Foligno Vs Foligno

Game three of the regular season, and after a lack luster start against the Rangers the Jackets are looking to find their footing against a Buffalo team that has had the same amount of success. 

The Jackets came out strong in this one putting seven shots on goal in the first period. The shot total was equal to buffalo, what wasn't equal though were the chances created. The chances the Jackets had to score vastly outnumbered that of the Sabers. The Jackets are finally producing, on the defensive side of the ice, enough to give their offense a chance to create plays. This is also helping out Bob not have to make forty plus saves per night.

Period two began with both teams still in the hunt for their first goal of the afternoon. The Sabers struck first three minutes in to the period. The Sabers really took to the offensive out shooting the Jackets 8-1 in the first five minutes of the period. This along with some on ice shenanigans really upset Boll who took five on for trying to spark the Jackets and throw down with Deslauriers. After Boll spent the thirty second fight hammering Deslauriers's face in like he was tenderizing a tough steak, the refs called it and sent them to the box. This was the second penalty for the Jackets after Foligno got called for hooking Eichel which led to the first score of the night and the last few seconds of the power play. If I could summarize the second period in a few words it would read something along the lines of "And the Sabers again go and fail on the power play". Yes the only conceded goal was on the power play but in all fairness for as many chances the Sabers only scoring the once looks really bad. Borque had an amazing chance to tie the game up but just barley missed the net. He and everyone watching could see the amazing opportunity that was missed to tie the game up. The period ends with a frustrated Jackets team down by one with only twenty minutes to close the deficit.

Going into the third we see a typical Jackets stat line, Out shot (by ten SOG), down in goals, higher PIM, higher hit total, low takeaways, and a majority of faceoff wins. The Sabers have given the puck away eight times going into the third period. These takeaways yielded great offensive opportunities for the Jackets but they were not able to capitalize on them (something they needed to change in the third to avoid going 0-3).

Coach Krumm's Keys to the third: SHOOT MORE THAN YOU GET SHOT ON! It's basic, if you are on offense more than you are defense chances are you're going to score.

Period three yielded another Power Play goal thanks to a tripping penalty by Foligno. However the Jackets gotr right back into the mix after a divining effort by Saad put one in the back of the net. And just when you thought the Jackets were getting back into the mix Bob lets us down again taking a bad angle on a shooter and the Jackets are down 3-1. Bob is really letting this team down with his performance over the past three games. Preseason he was talked about as a vezina trophy candidate, tonight and against the Rangers he looked more like Foresberg. The Jackets were able to close the gap once again to make it 3-2 before Buffalo put what should have been an easy save in past Bob again. This would finish the scoring giving Buffalo their first win of the season 4-2 against a team some had going to the Cup Finals. 

A disappointing start for the Jackets. Penalty minutes are far to high, and chemistry is not what it should be for this team. Wednesday night we should hopefully see a team that is in unison and can come out and lay the hammer down on the Senators from Ottawa. 

GO JACKETS! MAKE THAT CANNON BOOM!

The sun doesn't shine over Columbus

In the first period we saw a continuation of the 3rd period last night. It was all Rangers for the first seven minutes as they capitalized on some really amazing chances. The Jackets did try and mount an aggressive comeback with a shot that vanished into thin air; thin air being Lundqvist's leg pad. The call on the ice was no goal which  The physical play of last night was pretty much non existent this evening. These goals began to deflate the Jackets, but what really declared them was the amazing goaltending of Lundqvist.

Period 2 gave the Jackets some of their best offensive chances, chances thwarted by some truly amazing goaltending. One so amazing that Joey had an open net and Lundqvist makes a diving save from behind the net with the tip of his stick. The Jackets entered the third down by 4 after the Rangers scored just seconds into their first power play of the evening.

The last period of regulation began without Bob between the pipes!?!?! McElhinney comes in to try and turn things around. Two minutes into the third and the Rangers go up 5-0.  It was five minutes in when the Jackets FINALLY put one in off the pads of Lundqvist after he made 3 amazing saves. The Jackets will not leave MSG with a goose egg. Calvert almost put one through but yet again Lundqvist comes up with a save of the year cartwheeling and laying down. By my count if Lundqvist was a human being and not a god figure the score should have been 5-5. Frustrated and tired the Jackets were itching for a fight, stalberg obliged and Hartnell and Foligno showed him what for and all got 2 for roughing. With six to go in the game booked puts one in on the power play making it 5-2 and the Jackets went back on the power play, there is life there was hope in the Jackets lines, albeit a small flicker but hope nonetheless. This hope would ultimately amount to nothing as the Jackets fall 5-2.

