First thing is first.

The Jackets Backers are raffling off not one chance..but two chances! to win a free spot on the Jacket Backers bus to St. Louis on January 30th!

The drawings will be tomorrow night.

The first one will be at the R Bar Arena.  The second will be at the official Jacket Backers viewing party at Brothers in the Arena District.

Mike Todd will also be in attendance at Brothers and there will be lots of other prizes up for grabs.

If you miss out on the free ride there are still open seats available for purchase.  Here are the official details from their web site:

• $215 per person based on double room occupancy.
• Deluxe Motor Coach to and from St. Louis.- A comfortable ride perfect to meet new friends, socialize, take a nap or catch a movie.
• Some light snacks and beverages will be provided on the bus and you are welcome to bring your own refreshments.
• Raffle including one team signed item.
• Leave early Saturday January 30th (approximately 7:00 am).
• Arrive in St. Louis with plenty of time to check in and sight see before and after the game.
• Overnight Accommodations at the Sheraton St. Louis City Center - 2 blocks from the Arena.
• Ticket to Columbus Blue Jackets vs. St. Louis Blues.
• One hour In Arena Pre Game Party with free Beer, Wine, Soda and Appetizers.
• Leave St. Louis late morning on Sunday for the return trip to Columbus with great memories and new friends.

The Jacket Backers know how to plan a road trip so if you're interested you won't regret it!

Be sure to visit their official web site for more details on these trips and other events here!

-LTL

What's that sound you say?

That is the sound of the Jackets season continuing to crumble.

I think it's safe to say the Blues took a big ole bite out of the Jackets last night.

The Jackets did what they couldn't do... They got off to a slow start, were out worked, out checked, out special teamed, out goaltended and most importantly out scored.

The Jackets modest 3 game winning streak is history.

STOPLIGHT GAME REVIEW
@ ST. Louis
01.13.10
SCORE: Blues 4 Jackets 1

GREEN
* I continue to love the energy Boll and Picard are both bringing to this lineup.  They are noticeable every shift they are on the ice.  Both had scraps.  Both hit.  Both even created scoring chances.  These are two guys who are fully fulfilling their roles.

* The Jackets as a whole were a scrappy bunch.  Combined they had 35 hits.  LOVED seeing Nash get into mix.  4 scraps in this game and lots of scrums and trash talking.  Hey if we are goin down then by gawd let's not go down without a fight!

* Not all was lost on this night as the Islanders shutout Detroit by a final of 6-0.  That kind of result always brings a wicked grin to my face.

* Picard's WWE body slam of Brewer from his knees was kind-a fun.

* R Bar kitchens grand opening.

YELLOW
* Mase didn't allow a goal in relief of Garon (empty netter doesn't count).  We'll see if it's his turn to go on a run.

* Not shutout.  Good to see Tyutin get one.  He was one of the few Jackets I didn't mind last night.  He also had a team high 5 shots.  Was good to see him back out there after that hit he took.

* Sammy Pahlsson was a beast in the circle winning 12 of 15 draws.

RED
* Huselius took bad to a whole new level in this game yet someone continues to draw big minutes.  Hitch threw him out there for 21 minutes.  Some may ask well who you gonna throw out?  My response is a telephone poll could do less harm than Juice did last night.  He was pathetic.  He coasted all over the ice.. had more turnovers than a day care... He sucked.  What happened to sending message to under-performing vets?  I guess that stopped at Commodore.

* Voracek had a tough night - especially in the first half of that game.

* Special teams didn't get the job done.  The PP got a goal to provide a glimmer of hope but when it had a chance to pull within one with an extended 4 on 3 it couldn't capitalize.  The PK couldn't stop the Blues 27th ranked PP from scoring either.

* The first 10 minutes of this game doomed the Jackets.  As I texted a friend last night -- the game was over after the 3rd goal but I wanted to stick around and see the fireworks.

* I thought that fight might have woken up Nash... Wrong.

* The Nash-Umberger-Huseilus line was a combined -6.

