Congrats on a great season and for helping create an awesome atmosphere tonight. Great stuff.

Posted by Osrt on 04/24/09 at 12:33 AM ET

I think this paraphrase applies to the Wings/Jackets series quite well:

In a way, both teams in this series were the winners.  But in another, more accurate way, the Red Wings were the winners.

Posted by Ryan from Toronto on 04/24/09 at 12:45 AM ET

i don’t know whats so controversal about that penalty. maybe you haven’t seen the replay of it yet, but there were 6 guys on the ice and the guy that came off the bench played the puck. it was an easy call to make that had to be called. its a tough break but they know better.

Posted by ME on 04/24/09 at 01:39 AM ET

I could hear it roar of the fans over the satellite radio broadcast.  It was amazing.  I’m proud of Jackets too, they seemed to fought so hard last night.  At the risk of sounding like a regular customer in the store I work who’s a big NY Mets fan: “There’s always next year.”

I’m going to wear my CBJ stuff proudly when I go to Raleigh next week

Posted by pam from Lafayette, IN area on 04/24/09 at 04:23 AM ET

You should be proud of your team.  They made it to the playoffs, finally see what it is about, and never gave up.  That’s more than a lot of teams managed to do.

Columbus has a bright future as a team, and if the management has any brains at all they will be able to use the bounce from this to their advantage next year.  This won’t be the Jackets’ only time playing hockey in the postseason.

Sorry your season ended on a sad note, but you had a great one.  Enjoy the offseason and look forward to opening day in the fall. 

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 04/24/09 at 05:41 AM ET

I, too, was at the game last night.  I am hoarse as can be this morning, and my ears are still ringing.  Regardless, that was one of the best sporting events I have ever witnessed live.  The fans, the comebacks, the nail-biting third period...it was insane.  So glad to have been a part of it. 

The future is VERY bright for the CBJ.  Let’s hope that management keeps the push moving forward in the off-season.

Posted by Tom on 04/24/09 at 05:54 AM ET

If anyone was at the game, or was able to watch on tv, you now know that Columbus IS a hockey town.

The Columbus fans are super.

As soon as next year’s schedule comes out, those fans are going to sell out the Detroit games.

Posted by w2j2 on 04/24/09 at 05:57 AM ET

Congrats on a great season and a great season of posts Bethany.  The Jackets are finally over the hump.  Now that the Central Division is the Division of Death, I think that your coach and your GM and suited to keep this team on the up and up and keep them competitive.

Oh and if you see Rick Nash, tell him thanks from me...I was really afraid that I was going to end up hating him after this season, but that is not the case

Posted by Animal Drew from A Nightmare on Helm Street on 04/24/09 at 06:46 AM ET

Congrats on a great season.  It won’t be the last time the Jackets are in the playoffs.

Posted by hockeychic from Denver, CO on 04/24/09 at 08:16 AM ET

Great game to watch last night.  I could only imagine being in the stands with all those screaming, rabid fans.  The atmosphere was absolutely terrific and the Blue Jackets fans should give themselves a huge pat on the back for how well they showed up (all except for the few idiots who threw things on the ice, that is).

Looking forward to more tightly-contested games between the Jackets and Wings in the coming years!

Posted by J.J. from Kansas on 04/24/09 at 08:18 AM ET

Congrats on the season.  I was hard on CBS fans after them acting like morons at the Joe and then failing to support their team in Game 3, but they were loud and amped last night and never gave up even when the Wings were controlling the pace and game.

Word of advice though:  leave the littering of the ice with the debris to Avsmonkeys.  No need for you guys to get yourselves lumped in with that group.

Posted by Primis on 04/24/09 at 08:23 AM ET

I got back late last night from Columbus, and just wanted to thank all the CBJ fans down there. I’ve been to the ‘bus for many a Blue/Red rivalry game, but the hockey fans I met this time made it an entirely different experience from the biannual football trip. For one, the fans themselves are a totally different breed: welcoming, excited for the their team, knowledgeable about the away team, and happy to gather in the bars the night before to watch other games.