The Jackets should not place much stock in this loss as they played from behind well and in the eyes of everyone but the hockey gods they won that game, or at least put it into OT.

If Lundqvist's godlike abilities remain intact through the season there is no way the cup isn't going to New York.

GO JACKETS! MARCH ON AND WE WILL MARCH WITH YOU!

Twice the cannon did boom

What a game last night. 57 minutes of beautiful, physical, rivalry hockey. The blue shirts were being swarmed by Blue Jackets at every turn. Back and forth all night until finally in the third period the Jackets went up by one thanks to a beauty of a power play goal by Saad. Then tragedy struck the capital city. In fashion similar to last season we scored and played overconfident. With a turnover of the puck in our defensive end The Rangers center, Oscar Linberg, put one past Bob to tie it 2-2. And before the announcer could even give him credit over the P.A. system red lights flashed again for the Rangers, 3-2, thanks to right wing Kevin Hayes and a rookie mistake by Bob. Mats Zuccarello finished off the scoring shortly thereafter and with a two goal lead the Rangers ruin another home opener. Now the pressure is on the Jackets tonight against a New York team who the jackets had right where they wanted but failed on the defensive side of the ice. New York will be going with Henrik Lundqvist in goal again tonight and the Jackets start Bob. This is an advantage for Columbus, this will be Lundqvist's 3rd start in 4 nights. The man may be great but the Jackets are going come out strong early, throw everything they have at him, make him crane left and right non-stop. Doing this they can, and will, take the lead early and grind out a win showing New York what a ruined home opener feels like. Look for more hard hits in the corners and at least 2 fights from some hard feelings after last night's game where the refs let everything slide on both sides.

GO JACKETS!

PRESEASON IS OVER!

Last preseason game in the books, season opens on Friday, who couldn't be more excited you ask? THIS GUY!

On Saturday we saw a CBJ team the likes of which have never been seen before. Our defense was lights out which allowed us to outshout and ultimately outscore the preds. Saad had an impressive game getting him a top 3 star nomination. Foligno and Johansen played together like the best friends I'm sure they are. Passing was crisp and plays were nice neat and setup to perfection. This should do nothing but excite jackets fans everywhere. This is how a professional hockey team should play. This is how we make a deep run in the playoffs. This is how we win the cup. These are not goals that are out of reach for this young club with a lot of cap room and wonderful top line talents.

To leave you with anything it is this. It's about to be exciting in the heart of Ohio, for now and the foreseeable future. Welcome to cannon country.

IT'S ALMOST CANNON TIME!

Well I know I've taken a bit of a hiatus after the first couples of days of UFA. But midway through the preseason I'm back and ready to bring you the best hockey opinion in central Ohio, mine. The preseason has let us see the playing styles of the possible future of our team. And you know what? So far I'm honestly not super impressed. We've seen the typical jackets style of play, being grinders more than shooters. We are getting out-shot by 10-20 shots a game, but we are hitting 3X more than anyone we play. I do believe there is a time and place for this type of play, and that is, the non-essential and preseason games. We don't have the skilled defensive players on every line to warrant not taking as many shots on net as we can possibly get in sixty minutes. But as true Union Blue supporters we grit our teeth and hope for some really really exciting games. Which we should get this season and hopefully in seasons to come. I really don't see why our boys in blue can't make it deep (possibly eastern finals deep). Until the season starts this is coach Krumm saying GO JACKETS!

Gregory Campbell and free agency

So we had a very interesting first day of free agency yesterday. First and foremost we lost F Sean Collins to Washington, F Brian Gibbons to the New York Rangers, and F Mark Letestu to Edmonton. Letestu was a big hit for us as far as forwards go, he was a good worker and really gave his all. Gibbons (the lightning hobbit is what I call him), who played 50/50 with CBJ and Springfield, gave us tremendous speed up front when his line was on. Collins was an average producer but he played very well with others. These hits mostly hit us as far as numbers are concerned. A helpful pickup was the trade for Saad and the UFA Gregory Campbell. 