* Brassard ice time was 13:46 which is better than last game.  I don't have a huge problem with that # but he needs to work this entire summer on getting stronger along the boards.... he just loses too many battles in that area.  Going forward why not put him with Nash and just roll with it a few games.... things couldn't get worse for that line.

* Nash line struggled to get much of anything going yet again.  Chemistry is non-existent.  A question I'm asking myself of late is is the problems with that line the player combos or does Nash's style of play make it difficult for his linemates to mesh?  He isn't a traditional sniper that finds soft spots in the ice.. His game is 3 to 10 feet in front of the cage or a power game carrying the puck off the rush to the cage... Rarely is he getting pucks in those positions.  Also shouldn't Nash be the one that makes the players around him better?  ....and what about moving him back in front of the cage on the PP?  It will be interesting to see how Nash meshes with a true #1 center for Team Canada in the Olympics.

* Thought Picard deserved a lot more than 4:32 of ice time.

* Did the Murray-Pahlsson-Clark line create anything of substance in the offensive zone?  I get they are a checking line but they are allowed to try to score.

3 BRIGHT LIGHTS ON THE NIGHT
1 Taylor Hall still within grasp!
2. Boll and Picard doing their jobs.
3. Ummm.. still haven't been shutout this season?

For the eternal optimist that is 3 wins in their past 4 and the Jackets sit just 8 points out of the final playoff position in the West.

For the pessimist (i.e. me!) the Jackets are just 10 points from being the worst team in the league.  They currently hold the 5th worst overall record.  The kicker is everyone below them but Toronto has 3 games in hand over the Jackets.  Hell the Leafs even have a game in hand.

-LTL

I wanted to help spread the word that Columbus' best and only hockey bar has made a significant upgrade that I plan to take full advantage of.

They have added a kitchen that opens up for business today!

According to the R Bar twitter the menu "starts small with pizza and appetizers - will be expanding hours and items over the next few weeks."

..and whaddya know?  The Jackets have an away game tonight in St. Louis.  Sounds like as good a time as any to test this pie out no?

Also be sure if you believe the R Bar to be the best hockey bar in town as I do then head on over to Columbus Alive and vote for them by following this link!

You don't have to vote for every category (there is a shitload of them) but be sure to vote for "Best Hockey Bar" (and "Best Jukebox").

Mike and Natalie put a lot of hard work (and $$) to provide us all a watering hole to enjoy our hockey addiction and I know they would appreciate any support we can provide them.

ATTENTION DRAFT WATCHERS!

The NHL Central Scouting has released their mid-term rankings.

The top 3 North American Skaters are as follows:

1. Taylor Hall (LW)
2. Tyler Seguin (C)
3. Cam Fowler (D)

Out of the top 12 players listed the great news is that only two are listed as wingers.  The rest are centers or dmen.

The top 3 Europeans Skaters are as follows:

1. Michael Granlundo (C-W Finland)
2. Vladimir Tarasenko (RW - Russia)
3. Maxim Kitsyn (LW - Russia)

Memo to Howson:  Just say NO! to Russia.

Check out this pic of the facility where the Syracuse Crunch will play an outdoor game on February 20th of this year:

A harness race horse cruises by the construction of the outdoor ice rink being built at the statefair grounds race track. A crew is grading the track so that a rink can be built for the Feb 20th Syracuse Crunch game.

Outdoor hockey games are becoming what 3D is to movie theaters and everybody wants a piece of the action.

You can read more about the game over on the Crunch blog.

Look for Derek Dorsett in the lineup tonight (probably replacing Andrew Murray) and congrats to Garon for being named the NHL's 3rd Star of the Week!

Finally a I received an email that I wanted to share part of from a CBJ fan named Adam who has taken advantage of the Jackets Pepsi Ticket Promotion:

I don't know if you have heard about it or not, but it is basically this: buy four 12-packs of Pepsi or Diet Pepsi at Giant Eagle and you get a voucher for two free Jackets tickets to select games, mostly weekday. The tickets are center-ice, upper-bowl. Not bad seats. Anyway, thanks to this promotion, I have been able to attend a lot more games than I would have been able to years ago. I don't really
care for Pepsi, so I have a stockpile in the kitchen, but those tickets are sure going to use.

