Doom and Gloom

Things aren’t looking too good for local sports fans. The Blue Jackets seem to be in a funk (or perhaps merely playing to the best of their ability), the OSU Buckeyes received another pounding in the BCS Championship, and there is some squabbling that might delay building the new Huntington Park where the Clippers (hint; a baseball team) will play. I will limit this post to hockey, except to state that Jody Shelley had nothing to do with the loss in New Orleans, despite what some people think.

OK, the Jackets got beat pretty good last night by St. Louis, 6-1. The Blues are now three points ahead of Columbus in the standings, 47 to 44, and the Jackets’ record in the last ten games is 5-5-0, the same as first place Dallas. People are up in arms about Steve Mason being called up, but the reality is that Mason will not play a minute for the team and will be back in Junior. So now the fans can go back to worrying about Shelley getting too much ice time or Scott Howson not trading away one of our players for someone of greater value.

The Dispatch ran a story earlier this week and they mentioned the “P” word, or playoffs. I will admit that the playoffs have been in the back of my mind, but it is one of the things you keep quiet about until the right moment, like the latter part of the season when it matters. Nevertheless, it is out and some fans are demanding their playoff tickets now. By the way, for those of you who pay retail for your seats, do you have any idea what a playoff ticket costs? Standard pricing is double face value, and PSL holders will be required to buy the series, not just a single game. You’re welcome.

I have said in the past that I would like the Blue Jackets to be in the hunt after Christmas, preferably at the end of February. Since it is not February, the team is meeting my expectations. The Jackets have been lumped together with Chicago and St. Louis by a lot of (non Dispatch) hockey writers and if you look at the standings, they are still in that “lump”. As much as we anguish over the Jackets, the Blackhawks have been even more inconsistent, and they possess two of the most exciting rookies out there. Like Fredrik Modin, the Hawks have been missing one of their superstars, injury-plagued Martin Havlat, for most of the season. They have a dependable roster that some might argue is stronger than Columbus. The Blue Jackets have a better coach, but as we all know coaches do not lace them up.

St. Louis finally has stabilized, but it took most of the season. They did make a deal for Andy McDonald, but the deal itself was for the benefit of Anaheim. It was one-sided, with the Blues getting am immediate fix. Could Columbus have dealt away a low-cost aging forward for McDonald? Be honest! So a one-sided deal may help St. Louis get out of the lump and into the post season. Too bad we couldn’t have picked up the injured Petr Prucha for Vyborny.

I am counseling patience here and asking for you to wait another 45 days before you give up on the season. You could even say that I am waiting until next year, when the team is fully under the control of Scott Howson and Ken Hitchcock. For now, I just hope that the Blue Jackets break out of the lump in the midst of the franchise do-over.

-Truth Serum

A little digging

I’ve talked in the past about wanting to use statistics to back up my thoughts on the Blue Jackets.  It’s not likely that I’ll get as in-depth as some do, but I think there are interesting bits of information that can be found just beneath the surface.  I’ve just started looking around the vault, and here are some very generic things I noticed over the last two games.

11-1 at Anaheim

I stated in a previous post about how I thought Anaheim controlled the game and the Blue Jackets were lucky to be in the game.  A few things that seem to back this up:

This first one didn’t require a lot of brain power: the Jackets were outshot 34-20.  When you get outshot by that margin, you’re lucky to be around.  Yes, there are further studies of shot quality that could be done which may make this look not so bad, but even bad shots on goal can turn into something good.

With the numbers normalized to shots per 60 minutes, the Jackets offered 18.0/60 at even strength, 35.4/60 on the power play, and 5.3/60 while short-handed.  Meanwhile the Ducks put up 29.0/60 at ES, 52.6/60 on the PP, and 17.7/60 while SH.  With no comparitive data compiled at this point, I’m not sure what it means other than Columbus lost that battle badly.

Second chance shots (my definition reflects those shots taken within 5 seconds of the previous shot) favored the Ducks as well, 7-4.  No goals were scored on second chance shots, however.

