The Value of Dunc-A-Dunc
March 8, 2011NFL Draft Watch: Robert Quinn Video Evidence
March 8, 2011Every Tuesday, WFNY’s The 5-Hole brings you up to date with the goings-on of the CBJ…
The Week That Was
This Week: 0-2-2, 2 points
Overall: 31-26-8, 70 points (4th division; 12th conference)
Tuesday, 3/1 in Vancouver – Canucks 2, Blue Jackets 1 – SO – (box) – Highlights
Thursday, 3/3 in Edmonton – Oilers 4, Blue Jackets 2 – (box) – Highlights
Friday, 3/4 in Calgary – Flames 4, Blue Jackets 3 – (box) – Highlights
Monday, 3/7 in St. Louis – Blues 5, Blue Jackets 4 – SO – (box) – Highlights
The Jackets looked great on Tuesday, giving the top-seeded Canucks all they could handle in taking them to the eighth round of a shoot-out. But, much like LeBron James seemed to steal the soul of the Cavs in his first game back with the Heat (you know, sending them on that losing streak you might have heard something about), Raffi Torres—in scoring the game winner in the SO for Vancouver—seemed to take away the spark from his former club.
Columbus came out and got steam-rolled by Edmonton, falling behind 3-0 within the first 30 seconds of the second period, only to claw their way back to 3-2 and see an empty-netter seal their fate. They took a 1-0 lead in Calgary, and were in a 2-2 tie when a double-minor high-sticking penalty resulted in two quick PP goals for the Flames. Game over.
The Jackets fell behind 1-0 early to St. Louis, but looked to have righted the ship after ripping off three goals on their first eight shots to chase Blues’ goalie Ty Conklin. But, the Blues—stop me if you’ve heard this one—scored two quick PP goals in the rest of the first period to take a 3-3 tie—and also the momentum—into the dressing room. The Jackets fell again in a shoot-out; Steve Mason looked particularly bad in the shoot-out. His play has declined steadily over the last four or five contests. Not good times.
There has been one bright spot for the Jackets of late, however. The play of rookie call-up Matt Calvert has been nothing short of excellent. Since the Jackets’ win in Dallas in 2/13, the 21-year-old has eight goals and two assists in 10 games. For the season, he’s potted 11 goals with four helpers in 25 games, and looks like he belongs at this level. Calvert is tied for 10th in rookie goal-scoring, despite playing less than half of the games of everyone on the list ahead of him.
Up Next
The Jackets’ five-game death spiral on the road is finished, and they now play four of five at home. It may be too little, too late, however, as the five game skid has all but ended their playoff hopes. St. Louis (29-28-9, 67pts) returns the favor on Wednesday, and eight-place LA (36-25-5, 77pts) comes calling on Friday. The Jackets then turn around and head to Raleigh to face Carolina (31-26-9, 71pts) on Saturday. It’s most likely too little too late to start winning games, but if the Jackets want to hold onto any slim shred of the playoffs, they have to ace this week. Six points.
Playoff Talk
Cutting this for this week. Here’s the only playoff talk you need to know: the Jackets ain’t talking playoffs.
By The Numbers
Let’s take a quick look at the Jackets by the numbers, through 65 games:
Scoring:
2.71 gpg (17th NHL)
Defense:
2.94 gapg (22nd NHL)
Power Play:
15.4% (26th NHL)
Penalty Kill:
80.3% (23rd NHL)
Goals Leader:
Rick Nash – 29
Assists Leader:
Jakub Voracek – 31
Points Leader:
Rick Nash – 58
Wins (Goalie):
Steve Mason – 22
Goals-Against Average:
Mathieu Garon – 2.55
Save Percentage:
Mathieu Garon – 90.7%
Injury Update
Winger Kristian Huselius did not travel with the team for the road trip, and hasn’t played in quite some time as he’s on the IR list with a lower body injury. Defenseman Anton Stralman is also still out with a knee injury; he’s missed four games. The guy the team seems to be missing most of all is center Derick Brassard, who is reportedly getting close, but is still out with a badly bruised hand. He had positive x-rays this past weekend, and may join the club for practice as soon as today or tomorrow.
The You’re-A-Little-Late Quote of the Week
I don’t know what to say about this one, honestly:
Every game we don’t win in a step back for us right now. That’s how we have to look at this.
–Goaltender Steve Mason, after Monday’s shoot-out loss to St. Louis
Umm, no, Mase. That’s how you had to look at each of these last five games before-hand. It’s too late now to start talking about steps back. Guess what: you’ve almost walked backwards off the cliff. You’re to the point now of: every game you don’t win is another tee-time you can make in April. It’s that simple. There is no more room for backward steps at this point, if you still have any designs on playing past April 9th. Otherwise, you might as well tank it for the draft pick.
…With a Little Help from My Friends
The Hockey Writers’ Jeff Little waxes on the task ahead for Columbus:
Thus, a road trip that carried the hopes of resurgence has instead placed Columbus on the precipice. Voracek, Umberger and Vermette have gone silent, and defenses have brutalized Nash, who has cooled from his torrid pace of just a week ago. Mason has been unable to make the critical save, needed all the more because of the lack of offensive production. Still, except for Edmonton, the effort has been there, and the overall quality of play has been a big improvement. Upshall and Lepisto look like keepers, and Rivet has started contributing as well. The call-ups of Clitsome and Calvert are proving to be brilliant, and it will be interesting to see how the team responds once Brassard returns.
The task facing the Blue Jackets is a daunting one, with another untimely loss likely to be fatal to their playoff hopes. The talent is there, and the necessary streak is doable, but the mistakes will need to be eliminated, the opportunities converted, and the bounces will need to start going the Jackets’ way.
The rub? Jeff wrote that before last night’s loss. Fatal, indeed.
