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 - 10/22/09

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.

Quick Hits

Well, last night was, in a word, ugly, but hopefully the Jackets take a lesson from the loss and realize that even Steve Mason can have an off night. That has to mean everyone steps up their game and picks up last year's Calder winner. And, when you're missing your two best shutdown defensemen (Hejda and Commodore), there's even less margin for error. Few thoughts for consideration...

• The first period was all Calgary. If not for the superb effort of Captain Columbus, the Flames are up 3-0.

• The Flames outworked the Blue Jackets throughout the opening period. It seemed that whenever Calgary wanted control in the CBJ zone, they had it. Their forechecking was tremendous.

• CBJ defensive zone coverage was poor throughout the night but the Langkow, Glencross and Bouwmeester goals were simply too easy. Calgary threw pucks at the net or went hard at the net and the Jackets did not respond.

• However, the Jackets effort was tremendous on the two powerplay opportunities that resulted in goals at the beginning of the 2nd period. Yet, allowing Dion Phaneuf to skate essentially the entire rink, walk down the slot and get off a good shot was unacceptable. Further, Mason really needed to make that save.
  

• Fortunately, the Oilers do not present nearly the offensive talent that Calgary does. I'd like to see the Jackets bounce-back tomorrow night and make sure we take points from a team like Edmonton that we should beat.

• Hitch has said that both Filatov and Garon will be in the lineup tomorrow night.

• It will be our first look at the new coaching regime in Edmonton with Pat Quinn taking over for Craig MacTavish. Not only that, but Quinn brought former Rangers head coach Tom Renney with him. So, in terms of an all-star coaching staff, the Oilers have it. You have to figure that after a while, they will get it together. Of course, just don't play too physically or else Quinn will send his goon to hit you over the head with a stick.

• Random...I think the Blackhawks choice of "Chelsea Dagger" as their goal celebration song has to rank among the top in the league. I like what we do at Nationwide, but it's a little over the top. One thing I'd like to hear is our fans chanting "sieve" and pointing at the opponent's goaltender after the "we salute you" lyric.
  

Now, the awesomeness of the Quinn!

Afternoon Scrum 10/16/09

Here are a few stories making headlines here in Columbus, and around the league.

• Lidstrom gets 1,000th point. I'll always hate the Red Wings, but I'm happy to give the man his due. The Free Press will tell you all about it.

• I've never been a Black Helicopter/Conspiracy guy, and I don't buy into any of the rumors that Nikita Filatov is close to being sent down to Syracuse and thus on his way to the KHL. Allow Messrs Portzline, Reed and Arace to allay your paranoia with their latest podcast from Ohio's Greatest Home Website.

• The Leafs are 0-5-1. That may not really be the stuff of headlines around here, but imagine what this town would do if the Buckeyes were 0-fer their first six games. Phil Kessel better work miracles. Damien Cox of the Toronto Star tries to talk Leafs fans back from the edge.

• If the recent lull in the Coyotes relocation soap opera has you jonesing for an NHL relocation fix, here comes an AP story about the city of Quebec with a plan to get a team back in their yard.

• Saturday night's game (10/17) will be Hockey Fights Cancer night at Nationwide Arena. The time and effort made by the Blue Jackets Foundation for this cause is worthy of all of our attention and thanks. To learn more about the Blue Jackets Foundation, what they do, and how you can help, visit them here.