With over 50% of the team’s faceoff’s being taken by two of the top 10 guys in the NHL as of today (Manny Malhotra at 63% and Michael Peca at 59%) the Blue Jackets are skilled at winning draws.  In this game, the team performed slightly below it’s average, winning 48% of the draws. 

At even strength, the Blue Jackets were poor, winning only 38%.  And in the neutral zone, the Jackets were a paltry 18% in 11 opportunities at ES.

Anecdotally (until I look further into this), it would seem that draw location would at least loosely correlate with where the pressure is found.  If your team is taking a lot of D-zone draws, you’re probably getting some pressure.  And if the opposition is taking a lot of draws in their own zone, your squad is probably the one on the offensive.  In this game, the Jackets only took 8 offensive zone draws (3 at ES) to 26 for the Ducks (15 at ES).  That seems indicative of the Ducks carrying the play, which was at least visually backed up for me while watching the game.

Lastly, Anaheim was the more physical team in this game, at least based on hits.  The Ducks were credited with 26 hits to 18 for the Jackets.  

What does it all mean?  I’m not sure, yet.  At first glance, it seems to back up my thoughts that despite being outplayed the Jackets were lucky to pick up a point.  And if their early-season woes in the shootout had not been there, they could have stolen another point on the road.  Some say they’d rather be lucky than good.  Me, I’d rather be both.

11-4 vs St. Louis

I didn’t have an opportunity to pay too much attention to this game.  We were at BW3’s watching this game while also watching the Patriots/Colts and Browns/Seahawks at the same time.  So these generalizations will be even more… ummm… general.

• The Jackets outshot the Blues by a little, 25-21.  Normalizing the data, the Jackets put up 21.4/60 at ES, 61.8/60 on the PP, and 11/60 while SH.  The Blues: 15.1/60 at ES, 99.4/60 on the PP, and had no SH shots.
• Second chance shots (shots within 5 seconds of the previous shot) favored the Blue Jackets by an 8-2 margin.  No goals were scored on second chance shots, though Malhotra’s goal to open the scoring was 8 seconds after a Zherdev shot.
• The Jackets were again at 48% on draws in this game.  Defensive zone draws get the spotlight this time, with the Jackets only winning 36% of 22 opportunities.  This may be typical to see, I’m not sure (again, yet).  Perhaps someone who is more versed in hockey stats can weigh in here.  My gut says it doesn’t make sense that a team would be any worse in any particular zone, but I’m not willing to believe that this is the case just yet.
• Lastly, both the Jackets and the Blues played a physical game.  St. Louis edged Columbus in credited hits 26-22.

Again, I’m not sure what all this means just yet, but these are some thing that stuck out to me at first glance. 

The one item I’ve bolded above is the number of Power Play shots per 60 minutes by the opposition.  As I’ve noted, I don’t have much (okay, any really) comparitive data, but this seems to indicate that the goaltenders are coming up big on the penalty kill.  You always hear it said that the teams most important penalty killer is the goalie, and Leclaire and Norrena seem to have shown up to play in the last two games.

I’m guessing that some of this format (statistical analysis on a basic level) will stick around unless you, the reader, tell me otherwise.  So speak up, leave a comment, and tell me what you think.

Thanks for stopping by the End of the Bench.  Come back soon.

- Drew

Two late nights

I’ve spoken before about my love/hate relationship with staying up late to watch Pacific Time Zone road trips.  But no matter what I think the outcome may be, there’s not much that can stop me from sitting on my couch and watching late night hockey.  I love it, even if nobody loves my demeanor the next day.

Heading west on a plane with three consecutive wins tucked in their pocket, the Jackets would land and have to face the equally hot LA Kings (winners of four in a row), and an anticipated rumble with the Anaheim Ducks, defending Cup champs.  Neither game would be easy, but many Jacket fans were now in the mode of expecting points and wins instead of the usual dosage of losing away from home.  I’m not brave enough to expect wins just yet, but I was definitely going to tune in and expect to see a couple of good games (okay, that’s kind of a lie.  I expected to beat the Kings, there… I said it).

