After the incredible effort last night, I was keyed up and could not sleep, so I finished up post game blog entry, playoff update, etc., mindful of the fact that wife and I needed to arise at 4:15 am for our flight to St. Louis. So, a little worse for the wear, we headed [...]
March 27th, 2009 | Jeff Little | 0 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.
Playoff Update for Friday
The 5 -0 thrashing of Calgary tonight not only gets the Flames muttering to themselves — it helps us along the merry path to the playoffs. Here is the updated spreadsheet, reflecting each team’s progress through Thursday night’s games.As is evident, Nashville and St. Louis helped themselves with nice wins tonight. They are far from [...]
March 27th, 2009 | Jeff Little | 5 comments | Continued
Statement Made!
The Columbus Bluejackets beat the Calgary Flames tonight, 5 – 0. Let me repeat that . . . the Columbus Bluejackets beat the Calgary Flames tonight, 5 -0. And you know what? The game wasn’t that close! Playing the most spirited 60 minutes of masterfully executed hockey that I can remember seeing, at both ends [...]
March 27th, 2009 | Jeff Little | 2 comments | Continued
Playoff Math — Another Magic Number
Another day, another 5,000 views, statistics, omens and other indicia of who will make the playoffs, when the CBJ will clinch, etc. etc. In keeping with the spirit of service to my loyal readership, I humbly offer yet another statistical way to evaluate the crazy Western Conference Playoff Race (henceforth referred to simply as the [...]
March 25th, 2009 | Jeff Little | 0 comments | Continued
Updated Playoff Chart
Newest version of the playoff chart can be found here. Jackets end up picking up a point on Edmonton, who gave up two late goals to Detroit, while their margin over 8th remained the same. With Anaheim winning, the margin over 9th reduced by one. Dallas and Minnesota are now in desperate situations. St. Louis [...]
March 25th, 2009 | Jeff Little | 0 comments | Continued
Great Defense . . . A Road Point . . .But . . .
You can’t really complain a lot about getting 3 out of 4 possible points on the road, but this one left the feeling that a point was clearly left on the table. The Jackets posted one of their best defensive games of the season — heck, of ANY season, and outshot the Lightning 34 – [...]
March 25th, 2009 | Jeff Little | 2 comments | Continued
Tuesday Tidbits and Lightning Preview
The Bluejackets’ Excellent Adventure in Florida comes to a close tonight, when they face the Tampa Bay Lightning, which will bring the Games Remaining number down into single digits. This is another one of those “trap” games — one we should win easily on paper, but the game has to be played on the ice. [...]
March 24th, 2009 | Jeff Little | 0 comments | Continued
Chart FIxed (I think)
After being advised that I was apparently the only one who could access the chart, I think I have solved the problem. Try this link. Let me know if it works.
March 23rd, 2009 | Jeff Little | 3 comments | Continued
Playoff Updates
I know that Aaron Portzline has already “called” the Jackets as being in the playoffs, but for those of us requiring a bit more analysis, I offer the following updates. First, here is the latest incarnation of playoff projections for the West, based upon each team continuing to play at the pace they have played [...]
March 23rd, 2009 | Jeff Little | 4 comments | Continued
Time and Score . . . and Torres!!!
Bluejackets fans are in a unique position to empathize with the Florida Panthers fans tonight. Over the past 7 years, how many times have we nursed a 1 goal lead with less than 5 minutes left in the game, and had our hopes shattered by a bad bounce, a late penalty or defensive breakdown? With [...]
March 22nd, 2009 | Jeff Little | 2 comments | Continued
Getting Better . . .But No Goals Yet
A more Hitch-like period, and we started to get some momentum and possession time toward the end of the period, until the penalty. Good kill going, but great save by Mason on Weiss. Much improved in the faceoff circle, and tighter defense. We are slow on the battles to loose pucks, and are weak on [...]
March 22nd, 2009 | Jeff Little | 1 comment | Continued
Need To Finish
Though the Jackets dominate the play for much of the first stanza, they trail on the scoreboard 1 – 0. We had the first 9 shots of the period, but only lead in shots 10 – 9. Ahead in hits, 12 – 9. No penalties or giveaways, but trailing in the faceoff circle 11 – [...]
March 21st, 2009 | Jeff Little | 0 comments | Continued
As The Faceoff Gets Closer . . .
With the drop of the puck just a few moments away, a few things to keep in mind as the Jackets face off against the Panthers: After a couple of days off, and with Florida in a desperate playoff hunt, need to guard against early sluggishnes and/or sloppiness; Do not let stats vs. East go [...]
March 21st, 2009 | Jeff Little | 0 comments | Continued
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