In this edition of Shrapnel: Yesterday’s Olympic qualifiers, tonight’s Olympic quarterfinals, trade deadline, more former Jackets, NHL using Olympic scoring, and more!
BlueJackets XTRA:
Today marks the first Blue Jackets practice since before the Olympic break. Obviously, those playing in the Olympics will not be in attendance, but we will likely have a familiar face back on the ice. And whats that? A third jersey in the works?
Today (at 3 p.m., wtf?) the Swiss get their shot at redemption. By beating Belarus 3-2 in a shootout yesterday, Switzerland has moved on to the quarterfinals to face an American team that beat them in the first game of group play over a week ago.
The Canadians more than showed what they’re capable of against Germany last night. Its often said, if you push someone to the brink, their only option is to push back. Well, consider Canada pushing back. Tonight’s match up with Russia may have been earlier than expected, but it will definitely be exciting.
–
Puck-rakers:
March 3 is getting closer and closer. Howson’s phone is getting hot, but not on fire…yet.
–
Four-check:
Former Jackets: E-L. Looking at the points some of these guys put up in the early days of the franchise is just shocking. I’m amazed we won as much as we did with some of them on the roster.
–
Yahoo! Sports:
Yesterday, we looked at the top 5 surprises of the NHL season thus far. Here are the top 5 disappointments. Guess who made the list. Go on, guess.
Three Stars from yesterday’s games. Two things jump out. To anyone who watched it, did Weber’s shot really go THROUGH the net? If so, I’m both impressed and angry that he’s not playing for us. Also, a former Jacket throwing cheap shots. I never would’ve expected this from you, OKT.
Since Sunday night, Ryan Miller has become kind of a big deal. With Canada and Russia squaring off tonight, we’ll see one of the Gold Medal game favorites knocked out, and the American’s chances at gold increase significantly.
–
Die By the Blade:
Our Buffalo counterparts think it would benefit the NHL to move to an Olympic scoring system. Looking at the standings before and after, I’d welcome the change. Imagine if we were only 6 points back in a 3 point/win system. This would make every game more meaningful. It would truly show what the top teams in the NHL are made of.
–
Sportsnet.ca:
The local NHL analyst looks at the teams of the Western Conference and discusses what he thinks they need to do at the deadline. Oddly enough, no mention of Raffi Torres, but a lot of talk surrounding Samuel Pahlsson.
–
Vancouver 2010:
Updated list of the medal count. The Germans are closing on the Americans, but I know at least one medal they won’t pick up in Vancouver.
Tonights schedule. Remember, times are PST. I’d hate to think the USA/Switzerland game is on right now and freak out thinking I can’t watch it.
USA v. Switzerland – 3 p.m. Prediction: USA
Russia v. Canada – 7:30 p.m. Prediction: Russia
Finland v. Czech Republic – 10 p.m. Prediction: Czech Republic
Sweden v. Slovakia – Midnight. Prediction: Sweden
If you were Commissioner for a day, would you change the point system in the NHL?
| No – Its not broken, so why fix it? | 5 |
| Yes – I want the Olympic system in place | 13 |
| Other – Comment below | 1 |