure out which underperforming vets can turn it around and which can't. That usually leads to ups and downs until these roster decisions shake themselves out. If injuries don't overwhelm this season, I'm hopeful that the organization can determine which players will be worth keeping for future seasons. That's not necessarily a recipe for a second-half run for the 2020 playoffs. But it might be a recipe for future playoff seasons.
December 18, 20195 yr Some good news going into tonight's game at Detroit. The CBJ have activated defenseman Zach Werenski off the Injured Reserve. Z only spent 17 days on the IR - instead of the 4 weeks that was expected. He's done that before, returning early from another injury in a previous season. This is a something you love to see from one of your most talented players. You can't question Werenski's toughness. Unfortunately, the team also placed right wing Josh Anderson on the IR - with Anderson expected to miss 4 to 6 weeks because of a shoulder injury suffered in last Saturday's Ottawa game. Although, with the scoring funk that Anderson had been in, maybe this time off will do him some good. Anderson's role in the roster is more replaceable - Werenski's role is not: https://www.nhl.com/bluejackets/news/columbus-blue-jackets-activate-zach-werenski-place-josh-anderson-injured-reserve/c-312693132
December 18, 20195 yr https://www.jacketscannon.com/2019/12/17/21027184/game-34-recap-columbus-blue-jackets-blitz-detroit-red-wings-win-second-straight The CBJ won their first game of this season in which the opposing team scored first (previously they were 0-10-5 when this happened). But it wasn't a smooth victory. The Jackets gave up the first goal, regained the lead, then lost the lead until tying it 3-3 in the second and taking a 4-3 lead early in the third. Kevin Stenlund scored his first NHL goal (the fifth Blue Jacket to do so this season - which highlights the youth & inexperience of the roster). Bjorkstrand, Atkinson and PLD scored to build that 4-3 lead. Former Red Wing Gustav Nyquist (who was returning to Detroit for the first since leaving) potted an empty netter to clinch the game with 7 seconds remaining. Korpi didn't have a great night with the save percentage - but the 18 shots he stopped on 21 shots was good enough tonight. Werenski returned and picked up where he left off before his shoulder injury. But d-man Peeke left early in the second period after blocking a shot and having the puck ride up his stick into his hand. He had a similar scare in Monday's game when the puck rode up his stick and hit him in the mouth - but he returned to finish that game. Peeke did not return in Tuesday's game and Torts said afterward it looked like Peeke broke his hand and could be out for "a while". Wennberg took a puck to the mouth late in the game and went off for repairs with no word on his condition. But despite all that, the CBJ won this road swing of a back-to-back and now return to .500 at 14-14-6. They are riding a five-game point streak (3-0-2) going into two home games against teams with worse records than the Jackets - LA (15-18-3) on Thursday and NJ (10-17-5) on Saturday.
December 18, 20195 yr This is really reminding me a lot of the '14-'15 season where they iced an AHL squad for half their lineup. Very Stable Genius
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