Opening Night 2007: Before

We're merely hours away from showtime. At 7pm, the puck drops for the Jackets' 2007-2008 season. I, for one, am quite excited. As a matter of fact, I could barely sleep last night. So much has changed since last year. On opening night of last year, the Jackets were coached by Gerard Gallant and led by GM and President Doug MacLean. Just the switch to the 'H&H' leadership team has changed the tune of Columbus hockey. Now that Hitch has had the remainder of last season, plus the offseason and training camp of '07 to work with the team, the Jackets should be in better shape to start the season.

It may be the first game of the season for Columbus, with a clean slate 0-0 record, but Anaheim is already 1-1-1 following two games in London and a shootout loss to Detroit on Wednesday. The Ducks are likely tired and weakened from their road trip, but will certainly want to rebound from their loss in Detroit. Look for them to try for early scores so they can turn on the cruise control. If the Jackets can get the first point on the board, chances are high that they can outlast the Ducks down the stretch and keep it close, if not put Anaheim away in the third period.

I will be in attendance for tonight's opener. This year, my girlfriend bought me a 20-2-1 plan for my birthday. Look for me in section 217.

Here's what other sources are saying about tonight's game:
USAToday
Army of the Ohio
Columbus Dispatch
Orange County Register

Jacket Times Sidenote:
Tonight's home opener marks the one year anniversary of The Jacket Times. Thank you for stopping by our corner of the hockey blogosphere. After 170 posts, three writers and 16,000 hits, it's been a fun ride. Here's to an even better 07-08!

New Blue Jackets Blog hits the Columbus Dispatch

There's a new CBJ Blog in town. 'Puck-rakers' is the work of Dispatch sports writers Aaron Portzline, Tom Reed, and Michael Arace.

Though it's only five posts deep so far, it is a great resource for CBJ news out of training camp from three guys who watch the practices and get the insider information. The blog format allows them to be a little less formal with their words and presents a more personal tone. It also gives them an opportunity to talk about rumors that wouldn't be as accepted in the daily paper.

'Puck-rakers' is a good read and should be a great addition to any CBJ blog reader's arsenal of information. Check it out at http://blog.dispatch.com/cbj/

The Jacket Times will Return 6/18

Tomorrow afternoon I'll be heading to Europe to do some pre-draft scouting for the Jackets.

Ha! I wish. I'll be overseas, but it won't be because of some dream job for the team. Instead, I'll be goofing around with some college buddies. I'll be back on the 18th at which point we'll start the Draft coverage. Yoder and I will be attending this year's festivities.

In the mean time, stay tuned to End of the Bench and Army of the Ohio for Blue Jackets news. Also, these other bloggers and myself are planning a draft meet-up for hockey bloggers and fans. Details to follow. (For you out-of-towners coming to Columbus for the draft, see this post for some additional information.)

If you're looking for something to read, why not check out how I increased my gas mileage to 38mpg and it cost me nothing.

This is a real website now!

This morning I registered the domain www.jackettimes.com through Yahoo. I found a great deal where I could get the first year for $1.99. Done.

If you use 'www.jackettimes.com' it'll do a masked redirect to the same site. All of your old bookmarks, rss feeds, links and whatever else you have attached to this site will still work, so there's no need to change anything. I just couldn't pass up a good deal.

While I do intend on making a few site changes during the offseason, I'll be sure to put up a post or two about them before anything major changes.

Oh, and if you're a blogger and want to take advantage of the same deal, you can get the $1.99 price by clicking here. I don't know how long it'll last, so get it while the getting is good!

1 and 1 weekend for the Jackets

Jackets won one and lost one this past weekend. Friday's game against the Sharks surprised everyone when the Jackets blanked San Jose. Michael at Army of the Ohio noted a couple of unexpected features of the game, including some key plays by players I have trouble with.

Sunday shaped out a little different, however. The Jackets hosted the Montreal Canadians for only the second time ever (Thank you NHL scheduling). Even though the Habs came in on a multi-game skid, they managed to scrape together one more goal than Columbus to get the win.

21 year old Halak was in net for the Canadians and he put up 31 saves. He also had this to say to a CBS Sportsline reporter:

"It would have been nice to get the shutout but we got the two points."

I don't like the vibe I get from that- opposing goaltenders coming into Ohio half expecting the shutout. It's particularly pompous from a guy who's in his first NHL start!

Anyway, the Habs scored all three of their goals in the second. The third period demonstrated some strong play by our younger players as Zherdev and Brule lit the red lamp. Seeing those guys execute and make plays even when down two or three goals is incredibly important to the recovery of the CBJ organization. Frankly, it's almost worth the loss at this point in the season.

The Jackets' six game home stand is now finished, and the team will be headed to St. Louis on Tuesday in what will surely be a "we're not going to the playoffs, you're not going to the playoffs" demonstration of young talent and some scrappy play by Nash, Svitov and Tollefson, who have become increasingly violent. (Or is it just me?)

On an unrelated note, this marks the 100th post on The Jacket Times!

Don't Miss Another Jacket Times Post! RSS!

If you're wondering if there's a better way to check in on this and other blogs, not miss new posts, and not have to remember to check each page yourself, the answer is yes.

Web 2.0 has brought us a little goodie called RSS. The short of it is that it's a feed straight from this and other sites that can be read in a news aggregator. All you have to do is tune in to one site or software program, and all of the latest updates from your favorite sites will be right there, waiting to be read. It'll even keep track of which ones you've already seen so you don't have to sift through them. I personally track several CBJ blogs this way, plus a couple dozen regularly updated sites.

I recommend using Google Reader for this service. It's fast, free, and can connect to your other Google services, such as G-Mail, Blogger, or your personalized home page.

Also, I added the ability to have The Jacket Times emailed to you at each update. To sign up, just enter your email address on the right side of the page. I'd still recommend an RSS reader, but this is a good option if you're not ready to jump into that right away.

If you're ready to pick up the feed, the address for it is http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheJacketTimes if you're using firefox (and probably IE) it will offer you the option of adding a subscription, right form that link. Otherwise, copy & paste that link into your RSS reader.

Some New Links for You CBJ Fans

Hey fans, just thought I'd let everyone know that I added a few additional links to the CBJ Blogroll / Team sites. (It's down there on the right.)

Check it out! If you run a CBJ site, or know of a good one that isn't listed, leave me a message in the comments and I'll add it to the site.

I'd also like to officially welcome any and all new readers. I learned yesterday that our site was referenced to on Sports Illustrated's CBJ site. Enjoy your visit, and stop back often.

Stay warm, Jacket fans. And be careful driving- it took me more than 2 hours to get home last night and I watched people fishtail and spin-out the whole way.

Link additions

On the right side of this page, you'll see a few new links. These direct to other hockey blogs, including 2 by other Jacket fans, and one to "Covered in Oil", an Edmonton Oilers page. Fortunately, they haven't given me too hard of a time for Friday's game.