I saw on the Jackets' website that they have started this promotion again for games throughout the remainder of the season. Unfortunately, I am sure they brought it back because attendance has been so low at games lately. I just thought that maybe you might want to promote this ticket promotion in your blog, because it is a great way for people who can't afford tickets to go cheer for their Jackets.

I don't know if the Jackets or anyone from Pepsi or Giant Eagle read this blog but these promotions work and really hit home with a lot of fans out there who may otherwise not be able to afford to attend these games.

Again if you're interested in the promotion be sure to visit the Jackets web site for all the details here!

Great job by all those that make these happen and please keep em comin!

-LTL 

Raise your hand if you thought that was a guranteed goal for Mike Modano in the late in the 3rd period?

*raises hand*

Raise your hand if you thought that despite outplaying the Stars this game the Jackets would find a way to lose it.

*raises hand*

Wrong and wrong again.

The Jackets closed out this game off the strength of terrific play in goal and timely goal scoring from Raffi Torres.  Antoine "little red" Vermette closed the game out with a empty netter.

That is 3 wins in a row.

Yes folks, I think the Jackets have found a pulse.

STOPLIGHT GAME REVIEW
vs Dallas
01.10.10
SCORE: Jackets 2 Stars 0

GREEN
* Garon is getting it done... what a stop on Eriksson on that early breakaway... that was a game changer... but the game saver came against Mike Modano with just minutes left in the 3rd period.  Time to play Monday morning QB -- where would this team be if Hitch had played the hot goaltender from the get-go?

* Beautiful feed from Brass to Torres on that first goal.. that is the skill this kid is capable of bringing... skill that he brought often last year but has vanished for the most part this year.  He's also starting to get his mojo back doin some smack talkin out there.

* ..and nice finish by Torres who wasted no time getting that one timer off.  He was also throwing his weight around..how about that hit on Brendan Morrow who a is a hard to dude to check? He also had 8 shots.

* Also liked to see Hejda jump up in the play there to create numbers for the good guys.  He had a solid game all the way around.

* You want to know what's alive?  The Voracek-Vermette-Torres line!!  The best chemistry a line has had all year.

* Andrew Murray had the legs churning.. thought this was his best game this season.  Bad luck on that puck off the post.

* The team competed all 60 minutes.  They had a couple of breakdowns but overall this was a consistent effort all game long.

* Voracek was outstanding.  He is really transporting the puck well with speed of late.  My heart skipped a beat when he carried that one through the center of his own zone but no harm no foul.

* Boys throwing their weight around.. everyone was hitting!  Jackets with 31 thumpers to the Stars 23.  Picard led the way with 4.  Pahlsson with a GREAT hit on Modano.. needs to bring that game more often.  Clark plastered someone as well. There is no question when this team hits they play well.

* Great TO by Hitch after the Jackets got pinned last in the 2nd.  They couldn't afford to give up a goal there and allow momentum to shift.  Off topic but I'd love to see a stat on how many times that time out goes unused throughout an NHL season?  Probably a lot more than we'd think.

* Jackets getting some breaks to go their way.. A post here.. A puck flipped up over the net there.. Rebounds to guy in blue instead of the opposition.

* Not really a bad player on the ice in this game.. there were some individuals who had a mistake here or there but for the most part this was, as previously mentioned, a complete team win.

* PK was flawless yet again.

* Regulation win at home!

YELLOW
* For whatever reason (injury? wear and tear? season grind? etc) it always seems Nash goes into a bit of a shell mid-way through a season and then finds his stride again.  He's right smack dab in the shell now although he showed some signs this game that he may be coming out of it.  He had a little better jump and was fairly involved in the play.  I didn't like the way he gave up the puck late in the 3rd that led to Modano's breakaway however.

* Like Jurcina more than Clark at this point at least on the ice.  Although Clark is improving game by game and had a couple of good hard working plays in this one.

