Game 43 Game Thread: Phoenix Coyotes at Columbus Blue Jackets
by Dan P. on Jan 13, 2012 6:00 PM EST
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The Blue Jackets limp home to start off a four-game home-stand. The Coyotes are in town as part of a back-to-back for the Jackets (San Jose is here tomorrow night). Columbus is down another forward, with R.J. Umberger out with a concussion; Dane Byers takes his roster spot for the night.
The Jackets are catching the Coyotes at a good time. Phoenix is in the midst of a rough stretch of road games, having crossed the continent twice in the past few weeks, and playing in a stretch of 10-of-13 on the road. Perhaps Columbus can catch them a bit road weary, with the Jackets having been home and licking their wounds since Wednesday and the Yotes having played in Detroit last night.
To that end, Columbus has finally had a chance to practice a bit under new interim head coach Todd Richards. It remains to be seen how much will "change" per se, but Richards has finally had a chance to put the first part of his stamp on the club.
Finally, it's a homecoming of sorts for several former Jackets (two of which were CBJ first round picks): Rostislav Klesla plays his first game in Columbus since being traded to the Coyotes last year for Sami Lepisto and Scottie Upshall; the Jackets will give the fans a chance to show their appreciation with a pre-game video tribute. In addition, Gilbert Brule was just picked up by Phoenix off of waivers from the Oilers. Ray Whitney and Raffi Torres had brief but shining stints in the Union Blue. There may be an extra spring in their collective step.
Oh, did I mention it's also Friday the 13th? What other bad luck stuff can happen to this club? Tune it at 7 to find out!
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Vermy's Pre-game interview...
Sounds like Richards is just “Arniel Lite.” It’s kind of depressing to hear a player talk about puck management and working hard. …they’ve done a great job at puck management all year, the CBJ are #1 in the league with the fewest giveaways, what more do the coaches expect? Conservative, puck control offense isn’t winning any games.
When will the Jackets get a coach that will open up the offense? Our goaltending and defense are sub-par, the only thing this team had going for it was talented forwards that could score. When will they put a coach in place that will turn them loose and let them get a little offense going?
4 ex Jackets, wow. I love everyone that has ever played for us, except Foote and Zherdev.
Ohio's premier Russian fan.
by Heavysoviet on Jan 13, 2012 6:59 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Really like the way Brassard is playing these last few games
by JSeeDee on Jan 13, 2012 7:27 PM EST via iPhone app up reply actions
Bad sequence there. Nash misses the net from point blank after some gorgeous passing followed by Dorsett taking a penalty.
Dorsett has taken a ton of boarding calls this year. That needs to end.
Ohio's premier Russian fan.
by Heavysoviet on Jan 13, 2012 8:34 PM EST via mobile reply actions
WIN
Great game from Brassard, and nice to see the call-ups contributing. Speaking of which, Kubalik was on the receiving end of a couple monster open ice hits tonight…kid needs to keep his head up or he’ll be joining the guys on IR soon.
I liked giving Dorsett the “A” tonight, he’s always passionate, plays hard every shift of every game.
Having been at the game tonight I was encouraged by a couple of things. First of all I am amazed at how much the crowd got into it and how many people showed up. When we have a winning team, noone will question that this is a hockey town.
Secondly they played as a team tonight, with many blocked shots and good hustle. I don’t know if it’s the coaching change or having a few new faces on the team, but they looked a lot more engaged than they have recently. The thing that made me happiest however, was the passing game that the Jackets displayed. It was by no means “Redwings” like, but there were many tape to tape passes and good transitioning, and not nearly as much “dump and chase”. I am hoping that this continues because it’s so much more fun to watch and good passing inevitably leads to more goals.
Finally, Kubalik and Johansen are for real and will only get better. Seeing them tonight gives me hope for the future.
At the beginning of the game, i found it funny how everyone in the crowd was just waiting to see which Jackets showed up. That was probably the first time i had ever heard the opposing bench cheering for the goal (Im upper bowl), and it was before i even realized it was in as the players on the ice barely celebrating.
It was good to see them get into it as time went by, perhaps the goals thawed the fans hands.
100% agree about Kubalik and Johansen. They seemed to have some nice chemistry as well, hopefully that continues. Hopefully Kubalik is not too roughed up after getting destroyed by Doan. Why cant others in the NHL lay a big clean check like that instead of headshots?
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