I knew they could do it. The Jackets certainly came to play last night. I think they all wanted to make sure they sent their fathers home with a smile, and they didn't disappoint. It got a little nasty at times but in the end, the good guys came away with two big points. Makes you wonder, did any of the players fathers threaten to take off their belts and 'give 'em a good whoopin' if they lost?

It should've come easier than it did however. I really believe Vermette's goal that was waived off, shouldn't have been. Davidge got it right during the replay, if you watched it happen in slow motion, yes, it looked like a kicking motion. Play it at normal speed, and there's no way he purposely kicks it in.

How much longer do we need to suffer from being down 0-1 in the first 2:30 of a game? I've honestly never seen anything like this before. Thats why I'm predicting from here on out, if we stop giving up that early goal so much, we'll jump back into the playoff race and have a shot at it. That early momentum swing is so vital in hockey. So to Gar, and Mase...Stop it...stop it.

One more thing. I can't say enough about Kris Russell. You can tell by his performance late in the game, he was dying to get out of the dressing room after being stitched up. Hitch, lets get an "A" on this kid. He, and Scrappy Doo would make a couple of great leaders for this team.

Lets get down to business.

And away we go!

Puck-rakers:

Tom Reed's recap. I like the idea at the end, about taking the fathers on the road the rest of the way. Make it happen.

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BlueJackets XTRA:

Going through a long slump in the NHL has to be like pulling teeth; you're just praying its over soon. Two guys, Jan Hejda, and Jakub Voracek are in the worst slumps of their careers. Jan hasn't been the same since his injury, and Jake just needs to start throwing pucks at the net. Things will turn around soon enough.

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BlueJackets TV:

We saw flashes of the old Steve Mason. The one who shut out the same Bruins last year. He made some incredible saves like this one. And this one. And this one. This one too. Oh, and don't forget about this one!

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Yahoo! Sports:

From Thursday's headlines, there is a video of the Top 10 most creative shootout goals. A couple of these left me speechless.

The great Steve Yzerman, (yes, I said great) talks in an interview about selecting the Team Canada roster, respect, Team Russia, and a return to the ice?

Dallas G Alex Auld needs to remember his name is Alex Auld, and not Marty Turco.

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NHL.com:

Ovi 1, Crosby 0. Alexander Ovechkin outscored Crosby with two goals and a helper, to help lift the Caps over the Pens last night. It was a very tight game through the second period. In the third, the Capitals came out on fire scoring twice within 5 minutes to go up 5-3. That was all she wrote.

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Stanley Cup of Chowder:

Here's what they're saying from the other side.

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Quote of the day:

"He showed the mental toughness that he showed last year when he never seemed rattled"

- R.J. Umberger on Steve Mason's play last night.

Fight of the night:

Toronto LW Jay Rosehill v. Tampa Bay D Matt Walker

Honorable Mentions:

Columbus RW Jared Boll v. Boston LW Milan Lucic. Video.

Ottawa D Matt Carkner v. St. Louis RW Cam Janssen. Video.

San Jose LW Ryan Clowe v. Anaheim RW George Parros' moustache. Video.