Again, in this space I profess my love for games against the Eastern Conference. Rather than rehash my feelings about how Columbus should be in the East, I’ll say this:
The Jackets need to beat the Leafs tonight.
Steve Mason is in net again after putting in a pretty good performance last game against the Wild. Jake Voracek, Mike Commodore and Derek MacKenzie are the healthy scratches. DMac was just taken off of IR this morning.
I’ll admit that my favorite Blue Jacket is Jake. This goes back to the days when he was playing here in Halifax for the Mooseheads. It’s tough to see him scratched, but I think back to the early years when David Vyborny got off to a slow start, was benched for a few games, and came back and was lights out until his last day in the NHL. Here’s hoping that Jake will rebound from these benchings and start producing.
I’m also waiting for Kris Russell to start scoring again. I thought he looked great for a handful of games in early December- he was rushing with the puck, and scoring goals. It seems that since he has been paired with Strals he isn’t as willing to take off.
At any rate this should be an entertaining one.
Go Jackets.