Bethany's Hockey Rants

Games, Goalies, and Trades

by Bethany on 01/14/09 at 11:28 PM ET
Comments (3)

Tons to talk about in the Jackets world! First of all the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday to move into the eighth spot in the Western Conference. That is HUGE for this hockey club, also, it should be known that with the win, we are guaranteed to win the season series against the Avs.

The fans were into the game regardless which was nice to see. I, unfortunately was sitting by some Avs fans, who were quite obnoxious, but thankfully the score shut them up…eventually.

The unfortunate part of the game was of course the fact that Adam Foote wasn’t playing. Maybe, next game…maybe. That game is of course February 10.

Onto more exciting new in Jackets land. We have acquired Jason Williams from the Atlanta Thrashers – great move. At least I think it is. He may not be the guy who replaces Brassard, but he definitely add a lot to our lineup. Don’t look too much into his minus-9 rating, he was on an awful Thrashers team. Here’s Hitchcock on Williams.

“We know quite a bit about Jason, he’s a very serviceable player who can really help us,” Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock said. “He brings an element to our team will help us at 5-on-5 and on the power play.
“He’s got an excellent shot and he looks to shoot.”

The power play help in itself is pretty awesome. He can play the point. That is HUGE. We traded him for Clay Wilson and a sixth round draft pick. Not a lot considering Wilson rarely played for us. We needed help on the power play and that is exactly what we got.

We need a few more key additions for this team to be a force in the playoffs…but as of right now, I would just be happy to go to a playoff game. I have been avoiding going to games in Nashville and Detroit for the simple fact that if I am going to see my first playoff game, it is going to be for MY boys, and that is the way it will remain.

Onto Steve Mason, who was not feeling well last night and STILL managed to make some big saves and get us the victory. Yes, I am aware there was a questionable goal, but guess what…we STILL WON. Puck-Rakers pointed out this article, and I had to show you the last bit of it. It made me smile, so be sure to go read it.

Last Friday, Columbus faced the mighty Washington on the Capitals’ ice, where they’d lost once all season. On a night to remember, Mason saved a whopping 45 shots. He caught shots you couldn’t see, kicked shots to the corner, batted shots down with his chest, even headbutted them away with his electric-blue mask. The stunning 3-0 shutout victory was dubbed Columbus’ best sporting result since Buster Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson.
Capitals defenceman Karl Alzner couldn’t believe it: “I don’t think it happens too often where goalies come straight out of junior and do what he’s doing. I don’t think it actually happens at all.”
It’s happening, believe it or not, and before the season’s out, Mason may find himself facing his greatest challenge yet: growing a play-off beard.

In case you were wondering, the reason I have not been posting regularly is because my laptop crapped out on me. I now have a laptop so, my posting will become more regular.

Filed in: , Columbus Blue Jackets, , | Bethanys Hockey Rants | Permalink
Tags: Clay+Wilson, Jason+Williams, Steve+Mason,

Comments

Sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t think you’ll be happy with Williams after half a dozen games or so. He played a few seasons in Detroit, and we weren’t sad to see him go.

He does have a booming slapshot, and its even reasonably accurate. Unfortunately it doesn’t make up for his lack of acceleration, average at best stick handling, and most frustrating, a complete inability to hold the point on the PP. You’d think with a guy named Lidstrom on your team, you might learn a thing or two about keeping the puck in the zone, but he never did.

Not that it was a bad trade in terms of assets lost, just don’t expect to much from the guy.

Posted by Nate A from Dark side of the moon on 01/15/09 at 12:48 AM ET

As someone who watched him in both Detroit and Atlanta, don’t set yourself up for disappointment. He was easily Atlanta’s softest player this season. They brought him to Atlanta for PP help, too, as well as to play with Kovalchuk. After it became apparent he wasn’t gelling, he ended up playing musical linemates or sitting as a scratch.

He’s a good guy to be around in the locker room, and he does things on the ice that will make you smile at times. But then, he will completely disappoint you with some of the other things he does.

Maybe you’ll get pleasantly surprised, or maybe you’ll find yourself more frustrated than an eunuch in a whorehouse. It’s too soon to tell, obviously.

As always, best of luck to you all in Columbus.

Posted by Alan from Atlanta on 01/15/09 at 06:05 AM ET

I’ve had a lot of people tell me that Williams isn’t the end all be all. And I don’t think anybody’s expecting him to be. But if you’ve ever actually seen the Jackets power play, you’ll know that even Williams is an improvement.

Posted by shaggyspeedy on 01/15/09 at 01:30 PM ET