The CBJ Fault In Our Stars?

There seems to be some synergy that exists between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Dallas Stars.  As a Jackets fan it seems like I just can’t get away from the Stars or have a normal fan existence when they are around.  Now that the CBJ have moved to the Eastern Conference the meetings aren’t as common, but the games haven’t become any more ordinary.

At the end of the lockout shortened 2012-2013 season the Blue Jackets were clawing tooth & nail to make the playoffs.  The second to last game on the schedule was a trip to Dallas to take on a Stars team also fighting to represent the West as a wildcard.  The CBJ played a hell of a game, winning 3-1, knocking the Stars out of the playoffs.  Two nights later the NHL regular season came to an end as the Blue Jackets played the Nashville Predators at the same time the Stars played the Detroit Red Wings.  I remember setting up a second television to keep an eye on both games at the same time, so excited by the prospects of the Blue Jackets making the playoffs.  The Blue Jackets scored three third period goals for an epic home victory, 3-1, but the Stars fell to the Red Wings 3-0.  A Minnesota Wild win later that night sealed the Jackets fate as they fell one point behind the Red Wings and lost a tiebreaker with the Wild.  Thanks Stars.

Last season the Stars and Blue Jackets started out normal enough, as the CBJ beat Dallas at home 4-2 on March 4^th.  The following week the Blue Jackets traveled to Dallas for a March 10^th rematch, but the game that night lasted all of six minutes and twenty three seconds.  As most of us remember Stars Center Rich Peverley collapsed on the team bench due to an irregular heartbeat right after finishing a shift.  Peverley had to be carried down the tunnel and was resuscitated by medical staff from both teams.  After a lengthy delay the game was postponed to a then unknown date.  Due to the compressed NHL schedule caused by the Winter Olympics the game was made up on April 9^th, causing the Blue Jackets to play 4 games in the season’s final 5 days.  The game was played for an entire 60 minutes with the score starting out 1-0 Jackets.  The first goal was credited to Nathan Horton at 0:00, which caused the Earth to briefly spin off its axis since Horton was injured and didn’t play in the makeup game.  The game had a surreal feeling as Artem Anisimov scored the “second” goal a minute and a half later.  It seemed like the Stars never got going and the CBJ rolled to a 3-1 win, which clinched their second playoff berth in team history.  As an update for the CBJ faithful, Rich Peverley is listed on the 2014-2015 Dallas Stars roster but is on the Injured Reserve list due to his heart condition.

This season the Stars come to town for the third game of the new season, and a 2-0 start by the Blue Jackets have everyone forgetting about contract negotiations and the rash of training camp injuries.  Times are good over in the Arena District and I am expecting a packed house and rowdy crowd for the game. I’m excited to be attending my first game of the year at Nationwide Arena, and if Saturday’s home opener is any indication the intensity and crowd noise we saw during the playoffs are going to continue straight through into the new season.  I hope the game goes the Jackets way and that nothing too out of the ordinary occurs, but when the Stars get involved you never know.

Go Jackets!

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