State of the Union

Coach Hitchcock feels that the league's youngest team is still learning what style of hockey is needed to win consistently.

This is my favorite holiday because it is totally focused on eating. But wait...something is giving me indigestion. It's my hockey team. Who are these guys? It has been really difficult to put a label on this team, because they beat Dallas on the road one night, and give up a TOUCHDOWN in unanswered goals against a slumping Rangers team on another night. Key players (Nash, Vermette, Klesla, etc.) were given contract extensions in the off-season. So is there an element of complacency from these leaders? I don't think so. I know that too much has been made of this fact, but I have to take solace in the fact that this team is still quite young (avg. 26) and needs to find a balance between calm confidence and unbridled passion. It's not an excuse - it's a fact. And I'm willing to live with that for a (little) longer. What makes this perplexing is that the Jackets have retained much of the same leadership that took them to the playoffs -- notably Nash, Umberger, Commodore and Hejda. So these (increasingly regular) blowout losses and meltdowns are becoming pretty concerning.


The team is scoring goals at an unprecedented pace. And that's a new place for the Jackets to be, because offense has never been a strong point. Finally, we have a team that can score regularly, and our much-heralded defense has collapsed? Why? Ultimately, I think this is the question that we have to tackle, so I've given some of my thoughts below:


Essentially, the personnel are the same on the blueline. So you have to look at the variables that have changed. Anton Stralman, the only newcomer, is logging more NHL minutes than he's ever had the opportunity to do. Certainly, it takes some time to learn how to effectively compete as an NHL defenseman. Nobody can really dispute that. However, the pairing of he and Tyutin has not been very effective at five-on-five hockey. They are showing great success on the powerplay, and the Jackets really depend on the goal production from that powerplay right now. The fact that the Jackets now have the top-ranked powerplay in the league (26.1%) is worth a whole additional post at some later point, but reinforces some of the monumental shift that has happened on this team with essentially the same players. Back to Stralman -- I'm just not sold on that pairing. Combined, they are (-14). Tyutin has not been the responsible line of support that Hitch may have hoped for in that pairing. He has been guilty - way too often - of giveways and missed coverages. When the two are together, I see a lot of blown coverages, some "skate arounds" by opposing forwards and a general lack of communication in the defensive zone. I see little compelling reason to put two "offensive minded" defensemen on the same pairing in even situations-- especially when you've given up more than 80 goals at this point in the season. Let me say that again....more than 80 goals. The Jackets are on pace to give up more than 300 goals this year.


Kris Russell has seen a fair number of healthy scratches this year. Just last year, he was considered un-tradeable by Howson. However, his status this year seems less certain. He continues to show promise in his puck-moving ability, and he's rarely accused of not putting in a solid effort. I think he has great instincts for jumping into the offensive zone and he can certainly skate the puck out of trouble. However, he's just not that big and is moved off the puck by larger forwards. In some respects, that makes him a "role" player and could ultimately relegate him to more time on the powerplay unit. Obviously, that role is currently being filled by Stralman, who apparently has a much more effective slapshot from the point. All that said, Russell is a worker from Western Canada, and I think he brings more than Marc Methot right now. Methot hasn't shown me much this year.  In fact, the only plays I remember him making were bad penalties. He is a physical presence and provides some much-needed grit, but he's not providing even the modest offensive threat that he showed last year and hasn't dropped the gloves with anyone. He has to bring some more energy to his game or he'll start watching more games in the pressbox.  He's an Ottawa native, so if he cracks the lineup tonight, I would expect a solid showing. 


Rusty has been around long enough for the organization and the fans to know exactly what to expect. I believe that the positives outweigh the negatives in the long-term. He is physical. He has a great shot from the point. He brings energy and he won't hesitate to take the body or drop the gloves. He is a streaky scorer, and he has proven he can move Holmstrom from the crease. He also makes boneheaded turnovers and occasionally loses his way in the defensive zone. It's Rusty and he's a loyal Jacket. I think he has played pretty well this year, but I haven't seen him really flourish with any of his partners this year. If he plays like he did in the playoffs last year, he can stay around as long as he wants.


Why have we not re-united the "Death and Taxes" pairing of Hejda and Commodore? How about just once? I understand there have been concerns about conditioning and injury rehab - in fact Commodore looked pretty beat down and just plain ineffective in Montreal. He is not picking his spots well, and he can't get into the flow of the game. Playing independently of one another, neither player has shown the efficacy they did last year. Missed clearing attempts, blown coverages in front and miscommunications -- these are chemistry and conditioning issues, not skill issues.  But this was the top pairing for the Jackets last season -- and frankly, one of the most effective shut-down pairings in the league. Chemistry is so important in hockey, and these two players obviously have that asset when playing together. At this point, what is there to lose?


