Since people liked the week by week status checks we did through February, I thought I’d continue them through March and into April (and god willing, perhaps into May?)
Despite the fact that it was a rough week for the Blue Jackets following the trade deadline, some of the players had a pretty good week, particularly the new faces in town.
We’ll start the stats fresh for March, but if you’d like to go back and check out how they performed in February, go look at last week’s Deadline Day check.
Skaters:
Scottie Upshall – With two goals in his first three games as a Jacket, Upshall is making a great first impression. (2G, -1, 4 PIM)
Jan Hejda – Maybe all the big blueliner needed was a vote of confidence from Howson at the deadline? (2G, +2, 0 PIM)
Antoine Vermette – Though he took a costly penalty in Calgary, he nearly redeemed himself in the same game. (1G,1A +1, 6 PIM)
Kris Russell – Look out, kids. Little Shake is back in business. (2A, +0, 6 PIM)
Derek Dorsett – Dorsett may not be the best guy to finish chances from Upshall, but he’s doing pretty well passing him the puck. (2A, +2, 12 PIM)
Jakub Voracek – Despite much frustration in the goal scoring department, Jake continues to pile up the helpers. (2A, +/- 0, 0 PIM)
Craig Rivet – What a way to get your 50th career goal. (1G, +1, 0 PIM)
R.J. Umberger – He’s Umby, Dammit, but he cooled off hard last week. Hopefully the move back to wing will help. (1A, -2, 0 PIM)
Derek MacKenzie – I honestly wondered if we’d see D-Mac get more top six time this week, but it was not to be. (1A, -1, 0 PIM)
Sami Lepisto – He hasn’t gotten on the score sheet yet, but he’s been reliable defensively. (+2, 0 PIM)
Matt Calvert – The Cavalry had a down week, but with luck he’ll catch a few rebounds beginning today. ( +2, 2 PIM)
Ethan Moreau – Moreau’s return has solidified the 4th line, but he hasn’t been able to provide secondary scoring. (+/- 0, 2 PIM)
Grant Clitsome – A good effort in Vancouver was eclipsed by a bad outing in Edmonton. ( -1, 4 PIM)
Marc Methot – Still the rock of the defense, but it would have been nice if he’d been able to finish one of his breakaway opportunities this week. (-2, 2 PIM)
Fedor Tyutin – Possibly his worst stretch of games since his early season benching. (-2, 0 PIM)
Rick Nash – The captain is a streaky player, and the team needs him to get hot quick. Defensive breakdowns that are forgiven with scoring are a lot more glaring in droughts. (-4, 2 PIM)
Jared Boll – No points, no PIMs, and the goals he was on the ice for and against balanced out to 0.
Andrew Murray (INJ) – With his injury and his UFA status, it’s possible we saw Murray’s last game as a Blue Jacket.
Goalies:
Mathieu Garon – Though Garon only had one appearance in relief, he shut out the Oilers, stopping all 23 shots he faced.
Steve Mason – Bad week for Mase, ending with a 3.0 GAA and a .866 Save %.