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 - 11/1/09

Two-time league MVP, Alex Ovechkin, is a colorful character.

Game #13 vs. Washington Capitals (Verizon Center) 5 p.m. EST

The Blue Jackets, just 1-4-1 in their last six games, are still trying to regain the intensity and focus that brought them a franchise-best starting record of 5-1. The Caps sit in first place in the Southeast Division with a record of 8-2-3. Led by goal-scoring machine Alex Ovechkin (pictured above), the Caps feature a prolific offense that will surely be looking to avenge last season's two notable losses that were due in large part to sterling performances by Jackets netminder Steve Mason.

First Line: Contain the First Line! I could copy the notes from several of the previous games in this section, but the Jackets obviously haven't been shutting down the top scoring lines very effectively. Kopitar, Iginla, Hemsky, etc., have all lit up the Jackets. Surely, Ovechkin has the skill to do so and has extra motivation after getting shut-out twice by Mason last year. The Caps first line has a combined 53 points and is +18. Wow. By comparison, the Jackets top line (Nash, Vermette, Juice) is +1. Whomever is on the ice with the Caps first line has to dig deep and skate with true defensive commitment.

Second Line: Build from Friday's performance. The Jackets played a style of hockey against the Penguins that reminded everyone how the team got to the playoffs and started this season in such a strong way. Aggressive forechecking, aggressive back-checking and "weighty" hockey in the corners were all evident on Friday. As such, the Jackets built a two-goal lead and were in many respects dominating the defending Stanley Cup champs. Mason was sharp and came up with big saves. It's become clear that this entire team plays with the same degree of confidence that Mason feels -- it's both a blessing and a curse for a team with an enormously talented netminder that is still young and developing.

Third Line: Five on Five. Remember when the Jackets had the worst power play in the league last year? It was painful, and ultimately limited the potential of the team, but the Jackets made the playoffs because of a commitment to playing so well in five-on-five situations. The minuses are really stacking up for players such as Tyutin, Brassard and Stralman (combined -19). Per the Second Line, if the team play as effectively at five-on-five that it did for the bulk of Friday's game, there are much better chances for a much-needed road win.

Fourth Line: Keep the puck deep and pressure Theodore. Theodore certainly has a respectable save percentage on the year (.915), but defense is not this team's strong suit. They have already surrended more than 40 shots in three games this year. Previous to Friday's loss to the lowly Islanders, the Caps won six in a row. However, four of those wins were by a 1-goal differential and the back-up Varlamov played in four of those wins. They are getting into "track meets," as Hitch would say, and while that style doesn't necessarily suit the Jackets - it is clear that they have deficiencies in the defensive zone. An aggressive forecheck could give this team a lot of problems and the Jackets are running four lines that all have opportunistic scorers on them.

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.

Ohio State at Lake Superior State - Oct 23-24

Doug Weight. Brian Rolston. Jim Dowd. John Grahame. Bates Battaglia. Ron Mason. Rick Comley. These are just a few of the recognizable names that have graced the campus of Lake Superior State University in Sault Saint Marie, Michigan.

In the late 80s and early 90s the "Soo" was the place to be in college hockey.

In 1988, the Lakers won their first of three national titles in six years by defeating St. Lawrence University in Lake Placid, N.Y. "Miracle" might even have been an appropriate term for the Lakers success because with an enrollment of around 3,000 undergraduates, Lake Superior State is one of the smallest Division I schools to win a national title in any sport.

The 1988 title was overseen by head coach Frank Anzalone, while current Notre Dame head coach Jeff Jackson piloted the Lakers to three consecutive finals appearances from 1992-1994 winning it all in '92 and '94. Incidentally, the 1993 team lost a 5-4 heartbreaker to Maine or it would have been three straight Soo championships. And, just for the record, that '93 Maine team might have been the best college hockey team of all time. Some guy named Paul Kariya scored 100 points in just 39 games that year with 25 goals and a mind boggling 75 assists to guys like Jim Montgomery and Peter and Chris Ferraro. And, if they couldn't outscore you, they were backstopped by former Team USA Olympic netminders Garth Snow (currently the GM for the New York Islanders) and Mike Dunham.

Maine went 42-1-2 that year. No big deal.

But, after Jackson left Lake State, the program began a sharp decline from which it has been unable to recover. Gone are the prized recruits, the packed Taffy Abel Arena and the masterful coaching legends. Even a second stint by Frank Anzalone behind the bench was not enough to get the program back to its lofty standards earlier this decade. To truly illustrate how dominant Lake Superior was, consider that since 2000, and through last weekend, the Lakers have won 105 games. In the four seasons between 1990 and 1994, the year of their last national title, they won 129 games. To say the current decade has been "lost" might be an understatement.

