Bethany's Hockey Rants
A Roller Coaster
by Bethany on 11/06/08 at 09:01 PM ET
Comments (0)
Alright Jackets fans, I had my volleyball game last night and so I missed the first period, and part of the second. I missed the first three goals of the hockey game. So, I can’t really tell you what happened or who did what in the first bit. I do know this Derick Brassard is probably one of the best hockey players I have ever seen, even if he was still battling the flu a little bit.
Steve Mason, playing in his first NHL game, and fourth game since he went down in April, let in four goals, but did what he had to do and got us the win. He kept his cool and didn’t let it bother him that he let in those two quick goals from Edmonton. Mason is going to be a solid goaltender for us in the VERY near future, and it was nice to finally see him on the ice, in a Jackets uniform. Tomorrow he will be facing Jaroslav Halak in goal when we play the Montreal Canadiens. Here’s Mason on the last 1:19 of the game:
“At the stoppage in play I looked up and saw there was 1:19 on the board. That was probably the longest 1:19 of my life, and one of our defenseman broke his stick and that made it a little more difficult to clear pucks. But the guys did a great job blocking shots that final minute and that definitely preserved the win.”
Rick Nash is back, he had an amazing game last night, and while he is still scoreless in his last seven games, he provided a lot of energy for the team. He was a leader on the ice, and that’s what we need, someone to show us that hope was not lost, even though we had given up a two goal lead and were then behind by two. He’ll get a goal soon, you know it’s coming.
Raffi Torres is a monster. I missed his hit on Smid, but apparently it was a good one, Smid did not return. He had a great night tallying two assists, he would have had a goal too, but Roloson was able to stop him, Malhotra knocked it in. Here is what he said on playing his old team:
“It feels great. They’re going to be a good team. I think for us tonight we showed we can play against speed, and as long as we stick to our game plan and play hard.”
Speaking of Roloson…what was his problem last night? He was literally pushing and shoving for NO reason. It was ridiculous, what a dirty player, or maybe we just got under his skin in the part of the game I didn’t see. Either way, he needs to calm down, although I’m sure he’s frustrated because Edmonton keeps wanting to trade him.
Jason Chimera is absolutely playing some of his best hockey this season. Watching him block a Sheldon Souray shot last night, well it made my abdomen hurt. I felt for him as he was going back to the dressing room. He did come back, but man that had to hurt.
It was quite the win for us, I was ready to shut it off after they scored that fourth goal, and actually began playing around on the internet trying to find something to do (I always feel guilty turning off the television), and then something wonderful happened. We battled and battled and battled and we won, needless to say I was quite happy about it. Here’s Hitchcock on last nights game.
“To be honest with you; this is our team. When you play young skilled players, you’re going to go through peaks and valleys during a 60-minute contest. We’re going to be an entertaining team all year because we can score goals and create offense. We’re going to make mistakes because we have youthful enthusiasm and young guys are going to make mistakes. You have to do the things and then learn from them from there.”
Onto other things. Alexandre Picard was placed on waivers today, the former first round pick has not been playing in Columbus, so it’s best he go to the minors. If a team picks him up however we will lose him, for nothing. I honestly doubt that a team will pick him up, but I obviously could be wrong. Lindsay Kramer has more on it, saying that the Picard may not be heading to the Crunch:
Columbus may be looking to clear him now to get that process out of the way, and then wait to send him down. If he clears, that gives the team roster flexibility.
It’s kind of complicated, but it goes something like this. Picard is on waivers until noon on Friday. If no other team claims him, he does not have to clear waivers again for 30 days or 10 NHL games.
Counting Picard, Columbus is at the roster limit of 23 players. If the Blue Jackets get a minor injury or two that don’t necessitate the hurt player going on IR, they have the option of immediately sending Picard to the Crunch in exchange for another callup without waiting the required 24 hours for waivers, or 48 on a weekend. So that eliminates the risk of them getting caught shorthanded on the day of a game.
If you haven’t started reading Hockey Guy by Ben Lovejoy, you probably should. It’s some funny stuff, and well it’s coming from an AHLer. So you get quotes like this:
“Today we are flying from Houston to LaGuardia for an 11 a.m. game against Bridgeport on Wednesday. Tough flight home. Mormina and I sat in the window and aisle seats respectively, and a man between us farted the entire flight. Every thirty seconds he would let one go. It was absolutely painful. I wonder if Crosby has to deal with farting strangers on his charter flights.”
Too funny!! Don’t forget to come to the games this weekend, Friday against Montreal and Saturday against Calgary! I will be attending both!
Filed in: Columbus Blue Jackets, , | Bethany's Hockey Rants | Permalink
Tags: Columbus+Blue+Jackets, Edmonton+Oilers, Steve+Mason,
Comments
Be the first to comment.
Add a Comment
Please limit embedded image or media size to 575 pixels wide.
Add your own avatar by joining Kukla's Korner, or logging in and uploading one in your member control panel.
Captchas bug you? Join KK or log in and you won't have to bother.
Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.
Most Recent Blog Posts
About Kukla’s Korner
Kukla’s Korner is updated around the clock with the work of our own talented bloggers, plus links to the best hockey writing around the internet. We strive to bring you all the breaking hockey news as it happens.
The home page allows you to see the latest postings from every blog on the site. Subscribe here. For general inquiries and more, please contact us anytime.
Get the top online sports betting bonuses available to sports betters!
Kukla’s Korner is always a free service for readers, but it costs some money to maintain. If you’re ever in a position to donate a few dollars to help out, we’d be very appreciative.