NBA Trade Rumors: Shawn Marion and Jermaine O’Neal, Amare Stoudemire’s Future?
February 14, 2009All-Star Highlights: LeBron James to Enter 2010 Slam Dunk Contest
February 15, 2009Columbus Blue Jackets (27-23-5, 59pts)
vs Carolina Hurricanes (27-23-5, 59pts)
RBC Center, Raleigh, NC
Saturday, February 14, 2009
7:00 PM EST
FSOHIO/WWCD(fm)/WBNS(am)
(Dispatch Preview / SportsDirect Preview)
Greetings from the road! We’re coming to you live from beautiful Raleigh, NC, where my wife and I will be attending tonight’s game with my brother and sister-in-law, who are big Canes fans. The Jackets pulled off a great win against the Red Wings last night, and this morning they sit in a points-tie for eighth place (though in ninth by virtue of games-played with Minnesota). The Jackets and Hurricanes have identical records, and are both sitting in ninth place in their respective conferences. The Jackets have a slight disadvantage of coming off a physical win last night and then having to travel south on top of that, whereas Carolina has been at home with Friday night off. Let the family fisticuffs begin!
Projected Lineups
Columbus Blue Jackets:
LW: | Rick Nash | Fredrik Modin | Jason Chimera | Raffi Torres |
C: | Manny Malhotra | R.J. Umberger | Jason Williams | Michael Peca |
RW: | Kristian Huselius | Jiri Novotny | Jakub Voracek | Jared Boll |
D: | Jan Hejda | Fedor Tyutin | Marc Methot |
D: | Mike Commodore | Christian Backman | Kris Russell |
G: | Steve Mason |
Carolina Hurricanes:
LW: | Sergei Samsonov | Ray Whitney | Chad LaRose | Ryan Bayda |
C: | Eric Staal | Matt Cullen | Jussi Jokinen | Rod Brind’Amour |
RW: | Tuomo Ruutu | Justin Williams | Patrick Eaves | Brandon Sutter |
D: | Tim Gleason | Joni Pitkanen | Niclas Wallin |
D: | Joe Corvo | Anton Babchuk | Dennis Seidenberg (Bryan Rodney) |
G: | Cam Ward |
Team Rankings
Scoring:
CBJ – 2.63 gpg (20th NHL)
CAR – 2.55 gpg (23rd NHL)
Defense:
CBJ – 2.73 gapg (9th NHL)
CAR – 2.87 gapg (16th NHL)
Power Play:
CBJ – 11.6% (30th NHL)
CAR – 16.6% (23rd NHL)
Penalty Kill:
CBJ – 81.2% (17th NHL)
CAR – 79.6% (t2st NHL)
Prior Matchups
No prior matchups. This is the only matchup between these two teams this season.
Game Notes
DP is on the road at the home of his brother—MP—and both brothers will be in attendance for tonight’s game with their wives. And, shoot, it 1$ popcorn night in Raleigh tonight! Please welcome MP and his Canes analysis! [applause]
DP’s Jackets Notes: Columbus is riding some momentum again, after three straight wins, include two over San Jose and Detroit (the two best teams in the conference). They’re now 5-3-0 since the All Star Break, and are still hanging around in the thick of the jumbled Western Conference playoff hunt. Tonight’s game is a tough one for me to predict, because Columbus is playing with solid energy right now, but they have a dismal 0-5-3 record on the second games of back-to-backs when those second games are on the road. Of course, Columbus also has a very solid record against the Eastern Conference this year (8-3-1). in other words, it’s actually a bit of a guess as to which team will show up tonight.
As we have harped on ad nauseum in this space, the Jackets are more successful when they bring their full-on effort for 60 minutes. This is one of the reasons they have successful these past three games against tougher opponents. On top of that, however, one of the biggest things for the Jackets on this three game winning streak is that the “other guys” have been stepping up and contributing. Jason Williams has goals in three straight games, including the game-winner last night against Detroit. Jason Chimera and Raffi Torres, both finally getting back into shape after coming back from injury, scored goals against Detroit. Fedor Tyutin has stepped up his offensive game. They got a game-winning goal in overtime against San Jose from Christian Backman. Andrew Murray also scored in that game. In short, when Columbus gets solid production from guys not named Nash, Huselius, and Umberger, they are a much tougher team. They will need to get that kind of effort and production from top to bottom tonight if they want to continue their winning streak.
The other thing that has improved has been the Jackets defensive effort. The team blocked 18 shots last night (the top D-pairing of Jan Hejda and Mike Commodore combined for 10 of those), which makes goalie Steve Mason’s job that much easier. Commodore should have a little extra jump tonight, as he returns to his former team where he played parts of three seasons and was with Carolina during their Stanley Cup winning season.
And, speaking of the Jackets’ rookie goalie, Mason may get a second start tonight after coming back from his stint on the IR list while battling mononucleosis. While I didn’t get to see the game while traveling last night, he stopped 32 of 34 shots against a potent Red Wings team, including a nice save on Pavel Datsyuk with 90 seconds left and a flat-out robbery of Henrik Zetterbeg with 50 seconds left (thanks, NHL.com highlights!). If Mason is finally getting back to his old self, that will be a big boost for the Jackets as they make a playoff push. Whether he’s strong enough to bring that kind of performance two nights in a row with a road trip involved remains to be seen. Mason does, however, have five of his league-leading seven shutouts against Eastern Conference teams.
