*groan* The Columbus Bipolar Jackets gave two points to Detroit last night. Just handed it to them. Wrapped it up in a big box with a festive red and white bow and handed it to the Wings, who then proceeded to tear into it like an aroused spider monkey after a triple-espresso.

Deadspin’s link to the fiasco read:

“Columbus falls out of the suck tree and hits every branch on the way down, and then rolls into the brutal well.”

Ouch.

It was a bad game. So bad I don’t want to write about it. You can go to the – usual – suspects for more analysis.

I’ll infuriate you with a quote from AP sports:

“It was a good bounce-back effort for Hasek, who was lifted after allowing three first-period goals in a 4-3 loss on Monday night in Columbus.

“‘We know we’re a better team,” he said. “And if you want to be a contender, a top team in the NHL, you can’t lose two games in a row to a team like Columbus.”’

Double Ouch.

So, there’s a silver lining?

Yup. Even considering last night’s spanking, so far in December the Jackets have earned 13 out of 20 points (including that awesome 11-of-12 run earlier in the month). Plus, the schedule is a bit more favorable over the coming week, so that % should improve. If they win even half of December’s remaining six games, they’ll finish with having earned at least 59% of the month’s points (compared to November’s 25%). Improvement continues.

Jackets 6, Senators 2

Quite simply, I have never seen the team play so well as I did last night. What a perfect game it was to initiate my six-year-old daughter as a Jackets fan. It was her first game, and the nonstop excitement was ideal for her short attention span. We arrived at the game, picked her up her very first jersey (she wanted the 2nd jersey), & headed up to our center-ice/upper-bowl seats for the game.

Eight seconds into the game, Anson Carter pinned a player to the boards, and the tempo was set. The pace was frenetic, the hits were hard, and the siren sounded a half-dozen times. About five minutes into the first period, I had to explain to my daughter why Shelly was pounding on McGrattan (it was a rough clip). “Why is he hitting him?” *punchpunchpunch* “Well, sweetie, see number 45 there?” *smash* “He’s the good guy.” *poundpound* “He got clipped. That means someone tried to hurt his legs. You don’t do that to number 45.” *smashbonkgruntOOF* “Oh, cooollll…” she said. “He winned! What’s he doing now?” “Going to the penalty box, sweetie.”

Gotta love the innocence.

Both Nash and Fritsche were in position for hat tricks by the end of the second period, and Hainsey and Malhotra picked up the other two goals. Five of the six came on power plays – a new CBJ record.

It was quite interesting to see the new lineups. Not seeing Fedorov take the opening face-off was a bit odd, but Sergei had a fantastic game nonetheless, getting an assist on one of Nash’s goals and wreaking havoc elsewhere. Hitchcock is still playing with the lines, and whatever he’s doing is working. All the lines have been playing with increased chemistry for the past half-dozen games or so.

The usual bad news about a game this fast and rough is the number of injuries that occur… and the Jackets had some unfortunate ones. Adam Foote was taken away during the first period, suffering a “lower body injury.” That could be code for “back,” or it could be code for “balls.” Who knows yet. Anson Carter got hurt too, but I heard on the Jackets post-game radio show that he was okay.

The worst potential injury came from LeClaire… he was taken off the ice after an awkward stretch in the second period. It was hard to tell what happened, it just looked like he stretched “funny.” An MRI was scheduled today. After hearing that the Jackets issued an emergency recall of Ty Conklin from the Crunch today, I’m guessing the news from the MRI isn’t so good.

Sigh… Yet another shutout for the Jackets, their sixth this year (they only had five all of last season). Lots of frustrating things about this game… but Pascal Leclaire wasn’t one of them. The man was an absolute animal between the pipes, especially through the early second period when the Jackets were getting outshot three to one. Only one of 33 shots got past him, and that was from — who else? — Naslund.

The refs taking away a goal from the Jackets didn’t help, either. I don’t know what Toronto saw, it was plainly clear even in my small bedroom television that the puck crossed the goal line before Luongo swatted it away. Luongo got the shutout, but to this writer he was outplayed by Leclaire.

I saw moments of great effort from the lines last night, but they weren’t able to string it together for an entire game. Luongo had a great game, but there were two or three opportunities where the hole was there but the forwards couldn’t find it, or couldn’t make the pass, or WOULDN’T make the pass (still not playing as a team), or whiffed the puck, etc., etc. Too many painful turnovers. I was hoping Anson Carter would find the net last night, just to silence the boos from the Vancouver crowd every time he took the ice.

Still, I think this team is playing with better effort than it was a month ago, so I guess it’s admirable that some sort of improvement is occurring. It hasn’t translated to the scoreboard yet, but I’m optimistic that isn’t too far off.

We know that MotSaG has been remiss in covering the CBJ as well as we would have liked to. It’s just that recently there’s been this other team in Ohio that has taken up most of our blogging space.