Lakers coach Jim Roque (LSSU '87) is entering his 5th season behind the bench in the Soo. He has compiled a respectable 60-74-25 record and has stabilized the program. Entering this weekend's series against Ohio State, the Lakers have won 3 of their first 4 games including a split in the Superior Showcase which features Northern Michigan, Michigan Tech, Minnesota-Duluth and Lake Superior State. The Lakers fell to Duluth, but bounced back to defeat Michigan Tech, both of the WCHA. Last weekend, Lake State swept Canisius of Atlantic Hockey by scores of 5-4 and 3-0.

The Lakers (3-1, 0-0) look to be built from the net out. They return seven of their top eight defensemen from last season and a solid, experienced goaltender. However, putting the puck in the net could be a challenge. The Lakers lost three of their top five goal scorers from a year ago, and only senior Zac MacVoy (Livonia, Mich.) and sophomore Fred Cassiani (Toronto, Ont.) scored at least 10 goals last season. Currently, Lake is led by reigning CCHA Rookie of the Week Domenic Monardo (Oakville, Ont.) and his four assists and five points. Senior Brad Cooper (Coppell, Tex.) has a team-best two goals and is one of four Lakers with four points this season. In net, the Lakers feature dependable junior Brian Mahoney-Wilson (West Roxbury, Mass.) who has started all four games and has a 2.26 goals-against average and .911 save percentage. Last season, the Lakers finished just 11-20-8 overall and failed to secure home ice in the first round of the CCHA playoffs by finishing 10th the regular season. However, the Lakers were in most of their games and this year must find a way to win the close ones. They were a disappointing 1-12 in games decided by one goal - no way to go through life in the ultra-competitive CCHA.

Head coach Jim Roque feels the Lakers can improve this year by becoming a more aggressive hockey team, something he feels has been lacking over the past few seasons.

“I think if anything, we’re a little disappointed in how maybe we’ve gotten a little bit passive the last two years with our game, and I think right now we’re looking to going back to more of how we played a couple years back — a little more aggressive, a little more of in-your-face hockey,” Roque said. “I thought maybe we got a little too conservative the last two seasons.

“I wouldn’t blame that on the players. That’s obviously a coaching decision; you want to be more conservative or you’re trying to win games with a little different style and that’s something that I’ve reevaluated this season and trying to get our guys to go again.”[USCHO]

Ohio State (1-3, 0-0) started the new season slowly but last weekend's home split vs. then #3 Denver should help the squad build confidence in their game.

On Friday, it was the Pioneers seizing early control of the game in front of another sparse crowd at Value City Arena winning 2-0. Denver goaltender Marc Cheverie made 36 saves en route to his fifth career shutout. Read the recap of Friday's game here.

The Buckeyes turned the tables on Saturday night picking up their first victory of 2009-10 shutting out the Pioneers 4-0 at Nationwide Arena. Sophomore goaltender Cal Heeter made 39 saves for his first career shutout and the Buckeyes received goals from Taylor Stefishen, Zac Dalpe, Shane Sims and an empty netter from C.J. Severyn. If Dalpe can get it going, it should ease the pressure on John Albert who has yet to really get untracked this season. Interestingly, two of Heeter's three career wins have come against the Pioneers and it was the Buckeyes' first shutout since January 3 vs. Clarkson in the final of the Ohio Hockey Classic. In two starts this year, Heeter has a 1.01 goals-against average and .970 save percentage.

Currently, the Buckeyes are led offensively by junior defenseman Shane Sims who has a point in three of four games this year and checks in at 2-2-4. Last season, Sims led all Buckeye defensemen with 24 points. On Saturday, he scored his second shorthanded goal of his career.

The series between Ohio State and Lake Superior is one of dramatic streaks. Knowing how great the Lakers were in the 80s and 90s, it should come as no surprise that the Lakers absolutely dominated this series posting a 19-0-3 record against the Buckeyes from 1992-1997. However, Ohio State has turned things around over the past several years going 20-6-2 against Lake State including a 1-1 mark last season. Overall, Lake Superior leads the all-time series 69-53-9 including 41-25-4 in Sault Ste. Marie.

Fearless predictions -

Lake Superior is off to a "superior" start. However, they have only played one truly good team and dropped that game (another one goal loss) at Minnesota-Duluth. On the other hand, the Buckeyes suffered an opening weekend sweep to unheralded Quinnipiac before finally getting their first win last weekend in their fourth game of the season. I'm going to pick a Buckeye sweep thinking that the current series history combined with Ohio State's better personnel will carry them this weekend.

Buckeyes 4-2, 3-1

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!