Speaking of losing, let's talk about goaltending. Mason is in a sophomore slump. Game. Set. Match. It has been proven beyond argument that he's not performing to his ability. The good news is that we all know what he is capable of. He can shut down a game and lead this team with confidence. He's still young, and he's not had near the level of defensive support that he enjoyed last year. That being said, he's just off in his technique right now. I still believe that this is a short-term problem and not something to lose to much sleep over.  Hitch has a delicate situation here, and I think he's handled it pretty well thus far. He's striking a good balance between disciplinarian and mentor. Jackets' fans should also be encouraged to know that Mason has overcome great adversity in the past, including injuries, death threats and splinters from the bench. He is mentally strong. For young pros that meet with early success, the game seems simple. Then they over-analyze and make it too complex. And then, hopefully, it becomes simple again. Apparently, he's in the middle stage right now.

Garon has been playing pretty well, with the notable exception of the Montreal game. He is consistently capable, solid in shootouts and brings a good veteran perspective to the room. I continue to believe that he was a smart acquisition and a good fit as a backup. If Mason doesn't get out of his slump soon, the Jackets are going to find out just how much starting duty he can handle.


If team defense is a glaring problem, you can't just limit the criticism to the defensemen and goalies. The Jackets forwards have been occassionally committed to backchecking, but not nearly at the level at which they need to compete. Rick Nash "leads" this team with the worst (-11) rating. It is simply unacceptable. It's become clear that the leaders on this team -- and he is at the top of that list -- have a tremendous impact on the energy and play of the rest of this young team. As such, Nash has to set the tone and expectations for defensive zone coverage and neutral zone play. That is not happening, and people around the league are noticing.  I think the team misses Andrew "Weighty" Murray, who wasn't a tremendous offensive threat, but very solid on defense and wins a lot of battles in the corners. MacKenzie has filled in admirably, but I haven't seen too much from Blunden recently. Speaking of recently invisible, Chimera has got to step up his game as well. Like...right now. He made a gutsy "soccer" clear on the PK when he was without his stick in Montreal, and maybe that's a sign of things to come.

Four Lines Deep - 11/24/09

Columbus Blue Jackets at Montreal Canadiens; Bell Centre

7:30 p.m. (EST); Fox Sports Ohio/TSN (HD)

Former CBJ blueliner Jaroslav Spacek, pictured above, is logging more than 20 minutes per game and is (+6).

That game in New York was so painful to watch that I find myself unable to write down coherent thoughts. So I shall projectile hurl them across the keyboard, as the Jackets have just done in Madison Square Garden.

The Habs currently sit in fourth in the Northeast. Monteal had a two-game winning streak going before losing to Detroit in an overtime shootout on Saturday night. Montreal is starting to find some consistency to its game, and is playing .500 hockey thus far. However, it's important to note that five consecutive losses happened in October. Since that time, the Habs haven't lost more than two in a row.

From a stats perspective, this Montreal team is fairly unspectacular. The PK is in the middle of the pack, and the powerplay is in the lower third of the league. They don't have an abundance of firepower and also rank in the bottom third for goals scored.

There has been some drama in Montreal, with the five game suspension of Georges Laraque for his hit on Niklas Kronwall on Saturday.  Kronwall will be out of the lineup at least a month.

Montreal only has four players with five or more goals. Cammalleri leads the team with 11. Again, the Jackets are facing a team with only one bona fide scoring threat, but that doesn't seem to matter too much. Only the slumping Carolina Hurricanes have given up more goals than the Jackets (79). Clearly, they can't take anyone lightly as a scoring threat.

The Jackets folded the house pretty early in the game last night, so it will be interesting to see how they respond. Neither Mason nor Garon looked especially sharp in net in New York, although the majority of the players simply didn't give any energy to the game. Boll was certainly the exception. Garon will be playing in front of friends and family, so he should bring some extra energy to the game.

However, that point will be null and void if the first line doesn't show up. Nash and Juice didn't contribute a whole lot the game last night, nor did they in Nashville. They are both playing very well overall, and I'm sure they'll bounce back tonight. Vermette has been brutalized in the last two games -- it seemed as if he was completely unprepared for the competitive pace of the game. He needs to get focused and bring a more physical game to bear. He needs to be every bit as good of a defensemen as a forward when he's on the ice, and he needs to check the body to fill that role.

Simply put, the Jackets have to find out how to get motivated. It doesn't appear as though the team has an answer when the "leaders" don't show up for a game. Only one-quarter through the season, this team has given up some hideous blowout losses. As a fan, it's perplexing because there wasn't a huge shift in personnel during the off-season, and these kind of losses just didn't happen last year. Regardless, the team responded well after the Detroit massacre, so hopefully the same will happen again this evening. It can't be too hard to play in front of an energetic crowd in Montreal. If you love hockey, it's one of the world's premier stages -- regardless of the standings.

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!