* 14,500 in attendance isn't bad considering.

RED
* Too many penalties.

* Derek Brassard with only 9:25 played.... Only Boll and Picard played less.   Why? Why? Why?

* Tyutin and those unforced turnovers...

* Turco played well which is credit to him but when you dominate play like that they need to find a way to score more.

* Wasn't big on putting Commodore and Hejda out there on that late PP.  Hitch went into protect mode with a 1 goal lead instead of going for the throat.  It worked out okay this time but how many times has that backfired this season?

3 BRIGHT LIGHTS ON THE NIGHT
1 Garon was a game changer and saver.
2. Team win.
3. Three in a row.

A solid win but I'm still puzzled by the lack of playing time for Brassard.

Everyone is gonna get excited and think there is still a chance.  Hey that is the fan in everyone.  For me I'm just gonna sit back and enjoy the wins and like I said in a previous post, if this team hits 5 to 7 wins in a row then I'll take a look at the standings and see how deep the hole still is.

As is stands now I'm more focused about setting this team up for next year and if I'm Howson I do not let this lack of playing time for young players go unaccounted for.  These guys need to be playing upwards of 15 minutes a night.. period.

-LTL

Check out this line brawl involving Jaromir Jagr in the KHL:

Thanks to Kevin for the tip.

Things appear to be going absolutely nowhere on the arena lease issue according to the Dispatch this morning:

"We're still trying to figure out what the issues are," said Bill Jennison, executive director of the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority.

The money approved by the authority and the city of Columbus is likely to be depleted within weeks, at which point, lawyer John Rosenberger might wrap up by reporting where various parties stand and what problems and issues remain, Jennison said.

The work probably will end without an attempt to negotiate with all parties -- team owners; Nationwide, the majority owner of Nationwide Arena; and elected officials -- at the table, Jennison said. "There is no sense in bringing everybody into a large room," Jennison said. "It has to be productive."

As I stated previously don't expect them to go anywhere until ownership swings the hammer and engages in negotiations to sell and move the team.

This lousy season has not done them any favors either.

Things are going to get a lot more messy before they get better -- if they get better -- and we'll all get taken for the ride.

Unfortunately that appears to be the only way the power players in any city ever get serious about situations like these.

As Portzline pointed out in his Puck-rakers post Edmonton's Jim Matheson believes Filatov will be moved at some point:

Rest assured, Columbus Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson will be trading Filatov, probably at the entry draft in June, because he’s not going to have a kid dictate who he plays or how many minutes he plays. He’ll have no trouble moving the forward, for the top four D-man he needs.

I'm still of the belief that if Hitch stays Filatov goes and vice versa.

I certainly hope Howson doesn't waste this asset to bring in some top 4 dman.  This team needs a #1 dman.  Filatov should be packaged with whatever it takes to bring in that or a #1 center.

A top 4 dman = spinning wheels.

I'm going to keep banging this drum until it happens.  These holes have gone unfilled long enough and it's time everyone puts pressure on Howson and the organization to fill them the right way.

I know the Jackets have a budget.. I know the players don't grow on trees... but if they want to get serious about winning and winning consistently then they somehow/someway these wholes must get addressed.

Clearly we have been unable to draft and develop players to fill these holes.

Until then we should all continue to expect to be a borderline playoff team at best.

Garrioch's turn to chime in on Hitch:

All eyes are on Columbus coach Ken Hitchcock, but the talk is a decision on whether he stays with the Blue Jackets won’t be made by GM Scott Howson. Instead, it will be team president Mike Priest who will decide.

Sources say the players wouldn’t mind if a coaching change was made and that the dressing room is a mess. Let’s face it: Hitchcock has a shelf life, but the Jackets shouldn’t worry because somebody will pick up the remainder of his contract if he’s fired. Top guess is that he’ll land in St. Louis.

Priest having the final say on whether or not Hitch stays or goes wouldn't surprise me.  Although leaving that decision to a guy with absolutely not background in the sport of hockey doesn't strike me as the wisest decision.

