Sorry that this review of the Calgary game is so late, but late night and busy day put the squeeze on the available hours. If you had come to me yesterday and said that the Bluejackets could have 1 point for the Calgary game, no need to play, just go off to break, I would [...]
January 22nd, 2009 | Jeff Little | 1 comment | ContinuedArchive for Jeff Little
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.
55 Minutes
The Jackets learned a hard lesson last night — hockey games are 60 minutes, not 55. After playing a really strong, solid game, for the most part, for 55 minutes, we lost our focus and paid the price. First, the good. After taking a bit of time to adjust to the pace, we found our [...]
January 21st, 2009 | Jeff Little | 1 comment | Continued
Oilers Game Day Preview
The Bluejackets invade Rexall Place in Edmonton tonight in another one of those games against a close rival for playoff positioning. Howson returns to his former club, while Hitch returns to his birthplace. The Oilers and Jackets are two clubs in similar situations. Edmonton has 49 points in 45 games, while the CBJ have 48. [...]
January 20th, 2009 | Jeff Little | 2 comments | Continued
Leclaire Out, Campbell Miffed
It’s now official — Pazzy will have season-ending ankle surgery for torn ligaments and bone spurs in his ankle. Surgery will likely take place later this week at the Cleveland Clinic, with a recovery period of 10 -12 weeks ahead. He is expected to fully recover before next training camp. This is the best move [...]
January 20th, 2009 | Jeff Little | 1 comment | Continued
Nash #1
As Puck-Rakers just reported, Rick Nash is now the all-time leading scorer for the Columbus Bluejackets, with 318 points in 404 games. His total includes 172 goals and 146 assists. He broke the prior record held by original Jacket David Vyborny, who posted 317 points in 543 games (113 goals, 204 assists),Congratulations, Rick!!!! Many, Many, [...]
January 19th, 2009 | Jeff Little | 0 comments | Continued
Improbable Victory!!
Hitch had it right —-in his post game comments, Hitch noted that it was “games like this that make coaches go into scouting.” In an exhausting, gut-wrenching, insanely schizophrenic effort, the CBJ outlasted the Canucks, gaining a 6 – 5 shootout victory and 2 very big points in the last road trip before the All-Star [...]
January 19th, 2009 | Jeff Little | 1 comment | Continued
Game Day Ramblings
As the CBJ get prepared to begin their final road trip befor the All-Star break, they are likely getting warmer weather in Vancouver than we have had here in Columbus. The trip is beginning on a good note. Per Puck Rakers, Rick Nash has been activated from IR, and Craig MacDonald has been, or will [...]
January 18th, 2009 | Jeff Little | 2 comments | Continued
Another Piece Falls Into Place /More on Koharski Call
Kudos to Rick, for steering me to this emerging news that appeared on Puck-Rakers a couple of hours ago: The CBJ have claimed goalie Wade Dubielewicz off of waivers from the New York Islanders, and have sent Dan LaCosta to Syracuse. Dubielewicz will join the team in Vancouver for tomorrow night’s game, and will likely [...]
January 17th, 2009 | Jeff Little | 4 comments | Continued
A Post, A Bounce, A Call . . .
For 50 minutes of hockey, the Bluejackets did everything I indicated they should do in my game preview — they checked, they kept the New Jersey forwards at the perimeters, possessed the puck in the offensive zone, stayed out of the box, and got timely saves from Mason. It was a chess match, with most [...]
January 17th, 2009 | Jeff Little | 5 comments | Continued
Devils Preview
Across the frozen tundra . . . Ooops, sorry. Looked outside and thought I was watching NFL Films and Lambeau Field for a moment. My mistake. . . The New Jersey Devils invade Nationwide tonight, having won 4 of their last 5, including wins over Ottawa, Montreal, St. Louis, and the N.Y. Rangers, scoring 4 [...]
January 16th, 2009 | Jeff Little | 1 comment | Continued
The Road Ahead
Although today was a relatively quiet day in CBJ land in terms of news, there is anticipation in the air.–As Puck-Rakers reported, the Jackets had 25 players on the ice in practice today, enough for 5 forward lines. Nash is iffy for Friday, but Torres will go. Mackenzie has already made his way back to [...]
January 16th, 2009 | Jeff Little | 4 comments | Continued
Jackets Land Williams From Thrashers
While my wife and I were doing our best Canadian impersonations . . . shoveling our driveway (my wife for the second time today), the Jackets completed a trade with the Atlanta Thrashers, acquiring Center Jason Williams in return for Clay Wilson and a 6th round draft pick in the 2009 draft.Williams, a 28 year [...]
January 14th, 2009 | Jeff Little | 5 comments | Continued
Above The Line!!!
In his post-game comments, Ken Hitchcock noted that it was a big deal that the Jackets leaped over Colorado into the 8th spot in the Western Conference — noting that it is always better to be above that red, black or green line that they put after the number 8 team in each conference. To [...]
January 14th, 2009 | Jeff Little | 2 comments | Continued
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