Game 25 Preview: Stop, Drop and Roll (and Score More Than the Other Guy)

by Mike MacLean on Dec 1, 2011 3:57 PM EST in Game Previews

December 1st, 2011 - 9:00pm EDT
Scotiabank Saddledome- Calgary, Alberta
Radio - WBNS 97.1 FM- TV - Fox Sports Ohio
Opponents Blog: Matchsticks and Gasoline
Get Tickets

On paper, this game is far from a barn-burner.

The Jackets and Flames are two of the Western Conference's worst teams, with both squads struggling mightily on special teams and in the goal-scoring department. These teams are actually fairly evenly matched, with the exception of defense. The Flames are a middle-of-the-pack team defensively, backed by the strong play of Miikka Kiprusoff in goal. The Jackets will counter Kiprusoff with Curtis Sanford, who is a top-5 goaltender statistically. Sanford has been playing at a very high level, and with the Flames' struggles to score, the Jackets have a good chance of evening up their record on this Western Conference road trip.

Projected Lineups

(Note: Lines are based on combinations used in practice yesterday and are subject to change)

Columbus Blue Jackets

('11-'12: 6-15-3, 15 Points; 5th division, 15th conference)

Vinny Prospal	Jeff Carter	Rick Nash
R.J. Umberger	Mark Letestu	Ryan Johansen
Antoine Vermette	Samuel Pahlsson	Derek Dorsett
Cody Bass	Derek MacKenzie	Jared Boll

Fedor Tyutin	Nikita Nikitin
James Wisniewski	Marc Methot
John Moore	Grant Clitsome

Curtis Sanford

Steve Mason

Calgary Flames

('11-'12: 10-12-1, 21 Points; 5th Division, 13th Conference)

Curtis Glencross	Olli Jokinen	Jarome Iginla
Alex Tanguay	Roman Horak	Rene Bourque
Blake Comeau	Mikael Backlund	Lee Stempniak
Tom Kostopoulos	Matt Stajan	Tim Jackman

Jay Bouwmeester	Chris Butler
Scott Hannan	T.J. Brodie
Derek Smith	Cory Sarich

Miikka Kiprusoff

Henrik Karlsson

By The Numbers ('11-'12 Season)

Scoring
CBJ - 2.29 G/G (26th)
CAL - 2.22 G/G (28th)

Defense
CAL- 2.61 GA/G (16th)
CBJ - 3.17 GA/G (25th)

Power Play
CAL - 12.7% (25th)
CBJ - 13.1% (24th)

Penalty Kill
CAL- 80.2% (23rd)
CBJ - 75.6% (29th)

Game Notes:

Rick Nash has taken over the team lead in goals, with seven.
Vinny Prospal continues to lead the team in overall scoring, with 19 points.
Derick Brassard and Aaron Johnson are the likely scratches tonight for the Jackets.
The Flames will be without Mark Giordano, after he was injured in the Flames' last game against Nashville.
Alex Tanguay leads the Flames in scoring, with 16 points in 23 games.
Jarome Iginla is tied with Curtis Glencross for the team lead in goals, with seven apiece.

Tweet Comment 11 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

I realize Portzline said Brass was going to be scratched earlier, but he just turned around and tweeted a bit ago about Arniel not wanting to change his lines from the other night in Vancouver, so perhaps Brass will be in?

Editor for The Cannon - A Columbus Blue Jackets Blog
Follow me on Twitter (if you're in the mood to be bored!)

by Matt Wagner on Dec 1, 2011 4:50 PM EST reply actions

Hmmm. Shall be interesting to see what Arniel goes with. Against the Flames, I’m thinking that a more skilled lineup vs. a physical one makes more sense. Brass in, Bass out.