I don't think Hitch would have a problem finding new employment in the NHL but I don't buy it being in St. Louis which is a team that just fired a coach with a similar style in Andy Murray.

If you recall the Jackets were rumored to be down to two coaches before they pulled the trigger on Hitch...

Who was the other guy?

Andy Murray.

Sorry for no gameboxes of late -- been tough to find the time to squeeze them in.

As far as the game tonight it will be interesting to see how the Jackets respond after a successful 3 game road trip that saw them take 4 of 6 points.

Were the wins an aberration or is this team really snapping out of it's funk?

As I was saying to a buddy the other day.. the wins are nice but it's going to take a helluva lot more than that to convince me this team can get back in this playoff fight..  If they can put a run together of say 5 to 7 straight regulation wins I may open an eye or two and peak up at the standings.

There is an opportunity tonight as the Stars have struggled on the road with a 7-9-6 record.  The Jackets on the other hand aren't exactly lighting up the win column at home lately going 1-5-2 in their past 8 games in the friendly confines.

Regardless of the outcome the key remains for me is that this team has to start preparing for next season and playing their young guns early and often.  That is something that did not happen with Brassard the last game which for me is completely unacceptable regardless of if we won or not.

-LTL

I wanted to watch that Voracek to Torres to Vermette goal again so since I've got it queued up why not post it!

What a great game from him and that entire line.  Hopefully they can keep it goin and Hitch doesn't break them up after the first sign of adversity.

A little interesting info for you.  Vermette has 35 points in 45 games and according to Forecaster, is on pace for 62 points in 82 games which would be a career high.

His previous best came back in 07-08 for Ottawa when he notched 53 points in 81 games.

That is solid 2nd line center production.

-LTL

-LTL

Sportsnet chimes in with "The Hangover" (sound familiar?) regarding Hitch and his future with the Jackets.  Some juicy quotes in here:

"Nobody saw this drop-off. We started (this season) 12-6-3," said GM Scott Howson. "Now, seven weeks later we've dropped almost out of sight. Everyone is just sort of bewildered by it. Including the players."

"He said, 'Did you sign up to win? Or did you sign up to coach? Because you can't do both,'" Hitchcock said with a smile. "'If you signed up to win, and that's all you signed up for when you got in this business, then you might as well get lost. It ain't going to work.'"

"We wanted to take the next step… Well, it didn't happen," mused Hitchcock, whose job is certainly on the line here. "I've never experienced anything like this. I haven't had the constant, knocking on the door, backing down the steps. Knocking on the door, backing down the steps.

"It's the first time in my life I've ever slept with a notepad next to (his bed). You do a lot of thinking, a lot of reflection. Like the players. They go through a lot too, you know."

"Everything came so easy to him last year," Howson said. "He didn't have a summer, he was recuperating from knee surgery. He gets to training camp, hurts his knee again, has another surgery. Waits another five or six weeks, then goes to the minors for three games.

"Defence and goaltending wins championships," added Hitchcock, "and we're sitting here minus three of our top six defencemen. And we haven't been as good in goal as (Mason) wanted to be. As we wanted (Mason) to be.

And so — if ownership decides to swallow two more seasons at US $1.2 million after this one on his contract — might be Hitchcock.

"We're all responsible for the on-ice product, but he's the first in line," admitted Howson. "That's the way it is. For all coaches in all major sports."

Wait.. so now the excuse is we are down 3 of our top 6 defensemen?  Methot, Klesla and Commodore?  We couldn't win with those guys in the lineup either.

I believe that 1.2 million is a BIG reason why Hitch is still employed as Jackets head coach.  With Priest and ownership counting every bean you better believe it's  factor.

Now as Portzline has mentioned, should Hitch get canned and then re-hired by another team that contract is then voided and the Jackets are off the hook.

CNNSI.com chimes in with some Hitch thoughts:

The Blue Jackets play the Oilers in Edmonton on Thursday night, and while the outcome is essentially meaningless to both teams -- also-rans from different divisions -- a Columbus loss could well mean the end of employment for coach Ken Hitchcock.

