Shrapnel - 3/30 Edition
In this edition of Shrapnel: Battle of #1s, another rookie debut, Z returns to Columbus, lineups, the draft, power rankings, and more!
Puck-rakers:
How often do you get to see #1 overall picks play against the Jackets? (#1s from other teams, nice try). The team is in the middle of 4 straight occurances. It was Kane (twice) and Tavares last week, tonight its Stamkos, and it will end with Ovechkin later this week. Picking up 5 out of 6 points sounds like a good sign to me.
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BlueJackets XTRA:
The Jackets have already made history by having more than three players score 50+ points (61, 50, 20, 18) and can add a fifth (93) as early as tonight. In a season full of disappointing play, all kinds of records are being set (FORESHADOWING). I'll cover more on this later this week.
Tonight, we welcome back a former BJ - Zenon Konopka. Welcome back, Z (the other one). In case you didn't know, he leads the league in PIM and major penalties (236, 28). With Boller out of the lineup, we shouldn't expect to see any scraps...or should we?
To tank, or not to tank, that is the question. Is Columbus' recent push (6-2-2 in their last 10) a good sign of the future or the team's inability to do well in the draft? Lets face it, our draft history has been iffy at best. LeClaire, Z, Picarde, Brule, Filatov (at least for now) aren't around anymore. There's half our first round picks right there. Klesla is always hurt, Brass and Jake are still trying to get there. We haven't seen what Moore is capable of. So that leaves Nash as our most productive draft pick (go figure). Howson, its time to find us a winner!
Lineups for tonight (Go to the game!):
CBJ - 4th line looks intriguing. I have a funny feeling about these guys...
Tampa Bay - Notice anything funny? Steve Downie is the only plus player on the team, and...he's a +15??? How does that happen? Its not like he was traded this season either, he's been with Tampa since game 1. Mind = blown.
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Yahoo! Sports:
The seasons of forwards Jared Boll and Chris Clark are over. Both suffering from injuries, the Jackets have used an emergency recall on Syracuse C Tomas Kana. I'm very excited for this move. Kana, this year, has tallied 15-13-28 45 PIM and is a +2 in 49 games. He is 4th on the team in goals scored. Kana was drafted in '06 by the Blues, and was acquired by the Jackets this year for Pascal Pelletier.
You have to wonder if the rumors of the league agreeing to move the 'Yotes back to Canada is on the minds of the players. As Mike said yesterday, they're the biggest feel good story of the year, so is this putting a damper on things?
Just when you think coach and manager blow ups can't get any more amusing, this happens. Who is going to be the next coach to go berserk, and how will he top the two-stick break?
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Power Rankings:
Fox Sports: 24th
CBS Sports: 29th (WTF?)
ESPN: 24th
TSN: 26th
Columbus Dispatch: 24th
Bleacher Report: 24th
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Quote of the day:
"I'd be lying to you if I said I was happy with my time here. I thought I could have brought more to this organization and more to this team Maybe fighting and hitting hurts me sometimes because people forget I can play the game."
- Zenon Konopka, on his relationship with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
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Fight of the night:
Predators D Wade Belak v. Panthers D Steve MacIntyre
