Four Lines Deep - 11/16/09

Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Edmonton Oilers - Nationwide Arena

7 p.m. (EST); Fox Sports Ohio (HD)

Former Jackets first-round pick, Gilbert Brule, has 10 points for the Oilers and is averaging 13 minutes per game.

Edmonton has been forced to deal with a steady stream of notable injuries throughout the season -- to players such as Sheldon Souray--and they need greater leadership from those still standing. They certainly have talent on the roster -- they've just struggled to gain some consistency and momentum over the last month. As such, The Oil is not a strong road team (2-7-1). They've lost 6 of their last 7 heading into tonight's game against the Jackets.

However, a rash of injuries didn't stop them from making a big comeback against the Jackets and winning 6-4 when they last met in Rexall. One of the architects of that comeback win was Dustin Penner, and he is having a strong start. He is the top scorer on the team (12 g/11 a) and he roasted Columbus with 2 goals and 3 assists when they faced each other in October.  He is "hot" right now, scoring 20 points in his last 16 games. This represents a big shift from a year ago, when then-GM MacTavish publicly called out Penner for his lack of effort and consistency in the Edmonton Journal. 

First Line: Make a statement.  The Jackets blew a big lead against the Oilers the last time they played. They squandered points and it set the tone for the disastrous road slide.  The Oilers are playing a back-to-back after playing Atlanta on Sunday afternoon and this is the last game on a five-game road trip. Even with the benefit of three days fo rest, they blew a lead against a tired Atlanta team and lost in the southern library known as Phillips Arena. This team will be ready and primed to give the Jackets two points - they are 0-2 for the second game of back-to-backs this year. The Jackets have to come checking hard out of the gate and do their best to sustain an aggressive style of play for 60 minutes.

Second Line: Stay out of the box. Sheldon Souray came back into the lineup last night and logged 6 minutes on the power play. He also logged 25 minutes in total ice time-- wow. He must be back in shape. Obviously, he's a weapon on a power play that was already quite good -- 22.4% and fourth best in the conference --without him in the lineup. And despite some recent bright spots, the Jackets are only a dim shadow of their former selves on the penalty kill. Hopefully, this will improve as Commie rounds back into game shape, but the Jackets can ill afford to spend too much time in the sin bin against Edmonton.

Third Line:  Continue to tighten up the D. This means you Tyutin and Stralman. "Toots" has - by his own admission - had an inconsistent start to the season. There was a timely article by the Dispatch about this, and it made a lot of pertinent points. The Jackets have had to lean on Tyutin with injuries to Commie and Hejda, and he really hasn't delivered with enough consistency. With a -7, he  and his partner Stralman have been featured on plenty of opponent goal replays after blown coverages or defensive zone turnovers. They played great on Friday against Anaheim, and hopefully can build upon that momentum. One would think that they've been playing long enough now to start having some chemistry and optimizing their communication -- we should see another strong game from them tonight.

Fourth Line: Contain Penner.  The Oilers really depend upon Penner to initiate goal scoring right now, and are fairly one-dimensional in that regard. Penner is the only Oiler in the lineup with more than 5 goals. He scored against Atlanta yesterday to continue his torrid scoring pace. With the return of Horcoff and Souray from the injury report, the offensive capabilities of the team should improve and the Jackets need to be mindful of that. As mentioned above, Penner blasted the Jackets with 5 points in the last meeting and he needs to be shutdown. He's big and great off the half-wall, so it will really fall to the forwards to slow him down through the neutral zone and for the Jacket's d-men to put a body on him at all times.

Four Lines Deep - 10/22/09

This edition of Four Lines Deep includes a special Calgary game wrap-up bonus feature:

• Tuesday's 6-3 loss in the Saddledome was a lot like my recent experience with the lion exhibit at the zoo. It started with disappointment and frustration to see such a great predator sound asleep and doing nothing. Then, I felt a quick burst of excitement when the lion arose from its nap and started to walk around the enclosure with some sense of purpose. However, in the end, the lion just took a long piss and went back to sleep.

Photo: Former Jacket Gilbert Brule has been drawing praise for going hard to the net.


First Line: Keep the CBJ alumni off the board. Seriously. Glencross scored on the Jackets early in the first on Tuesday night, and it ignited both he and the crowd. Gilbert Brule - the very same player who was horribly allergic to goals while in Columbus - has found a new home and really started to fulfill some of his potential. He clearly benefitted from spending time in the AHL last year. He's scoring at a point-per-game pace (4g; 3a) and has already won over many of the very discerning fans in Edmonton. According to Edmonton hockey blog, Lowetide, Gilbert Brule is sick and didn't participate in practice on Wednesday. So perhaps that takes care of the first line?