MP’s Canes Notes: The Hurricanes began February with some momentum after closing January with back-to-back home wins, and then earning 4 points on a long 3-game west-coast road trip. With a solid effort in a loss to Vancouver, a surprising shootout victory over the West-leading Sharks, and a blow-out win over Phoenix (including 4 PP goals), fans had to wonder if the team had finally found their way in the second month under new (old) bench boss Paul Maurice. There were signs of some defensive grit, offensive jam, and a credible power play, complemented by excellent goaltending.
All of that came crashing down on Thursday, as the Canes played what may have been their worst game of the season at home against division rival Florida. Numerous Carolina defensive turnovers (many within 10 feet of their own goal) and no clutch goaltending led to a 5-0 embarrassment. In my estimation, any opposing coach watching the tape of this stinker will be convinced to use a two-man forecheck against the Canes; the Carolina D-men appear to have a low panic threshold and make mistakes with the puck, while the forwards are not speedy enough to make an opponent pay for their aggression (most of the Hurricanes offense is organized along the boards in the offensive zone, and does not arise from breakaways). The Canes took 42 shots against Florida without putting one past Thomas Vokoun, which doesn’t bode well with Steve Mason coming in between the pipes. Carolina G Cam Ward usually rebounds from a bad game, but the aggressive Panthers forecheck revealed some serious problems in Carolina’s back end. It will be interesting (maddening?) to see if the Blue Jackets are able to exploit them.
Although still within the post-Cup “5 year honeymoon” period, this is a far cry from the Carolina squad that hoisted Lord Stanley in 2006. All-Star C Eric Staal has looked dominant in stretches, but also appears unmotivated at many times. He’s on pace for only 60 points this year, which would far-and-away be the lowest since his rookie season. LW Ray Whitney still has the hands that CBJ fans will remember, but he’s lost a step and probably shouldn’t be the leading point-getter on this team. Captain, icon, and 2-time Selke winner C Rod Brind’Amour has had a very rocky season after recovering from major surgery, and is currently last in the NHL in plus/minus at a horrifying -30; he’s now centering the 4th line, but will come out to take important face-offs. G Cam Ward has shown steady progress from year-to-year in terms of GAA and save %, but too often alternates brilliant games with horrid ones.
A few more obscure players for CBJ fans to watch… RW Tuomo Ruutu has quickly become a fan favorite and brings a hard-hitting edge to Carolina’s top line. C Matt Cullen has been moved up to center the 2nd line and has shown some flashes of speed and good puckhandling. LW Chad LaRose is often the hardest working player on the ice, even if he doesn’t finish all that well. C Jussi Jokinen was brought in via trade with Tampa Bay last week (basically for a bag of pucks) to help compensate for Brind’Amour’s injuries and struggles; he has already received positive returns for his work on the power play and in the face-off circle. D Tim Gleason is the backbone of the defense, and is a stay-at-home type who will take the body. D Joe Corvo is a smooth-skating player with great hands; he is sometimes prone to defensive zone turnovers, but can be a game-changer when he’s on. In the wake of some blue line injuries and the coaching change, D Anton Babchuck has now worked his way into a top-4 role, and has a huge bomb of a slapshot from the point.
From The Outside Looking In
Canes Country
Canes Now (News Observer)
Red and Black Hockey
Next Game For The Jackets
Monday, February 16, 2009
7:00 PM EST
Dallas Stars at Columbus Blue Jackets
7 Comments
Glad to see that D>M as far as the Ps are concerned
Well, you’d have to ask our mother for the final verdict, but yes… it was nice to see such a lopsided win in person.
hahaha in my head i wrote ‘where hockey teams are concerned’
10th to 6th thanks to these 3 wins = awesomeness
When I read that you were going to be here for the game on friday I went frantically looking for tickets good enough I wouldn’t get in trouble for going to a Canes game on V-day, unfortunatly I couldn’t find enough seats in the lower level. Maybe next time. Would’ve been awesome to have a beer with a WFNY guy at a game with my 2 favorite NHL teams.
What’d you think of the RBC? I haven’t had a chance to get into columbus for a game, curious to how the arena’s compare.
That game was good, but tonight’s against Dallas is even more important. No preview for it? 🙁
Sorry, on the road home from NC. Would have loved to, but that’s a lonnnnng drive, my friends.
I like RBC. I’ve seen 3 games there, now, and it’s a nice arena. It’s a little out in the middle of nowhere for my tastes, whereas Nationwide is smack in the middle of downtown Columbus where you can go out to bars before/after and there are tons of people.
But, on the flip side, we got to tailgate before the game Saturday in Raleigh, which when one considers weather and parking is not a possibility in Columbus.
The fans in Raleigh are great; I loved that they gave Commodore some love, even when he scored on them. I still don’t get the whole “Ric Flair Yells ‘Wooo’ After Every Goal” schtick, but whatever works!
Don’t feel bad I’ve lived in Charlotte for 12 years and don’t get it at all, he’s everywhere around here when it comes to sports.
Toss me a heads up if you end up in this area for a game again, I’ll make the trip.
I’m a big fan of the tailgating at RBC, Thats a very friendly fan base. The weather is an added bonus.