It was announced yesterday that Captain Kangaroo Ken Hitchcock has been hired as the new coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Hitch replaces interim coach Agnew, who replaced long-time coach Gerard Gallant last week.

<SARCASM>However, at least Doug MacLean is still with the organization.</SARCASM>

Hitch will coach his first game Friday night against the Philadelphia Flyers, the organization that fired him earlier this season.

I think it’s a step in the right direction. Hitchock is known as a hard-nosed disciplinarian, and if there’s one thing the Jackets need, it’s a kick in the pants. On Wednesday, Anson Carter was interviewed by Columbus sports radio station 1460 TheFan. Carter was asked about the pathetic 2006 season, and was unusually honest. Paraphrasing, he said that he understands the need for a coaching change, but holding one or two people accountable isn’t going to fix things. “The entire team needs to be held accountable,” said Carter. “There’s too many players missing practices on a regular basis.”

He didn’t elaborate on which Jackets were skipping practice *coughZherdevcough*, but if that’s true, then hopefully Hitch can set some new expectations. He’s won 408 of 750 games, including a stretch with the Stars that earned the 1999 Stanley Cup.

“Any one of you punks who miss practice will have to deal with Mr. Green Jeans”

I was watching last night’s game (ugh, leading by a goal with a two man advantage, and they still managed to find a way to lose) and Hitchcock was interviewed during the second period. He said all the things that Jackets fans needed to hear, about his goal to build winning lines first, and his philosophy of how the forward lines play for the defensemen, and the defensemen play for the goalie. Seemed to me that we might expect to see some major shakeups on the lines & pairings.

So a new era begins. I think it might be too late to make the playoffs this year, but we’ll take any improvement we can get. I wouldn’t say they’ve hit rock-bottom yet, but they’re close.

I’ve been waiting to chime in on the recent lethargic performance of the CBJ.

First, I was hoping it was only that the Jackets were having a hard time getting up to speed after the long layoff (2 games in 10 days).

Then, when things weren’t getting better, I started wondering if the team chemistry was out of synch due to the injuries to Fedorov, Berard, et. al. Maybe when Feddy came back, I thought, things would take off (like they did when he reported last December). But no.

Last night’s pathetic performance against the Sharks (3-0) should have been the CBJ’s coming out party. Sergei’s return should have sparked the team (it certainly sparked the fans), and he always plays well against San Jose. Granted, the Sharks look very good this year, but my nephew’s junior league could have played with more effort than the Jackets did last night.

Fedorov: “Look everyone, I’m flying with the Blue Jackets! Huh? What’s that?
The Blue Angels? Awww, crap.”

It’s hard to pin down the exact reason. Is it the blueliners? Are we missing Denis more than we thought we would? If defense is the problem, then why are we not getting shots on goal during 5 on 3 power plays? Why are almost all the players lumbering after the puck instead of attacking it?

This isn’t a question of the CBJ getting soundly beat by other teams, it’s almost like they’re beating themselves for the other squads. I have some polite requests:

To Sergei Fedorov: Do whatever you did last December, please.

To Adam Foote: This is your team, dude. Set the bar by playing harder yourself.

To Rick Nash: Take the shot. Just take it. For crying out loud, stop trying to be Zherdev with the finesse, sudden stops, and fancy twists, & just use your speed to outrace everyone and take the shot.

To Nick Zherdev: Take the shot. Just take it. For crying out loud, stop trying to be Nash with the speed and the 500 mph pucks, & just use your finesse to fake everyone out and take the shot.

To (putting on my Jeff Rimer voice) Zhiiilll-beyaar Broo-lay (Gilbert Brule): Keep it up. Stay mad that they had the nerve to put you on the fourth line. It’s helping.

To Shelly and Tollefson: As much as I am against violence, would you please try to intimidate someone by checking them into the Nationwide parking lot? I’ve always liked Shelly – but honestly, I’ve only seen a handful of good shifts from him this season. Tollefson – some good effort here. Keep it up. I just wish he was a teeensy bit faster. Maybe we could build a little ice ramp for him to build up speed, or add some little Wile E. Coyote rockets to his skates or something.

To me, whenever a team has this much talent, and yet doesn’t perform, you’ve gotta look at coaching. Gallant certainly says the right things, but this team has no chemistry or fire. Is that a coaching problem? I think it might be. So far, I’ve had no problem with Gallant, but it’s hard to see where he stops and Doug MacLean starts.

Sigh. Another slow start. I hope it’s an aberration this time.

The season starts tomorrow (finally!), and your CBJ roster has been set. I won’t go into much analysis, here; if you’d like some, check out Drew’s take on the roster over over at EOB.