I was expecting a rough time, given that aforementioned other Blue/Red rivalry, and figuring that, like Nashville, the Central Division upstarts would anoint themselves chief Wing-haters (note to Nashvillains: it’s Chicago) before the general populace knew the difference between a goal and a point. Well, Columbus, congratulations, you are not Nashville. The folks we met were proud of their town, proud of their team, and—unlike the denizens of many past venues for Red Wing playoff games—knew hockey, and played hockey.

One thing I’ve learned with team travel is that regional culture does exist, but regional stereotypes are more often wrong than not. I’ve learned that “Southern Hospitality,” unless you’re staying with family in a small town, is simply a myth. However, no matter where we go around the Great Lakes Region—Indianapolis, Chicago, Ft. Wayne, Madison, Cincy, Lima, Dayton, Toledo, Columbus, etc.—“Midwest Honesty” gains one proof after another. What they say about Ohio is pretty much dead-on: the whole state may die of a heart attack, but they’ll die as patriots who look you in eye when they shake your hand.

For the most part, at least. A pair of obnoxious Bucknuts behind us made a big stink at the end about the too-many-men call (apparently, they’re used to the limit being 11), with one sticking a meaty finger in my buddy’s face at our subsequent goal and yelling “you KNOW that was bullshit!”

So two douchebags. Out of thousands of people. Over three days. Between cities that also happen to share North American sports’ biggest rivalry. There’s got to be a medal for this somewhere.

The building was nice, too. Nationwide had an unexpectedly cool atmosphere—definitely new like the southern buildings, but also had some design elements that made it feel more like those retro Original Six barns. Kind of like Minneapolis.

And like Minnesota, CMB in my eyes this week earned their right to be considered by hockey fans one of the few good expansions among the (Southern) sea of Bettman failures.

I hope we end up seeing a lot more of each other in future playoffs (if, for anything else, just the opportunity to have one series in this stupid conference that doesn’t include daily travel to the West Coast!!!).

I hope Columbus capitalizes on all that young (and BIG) talent and becomes the next Denver. I’d love to see a rivalry grow between these two teams.

For now, I think the Jackets are probably at least another two years away from an honest cup contender. They need a superstar defender, maybe two or three. And a star center or two as well. But they’ve got a nucleus, and they’ve got a plan (SIZE), and from the number of Red Wing skaters lying on the ice this series you can tell there’s something to this plan (as opposed to, say, Calgary, whose plan is to play grab-ass for 60 minutes and bitch to the refs enough to manipulate their calls). And as we learned this week, despite the preconceived notions of curmudgeony Original Sixers, they have a real fan base of real hockey fans to build on.

Posted by Misopogon from Detroit, MI on 04/24/09 at 09:03 AM ET

The Jackets came to play tonight, and they were able to come back to tie the game...twice.

And what the BJs need to take away from last night’s game is the fact that the Wings simply didn’t stop because they did come back. It’s a level of intensity that they experienced for the very first time. Hopefully, it will serve them well when they make it to the first round next spring (and they will). I just hope they get to put that experience to good use against someone other than the Wings next year.

Posted by OlderThanChelios from Grand Rapids on 04/24/09 at 10:22 AM ET

I was actually able to attend the game last night in Columbus.  It was my first experience with a playoff game...in person.  I loved it!!  The crowd was amazing!  Of course, as a Jackets fan I wish we could have pulled it out but nonetheless I walked away from there proud to be a Jackets fan.  I think the Jackets figured out playoff hockey last night.  I am already looking forward to next year!

Posted by Jeannie from Cincinnati on 04/24/09 at 10:53 AM ET

I’ve learned that “Southern Hospitality,” unless you’re staying with family in a small town, is simply a myth.

Here’s a tip: Try not acting like a douchenozzle. You’ll find that the locals are a lot nicer when you don’t act like you’re superior to them just because of where you’re from and who you barrack for.

Posted by The Acid Queen from Raleigh, NC on 04/25/09 at 04:05 PM ET