Four Lines Deep 10/30/09

Pittsburgh (10-2) vs Columbus (6-5)

Nationwide Arena, 7:00 pm.

TV: FSN-O (no HD, again) / FS-P (HD)

Last 5 games: PIT 4-1 / CBJ 1-4

Last Meeting: CBJ won 4-3 in a shootout back in March of last season.

First Line: Forwards Need To Play Defense. There is plenty of blame to go around when discussing the recent struggles for the Blue Jackets. Allowing 26 goals in the previous five games can't be blamed on one defect. But the defensive accountability of the forwards takes the brunt of the blame in my opinion. Yes the PK has been softer than cheese-whiz, and yes our best penalty killer (Jan Hejda) is on IR, but the defensive play of the forwards from the top line through the fourth line has been atrocious. Any hope of winning tonight's game will start and stop with the willingness of the forwards to play smarter and play harder in their own end.


Second Line: Penalty Kill Has To Regain Its Form.: Reason number two for the recent woes has been the PK. After ranking numero uno in the league through the first few weeks of the season, the Jackets are tied for 5th worse in PPGA (11). The aggressiveness we saw from the Jackets' penalty kill early on disappeared after Hejda was injured. Since then, opponents have had lots of room at the points to either fire bombs at the net or to feed the puck to the open shooter down low.


Third Line: Can Mason Keep His Cool. Steve Mason showed time and time again last season that not only was he a technically sound net minder, but he rarely got rattled when things got dicey. So far this season, he has struggled and is clearly not as comfortable in the crease as he once was. Can he keep his heart rate steady in a match up against the defending Stanley Cup Champions and Sid the Kid? It will be a tall order as the Penguins have the 6th most goals in the league and are averaging over 3 per game.


Fourth Line: The Crowd. Last year when the Pens came to town Pittsburgh fans made a ton of noise and the arena was a see-saw of cheering and booing as the teams engaged in a track meet of scoring opportunities and finished checks. Granted it was late in the season with playoff implications on the line, but I expect tonight's game to have fans of both teams ready to be "dug in" as Hitch would say. The Jackets are fragile right now given their recent performances and if their home arena is overrun by Pens fans it could make the home team even more jittery. If you are a Jackets fan and have the means, I highly recommend getting down the NWA for the game and helping the boys get a win. If you are a Pens fan, screw you. Stay home and watch it on FS-P in High Def.


Healthy Scratches: Prior to the last game Hitch said Jared Boll would stay in the lineup as long as he was healthy. In his first game back on the ice Boll had only 3:40 TOI. Granted Boll doesn't kill penalties and the Jackets spent much of that game on the PK. According the Columbus Dispatch Boll will be back in the press box tonight. Also, Nikita Filatov had arguably his best period of hockey this past game and was rewarded with the most ice team he has seen all season (8:43). Keep an eye on the young lad as he will certainly be looking to capitalize on the momentum. Jackets C Derick Brassard is back on the 2nd line after a brief demotion. Like Filatov, he will be wanting to prove to his coach he deserves the promotion. Finally, the Jackets will be wearing the white sweaters and the Penguins will be wearing their sissy blues. Yea.

Four Lines Deep - 10/28/09

Phoenix has suffered from blown coverages on its PK recently.

Both squads are reeling right now. Phoenix has dropped its last two games on the roadtrip, and surrendered 10 goals in the process. Sound familiar? The Jackets are coming off a tough road trip and are in desperate need of re-establishing their commitment to playing aggressive hockey in all three zones.

First Line: Play defense first. Much has already been made of this by Hitch and the team at Puck Rakers, but it's a valid concern. The Jackets have been soft and inconsistent in the defensive zone during the last four games. The PK, formerly best in the league, was shredded out West. As a team, the Jackets gave up 22 goals during the road trip, and only 12 before. The good news is that we saw how well the Jackets can play defense in the first six games - even without Hejda in the lineup. They have the potential - now they just need to play to it.

Second Line: Nothing fancy needed.  Over the history of this series, the Jackets have scored some pretty goals on Phoenix, including a beautiful tic-tac-toe goal as recently as the last meeting on Oct. 10. However, when the Jackets get in the offensive zone, they need to get the puck on net and create traffic around the crease. Phoenix has only given up 22 goals in 10 games. That's the best in the Western Conference, folks. Jason LaBarbera is likely starting in net for Phoenix tonight, as Bryzgalov has been roughed up a bit on the road trip. He is still a very capable goaltender and has a .942 save percentage. He performed well in relief of Bryzgalov in New York. Safe to say, goals don't come easy against this team and there's only one way to play those types of teams. Put your big boys in front, screen the goalies' sight lanes and hope for some garbage around the net.

Third Line: Welcome back, Jared Boll.  The Jackets need to unleash the Cannonballs on Ice tonight for the home crowd, and Boll's return to the lineup couldn't be better timed. Hitch reaffirmed Boll's role on the team and claimed he wouldn't be scratched any more as long as he's healthy. That's a pretty strong endorsement, and also says that Hitch wants to keep some more grit in the lineup. A couple well-placed checks and perhaps a few gloves dropped to the ice would go a long way in building some energy on the bench. Look for a big game from him tonight.

Fourth Line: Enjoy the home cooking. The Jackets have yet to lose at home, and Nationwide has earned a reputation among visiting teams as a tough barn to earn points. Phoenix hasn't been tearing up the offensive end of the ice, and if the Jackets can get the first goal, both the bench energy and the home crowd will build some momentum. Certainly, Mason (3-0; 1.00 GAA) has played much better at home, and a few well-timed glove saves could have an equally positive effect. It feels like the Jackets have been on the road for a month, and I expect they'll return to Jackets hockey tonight in Nationwide.