Bang Head Here

Ugh. That was no fun at all. I picked up the game right after Chimera scored the Jackets' second goal of the night, which made the score 5-2.

Needless to say, I don't really feel like I totally wasted my evening because I watched "Drumline" on TNT.

Because of Norrena's recent injury, the Jackets started Conklin, but had to switch to Popperle mid-second period. Neither of those two goaltenders 'belong' in the NHL. It was Popperle's first ever NHL game to boot. Given these circumstances, you'd think the team would be focused very heavily on playing a tight, disciplined defense to minimize power play opportunities against their minor league goalies. I may think that, but the team sure didn't.

Five of Calgary's six goals came on the powerplay, with two of those during a five-on-three. The Jackets gave up ten two minute penalties, plus five minute majors to Shelley and Konopka. (Konopka? Who the hell is that?) In the interest of understanding, the Flames did manage three goals in the first ten minutes of play, so the team was no doubt frustrated. But that's not an excuse to give Calgary so many more opportunities to run up the score. If anything, those three goals should be the signal for the team to tighten up, focus on fundamentals, and most importantly, don't do anything stupid!

Right now (according to NHL.com) the Jackets are 20th in power play percentage and 18th in penalty kill. Power plays in hockey are like turnovers in football. You want to seize and throttle every one you get. The teams that win are the ones that give up the fewest and force the most. The Jackets' power play percentage hit the franchise high of 12th place back in the 02-03 season with a 17.3% rating. The best PK rank achieved by Columbus was 8th, in both the 02-03 and 03-04 seasons.

The team has proven before that they can reach the top 50th percentile on special teams, but I retain that the best way to minimize an opponents' scoring chances is to just not take so many penalties. I was previously under the impression that part of the "Hitchcock system" was to emphasize fundamentals, finishing checks and to stay out of the penalty box. Maybe the team is just taking a while to fully adapt to that system, because the Jackets have been on a roller coaster regarding PIM. Some games (like tonight) they give up so many power plays, and multiple 5-on-3's, and in other games the penalties are kept to a minimum- only 4 or 5 during the entire 60 minutes of play.

Get it together guys, there's games to win!
There's still two whole months left!
There's still time!

Jackets lose 6-2. (Argh.)
Box Score

Jackets shut down in L.A.

The Jackets lost last night in true Columbus fashion. 3-0 to the Kings. I didn't catch the game, as the Pacific time zone starts are killer on my sleep schedule. I did catch the article in the Dispatch, which seems oddly unfinished.

This Jackets team can't win, it's "squadoosh" as Tony Reali would say.

Anyhow, the Jackets continue their California road trip with games in Anaheim and San Jose.


Take a look at the Box Score, complete with 11(!) penalties. There's your problem.
Box Score

Oil Slick

Following last Thursday's victory in St. Louis, I thought I'd spend a few bucks and head down to Nationwide to see the Oilers game.

The joke is on me. CBJ is now 0-4 on games I've attended.

The jackets gave one away on Friday night. Despite beginning the first period on a long offensive streak with a very long possession, many shots and good cycling, the jackets couldn't get one in the back of the net.

The Oilers, being a solid all-around team, weren't about to let us keep that up. They quickly shut down any offense we would get the rest of the game, exempting only one power play goal by Anson Carter, which happened to be the 1000th goal in franchise history. Oh, and Fedorov went 80% on faceoffs.

About the only thing a Jackets fan could salvage from Friday night's game was the fighting, which yeilded 20 minutes in penalties, and another 20 in misconducts.

I'd love to put some of the team on notice right here, but the notice area isn't big enough. Instead:

ON NOTICE:

Gerard Gallant - Coach Gallant, you gotta get it together. You have the players, you have the fans, you have everything you need. Get these guys motivated and turn this season around or it will be your head!


Oilers win 4-1
Jackets 5-9-1, 11 pts. Last in Central Division

Box Score

Jody Shelley: The Enforcer ...but for how long?

Brian's post about Monday's game vs the Coyotes brought up an interesting topic: Jody Shelley. Good ole #45 has been with the Blue Jackets organization from the very beginning. As early as the inaugural 2000-2001 season, Shelley played 69 games for the Syracuse crunch and once for the Jackets. Since then he has been a staple on the Columbus roster, playing 50-80 games per season.

Jody Shelley is a role player, his title: the enforcer. Shelley is known for one thing and for one thing only- to establish a physical presence on the ice and defend his team from the roughest players on opposing teams. When an opponent tries to rough up one of Columbus' younger or more defenseless players, Shelley is the man who steps out on the ice like a bodyguard. A few checks into the boards usually fixes the problem, though a few more deliberate punches to the face are also in the repertoire.

It is well known that the NHL is attempting to "crack down" on fights by enforcing stricter penalties for instigators, and at the very least making quicker efforts to stop the punches before they're thrown. Without getting into the merits of on-ice fights in the NHL (we can do that another time), the crackdown on this scenario takes away the need for a physical player like Shelley.

As Brian said, Shelley's days are numbered. Beyond fighting, Shelley is not an incredibly useful player on the ice. In 280 NHL games, Shelley has amounted to only 27 points- 10 goals, 17 assists. In the same amount of time he racked up 856 penalty minutes. Granted, that number is slightly skewed by the fact that a fighting penalty is a 5 minute major and cedes no power play, but it still amounts to over 14 hours in the box. But how many of those minutes are forcing the Jackets into a penalty kill situation? The one stat that I don't have available is how many minutes he actually spends on ice. I think the penalty box to ice time ratio would be ridiculous. What I do know is that he averages over 3 minutes in the box per game and in the first three games of this season has not found himself there yet.

Outside of games, Shelley has a different role with the team. As one of only a handful of Jacket players who have a strong grip on the English language and a likeable public personality, he has spent more time than any other player doing promotions and advertising. Local car dealerships utilize many commercials with his likeness projecting toughness. The mobile Blue Jackets promo team also frequently have him making public appearances (formerly in tandem with Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre). Video highlights and ads inside Nationwide Arena often include him advising the safety habits of fans and demonstrating the strength and physical play of Blue Jackets hockey. In essence, he has become the quintessential face of the Blue Jackets. It's hard to imagine Columbus hockey without him. As this site would reflect, he's certainly a fan favorite.

The reason for which I have the most respect for Shelley is not his physical play, not his defense of his team, and certainly not his advertising spots. I admire Shelley for his tremendous work ethic and never-give-up attitude. Having attended a Blue Jackets practice, I can attest that #45 was the first one on the ice and the last one off. To be frank, the guy works his ass off to be the best player he can be. You can't blame a guy with that much effort. To his dismay, his hard work on his slapshot and stick handling hasn't yielded him any more than 10 points in a season, even while taking the ice in 80 games. However, I must imagine that this attitude and commitment to the team carries over inside the locker room. It's near impossible for any outsider to speculate what impact he may have on the other players.

I have nothing but the biggest dreams for the Jackets, and as such I wonder what role Jody Shelley will have on a playoff contending team. Is his slot on the roster and his salary best spent on an enforcer that can no longer legally enforce? Should he be sent back to Syracuse so that a younger player with stronger potential can take his seat on the bench? These questions will be answered in due time. In my opinion, Shelley needs to evolve. He either must find a more legitimate and effective way to fill the enforcer role, or develop his skills to better deserve his seat on the bench.

And now without further ado, a video of Jody Shelley's "Greatest Hits":