A Welcome Break . . .

By: Jeff Little • April 3rd, 2009

The current 3 day break in the schedule comes at a great time, both for the club and the fans.  After an exhausting stretch of games, the club gets a chance to catch a breath, give Mason a breather, and decompress from the daily pressure of the playoff chase.  Not only that, but the fans get a bit of a breather, and can step back from the edge of the cliff.


St. Louis gets a wild win over Detroit tonight, 5 – 4, with Backes getting 4 of the Blues’ tallies.  Conklin was in goal for the Wings, and now how dumb does the Detroit organization look for not picking up a goalie at the trade deadline?   Osgood and Conkline are not going to get Detroit out of the first round, at the current rate.  St. Louis is now back in 7th place, pending the outcome of the Anaheim/Vancouver game, which is currently tied at 5 in the 3rd.  

Edmonton lost a tough one tonight, 2 -1 against San Jose, reducing the CBJ magic number for Edmonton to 1.  If Vancouver can beat Anaheim, the MN against Anaheim goes down to 2.5.  

A Chicago win over Nashville on Friday, combined with a Calgary win over Minnesota puts us in the position where a win over Nashville on Saturday would effectively clinch for us.  Technically, the clinch would come with at least an OTL on Sunday vs. Chicago, but as a practical matter, it is over. 

If it makes everyone feel better, consider that the NHL media and related pundits are not concerned about us being in the playoffs.  They may not understand the paranoia that 7 years of missing the playoffs breeds, but I trust their judgment. 

More tidbits tomorrow . . .   Go Jackets! 

About

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A native of the SF Bay Area, my first exposure to hockey was the SF/Oakland/California Golden Seals, including Charlie Finley and the white skates. Fast forward to the late 1980's when Gretzky and the Kings came up to the Bay Area for an exhibition game at the Oakland Coliseum Arena, for which we had glass seats. I was at the first San Jose Sharks game in the Cow Palace, and followed them for their first few pathetic years, before moving to Columbus in 1994. I attended the first pro-NHL rally downtown, and have been a season ticket holder since Day 1, wife & I are active in the Jacket Backers, and son is an avid fan as well. I cover the Jackets for Inside Hockey, and contribute regularly to a variety of hockey sites. I maintain contact with the Jackets organization, and like to dig into stories, bringing a fresh, and sometimes irreverent perspective to hockey.

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There Are 3 Responses So Far. »

  1. Comment by Chris on 3 April 2009:

    I also want to point out that if the Jackets win Sat and Sun we are in. I like not having to count on the chips falling perfectly and I would rather clinch at home than in Nashville(as awesome as that would be considering the history).

  2. Comment by BZArcher on 3 April 2009:

    I’m going to be out of town this weekend. If we clinch, I want to hear the champaigne corks popping from -new york-, guys.

    (OK, OK, this is Columbus. I suppose it could be beer bottlecaps. But still.)

  3. Comment by Mike on 3 April 2009:

    My name is Mike and I run http://www.NHLsnipers.com. I am just curious if you would like to swap links.

    Let me know in a quick comment on my site or email me: nhlsnipers at gmail.

    If so, send me the link you want listed.

    Thanks

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