We all know about Saad what you might not know is that Campbell is not a goal scorer, he is a grinder. Columbus and Campbell go together like peanut butter and jelly. Campbell has the biggest don't quit attitude in the NHL, as seen here where he 1) lays down in front of a wicked slap shot to block it 2) Breaks his leg in the process and gets back up on it 3) FINISHES HIS SHIFT ON A BROKEN LEG! While he wasn't that efficient with a broken leg and all and it would have probably been better that he just went to the bench, this shows his tenacity and dedication. He is a guy with an enormous heart and will really give Columbus his all over the next two years. A clear 2nd or 3rd liner Campbell will strike the fear of God in anyone in his way when he puts that blue sweater on. Campbell the cannon is what I will be calling him from now on. We have a great mixture of young and old on our squad and I'm calling it now we are headed to the finals and in 2016 that cup will be paraded down high street and into it's rightful home in Nationwide. The 2015-2016 season is going to be the Jackets best ever and we have the crew who can really make our franchise into a dynasty for years to come. This is a very very exciting time in the capital city. 

Post draft recap

Well the entry draft is come and gone. Not really many surprises at least on the Jackets side of things. That's not to say there weren't any. The biggest of all being that we were able to get Zach Werenski, D. University of Michigan, and Gabriel Carlsson, D, Linkoping (SWEDEN) both in the first round. The Jackets went for the power defenders with great puck handling. I'd say expect to see Werenski don the coveted blue sweater in no less than two years (provided he doesn't finish out at Michigan). Carlsson should be down in Columbus in a year if he plays well in Cleveland.

Round two showed us the Jackets are still preparing for the future selecting left winger Paul Bittner, Portland Winterhawks. Center Kevin Stenlund from HV71 in Sweden was the fifty-eighth pick. With some preparation these two could see some serious ice time early, or be a very valuable trade commodity.

Round three the Jackets went with Keegan Kolesar a right winger out of Seattle. This evens out our future forwards with another valuable future right winger or trade option. Kolesar will do very well in a program like Cleveland where he can really grow into a well rounded player.

Rounds five through eight were all defenders. Showing that the Jackets are concerned with their defense and getting numbers up to give Bob a little support so he doesn't have to make forty plus saves a night.

All in all I was pretty satisfied with the selections and am excited to see how they perform in the preseason. 

Defensive Thinking

Hello to all! Tonight is a very exciting night for the Jackets as we learn who might be joining the best team in the NHL soon. The NHL draft this year is particularly important as we learned earlier today that the Blue Jackets are considering a trade with multiple orgs. Arty for a higher pick.

Personally I think that is a giant waste of a trade. Arty is an okay player who always goes out and gives his all. We need a great defensemen, a few actually and getting a pick in the draft higher than #8 isn't going to do that for us. Yes we get new young players which is good for the organizations future, we hurt in the next 1-3 years. As we all saw at the tail end of our season we have a team that can compete (in a healthy state) for the cup. What we need to make that dream a reality is a couple of guys in front of Bob and Mac to take some pressure off and get the puck up an out to our guys to pepper whichever goaltender we are up against that night. We are always out-shot and playing on our heals, the reason you ask, defense, or lack thereof.

Now let me just say this as a disclaimer. I am a football coach, and a hockey fan. I feel this is an important disclaimer to make to show where my opinions are coming from. I don't know anything about hockey strategy or game planning. However I do look at the situation from the perspective of a coach. That is to say, when I see a problem or something goes wrong I try to find why it went wrong and correct that issue. That being said what I saw last year was our offense not being able to produce because they were back covering for sloppy defensive play. However when our defense was playing well our offense was on fire.

This leads me to believe that what we need to do is trade some of our 3rd and 4th line defense for some older more experienced players who will bring not only knowledge but wisdom to our younger guys, and really show them what it takes to compete at the higher level that we keep trying to break into.

What would I do and who would I take? I'm not going to name any names here because whoever we bring on I think needs to gel very well with the team and really want to help out. I use the word help out because I would like to see a guy brought on who only has 3-5 more years in his career left. He would need to take on a role of mentor and instructor to the younger guys we bring up through the program. He would need to enjoy putting on the Blue Jackets sweater and  stepping on the ice in our town.

I'd say in the draft first round we need to pick up a winger to help out Joey and Milano in the future and worry about our defense within current league players. This I think would give us the best chance at getting back into the playoffs and parading that beautiful cup through the streets of Columbus.

Thanks for reading guys I'll be posting more after big things happen within the Jackets organization and once the season starts. Looking forward to seeing how things play out come July 1.

GO JACKETS!