Second Line: Keep the Young Guns Shooting. One of the few positives that came out of Tuesday's loss to Calgary were Voracek and Brassard scoring goals. This should pay big dividends for the Jackets. Voracek played with even greater intensity after scoring on the 5-on-3, which says a lot, and he needs to continue going hard to the net. Brassard immediately followed his goal with the assist to Voracek, so he should have an increasing level of confidence in his game. Confidence is such an enormous factor with young players, and he is building some at precisely the right time for this club -- he is obviously crucial to maximizing the goal scoring potential on the PP and first line.


Speaking of young players' confidence, Filatov is (almost) certain to be lacing his skates and it will be very interesting to see how he responds to multiple healthy scratches. He doesn't have to score to get his confidence going, but he has to be involved with the game. A couple of solid scoring opportunities would be adequate for tonight's game, but he'll still need to prove his commitment to Hitch for playing in all three zones.


Third Line: Harness the energy. Torres and Chimera are two veteran leaders on the team - and both spent significant time in the Edmonton organization - they need to skate with extra intensity. They both have the power to inspire the third and fourth lines, and the Jackets can establish a real advantage over Edmonton if they're rolling four rough lines. Garon, who is starting in net tonight, also used to be with the Edmonton organization. We can't expect another shutout, but he should be sharp. Hitch spent a lot of time in the Edmonton area, and you know this game has a little extra meaning for him. If the Jackets diverge from their brand of hockey at any point in the game, I suspect there will be a little extra salt in Hitch's bench talk.


Fourth Line: Special teams have to remain strong. The PP is gaining momentum and clicking at a solid 25%.  The Jackets were much more effective at gaining the zone and keeping a good flow to the PP on Tuesday. My only concern is that we still receive a lot of passes on the points and have to take an extra touch to settle the puck. The Jackets have to be in position to maximize the one-timer opportunities on the point. That being said, the puck movement and shot generation has been much better and Stralman's right-handed shot is really a difference maker. Let's hope Juice handles the puck much better this evening whenever he finds himself on the point.

Winning faceoffs in special teams situations is obviously critical. With the notable exception of Brassard (1/6), Murray, Umberger, Pahlsson and Vermette all won 50% or more of their draws in Calgary. Brassard needs to be better, and the other centers need to keep up that level of performance. Edmonton only has three forwards with 50 percent or better faceoff win percentage. Neither the powerplay (17.9%) , nor the penalty kill (79.3%) have been spectacular for Edmonton, so the Jackets look favorable in special teams situations. However, the Oil has been playing well at home, already earning a 4-1 record in Rexall Place.

On a completely unrelated note, Rimer's goatee has affectionately been nicknamed, "The Six Hole" by the staff of Jackets Required, and will be refenced as such from this point forward. Carry the Flag.

Afternoon Scrum 10/19/09

Some NHL tidbits for ya. Don't forget Sharks vs Rangers tonight on Versus at 7:00.

• Remember Gilbert Brule? Looks like he may finally be rounding into an NHL level player. Dude has 4-3-7 and is a +3 in 7 games. Pretty solid numbers to start the season with. Let Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal fill you in on the nitty-gritty.

• Good news ladies, Blue Jacket's defenseman Mike Commodore's pulled groin looks to be back and ready for action. According to the good folks at the Columbus Dispatch, the only issue remaining is Commodore's conditioning. Learn all you ever wanted to know about Mike Commodore's groin here.

• The Colorado Avalanche are off to a waaaay better than expected start. The Avs are 6-1-1 and sit two points ahead of the Flames for 1st place in the Northwest. I don't think they stand a snowballs' chance in hell of actually making the playoffs, but they are making things interesting for the time being. Part of the surprise in Denver has been the play of rookie C Matt Duchene. So happy are the Avalanche brass with Duchene's play, they have notified his Junior team that he will not be returning.

• The Bruins have traded F Chuck Kobasew to Minnesota for F Craig Weller, a prospect and a 2nd round pick. TSN has the details, for what it's worth.

• You remember the lockout, don't you? Isn't it fair to assume the players remember the lockout too? Why, oh why, then can't the Players Association get their collective heads out of the sand? The most disorganized players union in all of professional sports held a conference call to discuss some rather serious matters recently, only to have 22 teams participate. That's right, the apathy amongst today's players is so high that 8 teams didn't even have a rep on the phone for a conference call. Folks, the current CBA is set to expire in 2010-2011. That is NEXT YEAR. Granted, the Union has the right to extend it for an additional season, but this is the same union I just write cant get players on the phone! They don't even have an elected leader. Darren Dregger has more.