Rick Nash Magic and Pascal Leclaire gets 4th Shutout

Make that 2-0!
BOOM

That comment was left by Matt on my last post about the Jackets defeating the Blackhawks. Leclaire did it again- shutting down the St. Louis Blues by a score of 3-0. The win bumps Columbus up to 2nd place in the division.

Equally big news of the night was Nash's goal. As reported by the AP:

"Ron Hainsey then tried a slap shot from the blue line that was just wide to the right of the goal. Nash played the ricochet off the boards like Manny Ramirez fielding a ball off the Green Monster, stretching to reach the puck to pull it in and then lifting the shot between his legs and high into the top of the net."

I tried to get a reply of the goal from the Jackets' online video archive, but it's hard to see from the camera angle. From the acclaim I've heard so far, it's bound to be in the top 10 on sportscenter, so keep an eye out for that today.

Tomorrow, the Jackets will play host to the San Jose Sharks. Over the years, they've become one of my most dreaded opponents. Leclaire will probably be in net: let's make it five.

* On an unrelated note, Michael of Army of the Ohio is gathering reader contributions for names for the CBJ cannon. Check out his post and leave your ideas. *

Also, be sure to see Yoder's take on last night's game including an explanation for Jiri Novotny's goal.

Score Sheet

Jackets 1-1 Weekend, Leclaire's Streakiness and Big Games Upcoming

A one up, one down weekend for the home team. The Jackets marched into Buffalo on Friday and brought home a satisfying win that will tack on another 60 minutes of shutout hockey for Pascal Leclaire. Sunday's affair wasn't quite as successful, however. The Jackets were knocked down by perennial Jackets killer, Marcus Naslund and his Vancouver crew.

Same old Leclaire, or is it a new Pascal?

It's easy to suggest that it's a new day for Pascal Leclaire, as he already has three shutouts on this young season. In those games (vs. Phoenix, Anaheim and Buffalo) he played to the caliber that he has always been said to be capable of. But in the other two games he has started (vs. Colorado and Vancouver) He gave up five and four goals, respectively. In many ways, this is the same streaky #31 we've been watching for years.
Leclaire has been known to have had a lot of mediocre performances interlaced with flashes of brilliance. Over time, the flashes have become more common, but the mediocrity still lingers, waiting for an early goal or two to open the flood gates. If Leclaire and his defense could get a stronger grip on consistency, the chances of pulling off a win would increase dramatically.

To be fair, it may not be just Leclaire to fault for some of the losses. This team has always had a tough time playing from behind. It's as if giving up a goal or two early just breaks their heart and kills their morale. Sometimes, there's just no coming back. The Jackets are 3-3-1 thus far- a record for which I am pleased. However, their 3 wins are all Leclaire's shutouts. That means the team is 0-3-1 when the other team scores at all.

Upcoming Action

The Jackets open up division play in Chicago tomorrow night. Eleven of the next sixteen games (through most of November) are division opponents, including six games against the Blackhawks and Blues, whom the Jackets should have the mettle to beat. With this many critical games coming up, the Jackets could very well make or break their season by Thanksgiving.

Jackets beat Phoenix, Leclaire at 120 Scoreless Minutes

Pascal Leclaire completed his second consecutive shutout last night in front of a half-full Nationwide Arena. The Jackets prevailed over the Coyotes by a score of 3-0, including a first career goal by Jared Boll.

The Jackets put on a great performance in which they played all the way to the end. Only once or twice did they give up a good scoring chance to the Coyotes. Most of the time the defense was all over the puck before a play could bet set up.

The 'Energy Line' played a phenomenal game, carrying all three goals. Chimera had a piece of each and finished the game with a goal and two assists. The top line was centered by Modin -not Fedorov- allowing #91 to serve as the anchor for Zherdev's second line. It looks like Hitch is reattempting the Zherdev-Fedorov partnership, which was tried early and often last year. The thought is that the two Russian-born stars would be able to find common ground and give Zherdev the support he needs to be a top scorer. Last night we didn't see much from this line, but look for it to be used again and again this season.

A hat tip must be paid to Leclaire for shutting out a second team already this season. Having not played in the season's first road trip, he remains un-scored-upon this season. You could see the tension building toward the end of the game. Every time the play stopped, Leclaire paced the goal line with greater and greater intensity. Despite several seasons in the league, Leclaire is still wanting to prove himself. With games like that, it will happen in no time. This is the Leclaire we've all been waiting for. Tougher opponents are coming, however.

The Jackets are now 2-1 (.667!) and face the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.
Score sheet

Opening Night 2007: After

If you were not in attendence for Friday's opener, I'm sorry. You missed something special. The pre-game, the goals, the cannon and the shutout were incredible. From the opening video montage to Stinger's placing of the 'victory flag' at center ice, there was a certain buzz in the air that kept the crowd on edge and the players on their toes. The 'Carry the Flag' slogan turned out far better than I hoped, but more on that in a later post.

Nash netted himself 4 points in the win, and he was seriously looking for that fifth point, preferably in the form of a hat trick. Even in the last moments of the game when Modin took the face off in Anaheim territory, Nash tried to get into position for that remaining shot. Modin even strategized before the play about how he would try to get the puck into position.

Fedorov and Leclaire rounded out the three stars, with the goaltender missing the second star spot by about 5 saves.
It was an impressive performance all around by a team that put the pressure on early and kept the pedal to the metal until the final horn sounded. Anaheim, on the other hand, became quite frustrated by the middle of the second period. They continually tried to rough up the Jackets, particularly with after-the-whistle aggression. The Jackets didn't bite, and were able to keep their cool.

Great game. GREAT game. I'm skeptical enough to realize that the whole season won't be this dominating, but hopeful enough to dream that way.

Saturday night in Minnesota wasn't quite as magical. Despite playing hard, the Jackets fell to the Wild, 3-2. I wasn't able to watch the whole game, unfortunately. The bits I caught at the end well illustrated Michael of Army of the Ohio's point about being 'vexed' by the neutral zone trap. The CBJ offense could not get past center ice, barring an icing call. The team seemed to play a tough game though, and that's what matters. Next up is the Phoenix Coyotes at home on Wednesday.

Jackets now 1-1 (.500)
Friday's Scoresheet
Saturday's Scoresheet
(Scoresheets have been redesigned this season)

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!

Jackets Set New Franchise Record!!!!!

I wish I could be excited about the Jackets setting a new record, but lo, I am not. The record set in tonights 3-0 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes was the record for most times shutout in a season. 12. And there's still about two months of the season yet.

I don't know what happened tonight. I caught the first five minutes of the game on CD101, as I was still driving home from work (which took over two hours), and I watched the last five or so minutes on FSN. Ugly, ugly hockey. The Jackets didn't look incredibly enthused about the game, and looked pretty poor compared to the Coyotes. Phoenix managed three goals and a few big hits in the game, and Roenick smashed up Eriksson pretty good. (He had a nasty bloody lip during the 3rd.)

I'm pretty disheartened by the whole experience tonight. Not a good night. Terrible weather, terrible drive home, terrible performance by the team. I hope they do something (players only meeting?) between now and Thursday in so that they can put on a better performance against Kipprusoff, Iginla and the rest of the Calgary Flames. I'll be at the arena for that game, and it will likely be the last I attend this season. I've been attending games above my means this season as it is.

(Try a Google image search for "shutout". Why are there so many hockey pictures?)

Box Score