That's neither right nor fair, as one could argue that the Jackets' No.1 problem is goaltending (or lack of same) and not coaching, but this is a game that GM Scott Howson has to believe his team can win. If he can't see an effort, especially in a market where he grew his resume to the point he was able to land the job in Columbus, it's not out of line to imagine he'll react with a coaching change.

The Jackets made the playoffs for the first time in their history last season and a huge part of that was the coaching of Hitchcock and the play of goalie Steve Mason. Hitchcock is the same coach, but Mason, a rookie last season, has been a colossal flop this time around. While that's not unusual for a young goalie in the NHL, the Jackets put themselves at risk when they traded Pascal Leclaire during the offseason, in essence putting all their faith in Mason. That falls on Howson, and if he's a patient man he'll understand that sometimes a goalie, as well as a team, has to take a step backward before it can take a step forward. It can be a hard lesson to learn and an expensive one given that the Jackets are seeing softness at the gate and need to win to keep their fan base.

No doubt about it that goaltending has been a big reason for the Jackets demise.  I don't let Hitch off the hook completely for that however.

There have been points in this season where he should have ridden the hot hand in Garon (after the 2-0 shutout in Phoenix for example) but instead kept forcing it with Mase who has clearly struggled this entire season.

There is also the question of why made the switch from the "win and you're in" strategy when it appeared to be motivating each goaltender to play better.  I would also argue that he went to that strategy way to late in the game.

So while Mason has been a thunderous THUD! between the pipes and it is the responsibility of the players to execute I think there are some things that Hitch will look back on and wish he'd done differently in terms of handling his goaltending.

Not buying this writer's Pascal Leclaire reference either.  His numbers are worse than Garon's

Leclaire: 2.94 GAA .890 Save%

Garon: 2.76 GAA .900 Save%

Here's a stat from NHL.com:

9 -- Goals scored by the Red Wings on Nov. 11 in a 9-1 win against Columbus, the most scored by any team in a game this season. The Wings' big night spoiled Blue Jackets' coach Ken Hitchcock's 1,000th NHL game.

Speaking of Garon -- no way Hitch can't start him in net tonight?

Right?

-LTL

I've slacked on these of late which I apologize for but for they are back.. at least for a week!

CBSSports.com
Rank: 30 (-1)
Is Ken Hitchcock the next coach to go? Columbus has lost 20 of its last 23 games.

ESPN.com
Rank: 27 (+3)
Three-game road trip to western Canada this week -- tonic or torture?

CBC.ca
Rank: 27 (+3)
Trying hard, but still struggling.

TSN.ca
Rank: 28 (+1)
Since the start of December, the Blue Jackets are 2-10-5, but there may be some progress with a 1-1-2 record in the last four and tighter defensive play, allowing eight goals against in the last five.

ColumbusDispatch.com
Rank:  28 (+1)
One end of the ice has been cleaned up. Now the other is a disaster. Word to the coach: Let Brassard play.

FoxSports.com
Rank: 28 (+1)
(.453) While the Blue Jackets lost three of the four games they played last week, the team made some progress by picking up four of the possible eight points that were on the table. Columbus limps into Week 15 just 1-6-3 in its last 10 games.

CNNSI.com
Rank: 30 (unchanged)
They're finally playing the responsible, shutdown game that Ken Hitchcock has preached, limiting foes to five regulation goals in their last four games, but an impotent offense extended a miserable stretch to 20 losses in 23. It's no longer a question of salvaging this season, but how they prepare for the next on. And is Hitchcock part of the plan for moving forward?

THN.com
Rank: 30 (unchanged)
Have managed just one goal in eight of their past 12 contests

Sportsnet.ca
Rank: 26 (-2)
Two reasons to worry if you are coach Ken Hitchcock: Your team keeps losing and your star, Rick Nash, has one goal in eight games.

Yahoo.com
Not released

META-SCORE: 28.2

High: 26 (Sportsnet - even with Doug MacLean employed there)

Low: 30 (CBS, CNNSI, THN)

No surprise but it still sucks to see it nonetheless.

-LTL