All-Star Break Time for the Jackets

The Jackets took down the mighty Wings with three swift blows from the stick. I regret not attending this game- I should have thought to get some tickets during the 24 hour sale. Whoops. Anyhow, I did manage to watch exactly the first half of the game, and I was actually pretty impressed. The team played solid all around. After watching the dismal effort put up against Nashville, and then last night's game, it was pretty clear the Hitch ran a rigorous practice between games. The team seemed more focused on fundamentals and less on making a big play. Checks were finished, passes were crisp, and plays came together where there hadn't been a connection before. Perhaps best of all, the Jackets only ceded 6 penalties. I'll take it. In all, it was a good way to go into the All-Star break.

This year's All-Star game will be held in Dallas, or 'Big-D' as they say in Texas, where even cliches are big. A quick rundown of the schedule:

Tuesday: Young Stars game and the 'Super Skills' competition, which is always fun to watch.
Wednesday: The actual All-Star game. Rick Nash will be representing the CBJ.

Monday also includes an interesting event, and one that I was not familiar with. Quoth the Dallas Stars All-Star game web site:

American Airlines "Salute to a Generation of Stars," presented by Idearc Media, official publishers of the Verizon Yellow Pages (AAC, 6-8 p.m.): The all-stars will hold showcase practices during which there will be a salute to several former NHL stars. NHL legends scheduled to appear include: 19-time All-Star Ray Bourque; Hockey Hall of Famer and three-time Norris Trophy winner Paul Coffey; top-scoring US-born skater Phil Housley; 1999 Stanley Cup winner with the Dallas Stars Brett Hull; Hockey Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux; Olympic Gold Medalist and 13-time All-Star Al MacInnis; six-time Stanley Cup winner and 15-time All-Star Mark Messier; Hockey Hall of Famer Larry Murphy; four-time All-Star Joe Nieuwendyk; five-time All-Star Adam Oates and eight-time All-Star Luc Robitaille.

I think that sounds mildly entertaining, though I doubt it'll be televised. I look forward to the day when Columbus gets to host the game. You'd think we'd be pretty high up on the list after being voted the #1 stadium experience. And I'm sure we're as big of a market as Minneapolis, and we're reasonably close to two other hockey cities and several metro areas. Someday. Right about the time the Jackets win the division.

Alright hockey fans: today I leave you with a classic hockey clip. I've recently developed an affinity to posting clips from YouTube. Hopefully you don't mind to much. This is the intro from the 1980 NHL All-Star game. I'm sure you'll recognize a few faces.