This is the time of year when the NHL’s method of awarding points for victories and overtime losses comes under a lot of scrutiny. Also, with the World Juniors underway, their system also receives a lot of attention. So, I decided to do some analysis and see what would happen under various point systems, using [...]
December 30th, 2008 | Jeff Little | 2 comments | 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.
A Dirty, Grimy Victory
Sitting here in a sleep-deprived fog, recovering from following the game on radio and internet last night/this morning, then watching coverage on NHL Network, this is the only description I can come up with to describe the victory over the Kings. Brutal hitting, tight checking, incredible goaltending on both sides. They should have worn overalls [...]
December 30th, 2008 | Jeff Little | 0 comments | Continued
Young Goalies Duel As Jackets Take On Kings
Take your No Doz, get that Triple Venti Cappuccino working and stay up to watch the CBJ tussle with the Los Angeles Kings again tonight, with the puck dropping at 10:30 pm EST. Both the Jackets and Steve Mason will be looking for some revenge, as both games to date have ended with LA on [...]
December 29th, 2008 | Jeff Little | 1 comment | Continued
World Juniors Update
U.S. 4 Czech Republic 3 — The American team got a bit more than they bargained for, but held on to beat a competetive Czech team. Jordan Schroeder continued his hot hand for the U.S., and now has 7 points for the tournament, tying him for second place among all skaters. Russia 5 Finland 2 [...]
December 29th, 2008 | Jeff Little | 0 comments | Continued
A Complete Effort!!!!!
On December 23rd, after the LA debacle, Hitch promised a different team and a different effort against Philadelphia. The man sure knows how to keep his word . . . .Tonight was a tremendous effort under signifcant pressure after two lackluster performances. The CBJ came out strong, kept the pressure on in all three zones, [...]
December 28th, 2008 | Jeff Little | 0 comments | Continued
Philly Preview, Trade Rumblings, Calming Note
On it’s face, having the Flyers come to town on the heels of the Jackets’ worst performance of the year seems like adding insult to injury, but scratch the surface and there is cause for optimism.Philly is coming off of a bad whipping by Chicago last night, 5 – 1, and is suffering from their [...]
December 27th, 2008 | Jeff Little | 0 comments | Continued
USA, Russia, Sweden Win — Canada Dominating After 2 Periods
Few surprises emerged during the first day of competition at the World Junior Championships in Ottawa. Russia beat Latvia in the opening contest, 4 – 1, with Russian outshooting Latvia 44 – 15. Perhaps the only surprise in that game was that the Russian top line, Nikita Filatov, Evgeni Grachev, and Dmitri Kugryshev, was held [...]
December 27th, 2008 | Jeff Little | 0 comments | Continued
World Juniors Kicks Off Today!
The 2009 edition of the IIHG World Junior Championships kicks off today in Ottawa. Action starts at 2:30 PM , with Russia (featuring Nikita Filatov and Maxim Mayorov) taking on Latvia. The US team opens against Germany at 3:30 PM, and Canada takes on the Czech Republic at 7:30 PM. The USA/Germany game and the [...]
December 26th, 2008 | Jeff Little | 0 comments | Continued
Merry Christmas
My brief Christmas wishes: Let the CBJ find some goals, healthy players and maybe a new center under their tree. May the NHL Toronto War Room find some new prescription glasses in their stockings. May Hitchcock find lots of competitive composure and heavy games in his pile of presents. Finally, here is hoping that all [...]
December 25th, 2008 | Jeff Little | 0 comments | Continued
Statistical Update
While I hate to confuse things with facts, as I know central Ohio fans as a rule much prefer reacting on emotion, here is an update of how the Western Conference playoff picture would look at season end if all of the teams played at their current pace from here out: 1. San Jose 137 [...]
December 24th, 2008 | Jeff Little | 0 comments | Continued
Happy Holidays!!! Now Who Do We Trade and For Whom???
Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah to all of you followers of my blog . . . both of you. Let this be deemed the official Year End Trade thread. Post your comments with who you would give up, who you would take, and why.I’ll seed the discussion with a couple:3rd Round Draft Pick for Doug [...]
December 24th, 2008 | Jeff Little | 5 comments | Continued
Out Gunned. . .
A poor showing by the team tonight, all the way around. Sure, we got jobbed by the NHL officiating crew again (see below), but that did not cost us the game. Here is what I saw:Poor Energy — We took the first 10 minutes off, and LA didn’t. Result was 2 goals against, and Mason [...]
December 24th, 2008 | Jeff Little | 0 comments | Continued
Not Again . . .
Well, we all saw it again . . . 3rd Period, tipped puck, Nash in the slot, puck in the air, puck in net. No goal. How the hell can the NHL look itself in the mirror?? How can Colin Campbell deny, with a straight face, that the NHL, including the “War Room”, have some [...]
December 24th, 2008 | Jeff Little | 0 comments | Continued
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