Follow me on Twitter! Mike MacLean

Manager of The Cannon, a Columbus Blue Jackets Blog

by Mike MacLean on Dec 1, 2011 5:16 PM EST up reply actions

Sounds like he is out, which is complete crap IMO. The way Brassard is being treated in Columbus is unfair. How many teams bury a guy like this at his age? Makes no sense. Either trade him, or play him. If were gonna lose game anyway, might as well let him develop

by cbjfan14 on Dec 1, 2011 6:56 PM EST up reply actions

I definitely agree. Looking at his PDO (basically the stat that measures a players luck), Brassard ranks 566th out of 574 players in the NHL for having the worst luck. So while his stats have been bad, he hasn’t played as bad as his stats look. And whatever happened to the whole three scoring lines thing? Arniel gave up on that pretty quickly, well before he even had a full healthy lineup.

by TheCoachCTF on Dec 1, 2011 7:31 PM EST up reply actions

How does one measure PDO/ luck?

by cbjfan14 on Dec 1, 2011 8:03 PM EST up reply actions

Its a combination of on-ice shooting percentage and on-ice save percentage. Its a stat in which all players regress towards the mean (or close to it) moving forward. So looking at a player with a high PDO, you can accurately predict that his points and +/- will decline moving forward, while the opposite holds true for someone with a low PDO. Brassard has a very very low PDO, so you can accurately predict that his points and +/- will increase moving forward. That can’t happen if he’s not playing.

You can learn more about it at these places:
http://www.mc79hockey.com/?p=2996
http://www.arcticicehockey.com/2010/6/23/1532577/individual-pdo-numbers
http://www.pensburgh.com/2010/6/23/1531707/pdo-and-what-it-means

Here is where you can find the PDO rankings:
http://www.behindthenet.ca/2011/new_5_on_5.php?sort=31&section=corsi&mingp=10&mintoi=0.5&team=ALL&pos=ALL

by TheCoachCTF on Dec 1, 2011 8:23 PM EST up reply actions

I trust we’ve all read the scathing statement by Brassard’s agent on the Dispatch Puck Rakers site (can be found here).

Frankly, I don’t blame him for being upset. The team is regularly rolling Bass and Boll on the same night (moronic at best, considering neither player should be in the NHL on a regular basis), but won’t play a first round draft pick with offensive upside? I really want to see Brass stay in Columbus, but not like this. It’s a complete waste of talent.

CCT, CBJ, SU, NYM, Bills Fan. It can be depressing.
Sometimes I tweet things

by zekebud on Dec 1, 2011 7:43 PM EST reply actions

Oh Boy

So this is fun. The Blue Jackets official Twitter account has launched a semi-response about Scott Arniel’s decisions and the Brassard scratches:

#CBJ GM Scott Howson – "Scott has my full support with respect to his decisions on who plays and the handling of our hockey team. "

#CBJ GM Scott Howson cont…"We all want Derick to play better and be the player we know he can be.

#CBJ GM Scott Howson… "The only person who will impact Derick’s playing time is Derick himself."

CCT, CBJ, SU, NYM, Bills Fan. It can be depressing.
Sometimes I tweet things

by zekebud on Dec 1, 2011 7:57 PM EST up reply actions

Absolutely. I would rather just see him traded at this point. Both for himself, and the team. Absolutely no way he should be out this much

by cbjfan14 on Dec 1, 2011 8:04 PM EST up reply actions

I am completely ok with trading him, but letting him rot in the press box seems like a giant waste for everyone. I imagine howson has a high asking price, but its tough to get a decent return on a guy you don’t trust enough to play for your own team.

by bolenbaugh on Dec 1, 2011 8:28 PM EST up reply actions

Yeah sitting him this much just absolutely kills his trade value. If he can’t play for the 30th placed team in the league, why would any other team part with something of value for him?

by TheCoachCTF on Dec 1, 2011 8:33 PM EST reply actions

Comments For This Post Are Closed

FanPosts

Community blog posts and discussion.

Recent FanPosts

297235_228875923843877_197693266962143_697284_1857293148_n_small

+ New FanPost All FanPosts >

Blue Jackets Schedule

Last 5 Games

New York Islanders Lighthouse Hockey	Sat 04/07	W 7 - 3
@ Colorado Mile High Hockey	Thu 04/05	W 5 - 2
@ Phoenix Five For Howling	Tue 04/03	L 0 - 2
@ St. Louis St. Louis Game Time	Sat 03/31	W 5 - 2
Florida Litter Box Cats	Fri 03/30	W 4 - 1

Network Bar

The Cannon -

Boom.