Missing from the lineup are the injured Fedorov, Svitov, and Berard; and the reserved Picard and Zherdev. Klesla is also off the roster for the first two games due to his suspension. All should be back by late October or early November… except maybe Berard – his status (back injury) is “out indefinitely.” Also, Carter is listed on the second line, but has been battling a foot inflammation.

Lines (LW/C/RW)

First Line: Rick Nash / Mark Hartigan / David Vyborny
A great first line. Hartigan fills in for Fedorov here. Let’s see what he does with the opportunity.

Second Line: Fredrik Modin / Geoff Platt / Anson Carter
Some new faces here. Brule could step into this line, too.

Third Line: Jason Chimera / Manny Malhotra / Dan Fritsche
Sol-id. Great veteran chemistry here.

Fourth Line: Jody Shelly / Gilbert Brule / Jaroslav Balastik
This line will hurt people.

Defense Pairs

First Pair: Ron Hainsey / Adam Foote

Second Pair: Aaron Johnson / Duvie Westcott

Third Pair: Anders Eriksson / Ole-Kristian Tollefson

Goaltending

Starter: Pascal Leclaire

Backup: Fredrik Norrena

Overall, it’s a pretty exciting lineup, but the Jackets lack some experience at center. Federov and Svitov can’t return too quickly. The biggest “surprise” for many was Brule being assigned to the fourth line. With the injuries, everyone assumed he’d be the guy to beat. I’m thinking the coaches were just more impressed with Platt’s performance during the preseason (4 goals, 3 assists).

Let’s get it on!

The Blue Jackets have announced that Nikolai Zherdev will be back wearing blue sweaters in Columbus this season. No details were disclosed on the three-year deal.

The fact that Zherdev was convinced to end his holdout with the Blue Jackets is good news for a team that has already lost two centers to injury and had a player suspended.

The CBJ still has to find a way to expedite his return to the US as quickly as possible. The paperwork involved in his visa might keep him from joining the team for the start of the regular season (which begins next Friday, Oct. 6).

Still, with the injuries to Fedorov and Svitov being minor, and with Zherdev coming back, it’s great to end September on a good note, for once.

A pretty impressive and exciting preseason was up-ended last night when Sergei Federov was slew-footed into the boards, injuring his shoulder. The AP is reporting that Sergei will miss up to six weeks.

Drew over at EOB calculates that, because of a relatively sparse schedule in October and early November, Federov could end up only missing four or five regular-season games.

Can’t the Jackets have a decent September, for once? These slow-starts in autumn are getting tiring. Last season it took until December before they were all healthy & started clicking.

On the positive side, the Jackets have been looking decent offensively, especially during power-plays. The talented Picard was finally able to get his first goal last weekend, and Anson Carter stepped up last night to cover for Sergei, against a very balanced Sabres team. I’m excited to see more of Carter, who should help to mitigate the disappointing loss of Zherdev.

Defensively, they’re still giving up a lot of shots, but goaltending has been exceptional. It’s hard to tell after just a couple of preseason games, but it looks like the CBJ is in good shape between the pipes, considering Denis’ departure. Even the rookie Popperle stopped 23 shots on Sunday.

Image credit & copyright: Mike Munden, The Columbus Dispatch.

The Columbus Dispatch is reporting that the Blue Jackets told winger Nikolai Zherdev that a contract agreement must be reached within the next week. Zherdev’s agent said:

“Our deadline is Oct. 5, but we’ve been told (by the Blue Jackets) that we need to get a deal done within the next week. To me, that’s a deadline. In fairness to the team, they want to know where things stand so they can prepare. I can understand that…

“If we don’t have a deal by next week, he’s playing in Russia.”

Part of the problem is Zherdev’s visa; if the CBJ doesn’t sign him soon, he won’t be able to report to the team in time for the season to start because of all the immigration paperwork involved in bringing him back here.

Zherdev. Scoring. While flying horizontally.

Sadly, it seems that MacLean didn’t learn a thing from the Ray Whitney fiasco. Ray Stein of the Dispatch sums up our frustration:

“Are Blue Jackets fans going to have to continually face mediocre seasons because of MacLean’s judgment? I, for one, have about had enough.”

Here’s hoping one side blinks this week.

Image credit & copyright: Columbus Blue Jackets and the NHL

Blue Jackets negotiations with Nikolai Zherdev have reportedly “hit a snag.”

This is not good. The CBJ has tons of talent, but we can’t afford to lose the depth that Zherdev brings to the table. It seems that all he wants is three or four years, and MacClean is hedging.

Just do it, Doug. Don’t tell me you forgot about this:

Not too many wingers can grab the puck and go coast to coast with 31 seconds left, zigging, zagging, deking opponents out of their skates, passing the puck to themselves in between defensemen’s legs, over their skates, and then flipping the puck in the net while horizontally airborne four feet above the ice – sending the game into OT where your team wins it. This is what Zherdev can do. Keep him here.