Wednesday night, the Jackets played hard and got out to a 3-0 lead before Kyle Calder finally snuck one past Pascal Leclaire (one of NHL’s Three Stars for October) on the power play.  The team looked decent for the first 30 minutes of the game, and then seemed to coast a bit to the end.  Rick Nash iced the cake with an empty netter to close out the part one of the SoCal excursion.

Thursday night, the Blue Jackets did not look nearly as cohesive as the evening before.  There are those out there saying that this was a great game to watch, like a playoff contest.  I’ll agree with Michael Arace when he says that this was a contest with great texture.  Jared Boll’s fight with Travis Moen was as expected as Christmas, and almost as anticipated.  Peeling off the wrapping paper and dropping the gloves, neither Moen nor Boll disappointed their respective fans and we all smiled around the fireplace.

My take on last night’s game is that we were lucky to come away with a point.  The players and coaches called it a good or great point to get, and I suppose given the circumstances surrounding the game (second night of a back-to-back, absorbing the physicality the Ducks were reserving the Boll and the Jackets, first road trip of more than one game for the team, etc) it was a good point. 

But did anybody else in Columbus watch the same game I did last night? 

The passing was not crisp, the power play had trouble leaving the zone, and as Mrs. EOB put it so well, “they look like five individual units out there and not a team.”  I know how tired I was after staying up late to watch both of those games, so I understand that the team may have been a bit worn down towards the end of the game last night.  The Ducks did not play a great game last night, and if the Jackets had not been off as well I’d suggest that they had a chance to steal a game away from home.  But I can’t say that.  I guess the best way to describe my feelings about that game would be to say that the guys looked uncomfortable out on the ice.  Hopefully this gets addressed and fixed before the upcoming slate of games.  The next eight contests are against division opponents.

A few not-so-random or unrelated thoughts:

• It’s an admittedly small sample size on which to pass judgement, but because shootouts are part of the NHL game it might be time to look at some other shooters.  That is all on this for now.
• Anecdotally, the Blue Jackets are doing a much better job of clearing rebounds and not allowing second and third chance shots this year.  That said, the last two goals scored against the team have been on second chance shots where the puck was not cleared or covered.
• Is it just me, or has David Vyborny been pretty much invisible so far?  0-4-4 and minus-3 while averaging 19:00 TOI.  All four assists have either been on Rick Nash goals, or were second assists where Nash got the first assist.  The chemistry between the two has always been good, but I didn’t imagine that the link would be that strong.  With Modin likely out for a week or longer, will #9 see any time on a line with #19 and #61, or will it be #13?  We’ll find out on Sunday.

Thanks for stopping by the End of the Bench.  Come back soon.

- Drew

82-0, indeed

As noted in the Dispatch’s Puck-rakers blog, the above record “prediction” was overheard in an Arena District parking garage after last night’s 4-0 victory over the Anaheim Ducks.  Surely uttered in jest, but last night was worthy of a little excitement.

What have we heard all summer?  “We want to be a team that’s difficult to play against.”  One game does not a true believer make, but last night, the Columbus Blue Jackets were more than the reigning Cup champs bargained for.

“They came at us right from the start of the game,” forward Ryan Getzlaf said of the Blue Jackets. “We weren’t prepared for it. We did a lot of things tonight and none of them were the right ones.”

I’m not foolish enough to think that this is how it is going to be (victory) every night, but I am willing to place a little trust in the Jackets’ style of play to believe that effort should not be an issue.  It’s so hard to say anything about what to expect in the long-term after 60 minutes of hockey.

What do we really know?  That last night was fun to watch.

Rick Nash had a fantastic game in the offensive zone.  Nik Zherdev pulled the joystick on a couple of moves that left my jaw on the ground.  Kris Russell had a very fine NHL debut, scoring his first NHL point with an assist on Nash’s second goal.  I even found myself praising Adam Foote’s play quite a few times.  It’s been a while since we’ve seen him so mentally and physically involved in a game.  I would like very much to see this continue.  Lastly, Pascal Leclaire made the saves he needed to make.  And with a little help from Rick Nash in the third, he gets his second career shutout.

The thing that was most satisfying to me was the growing frustration of the Ducks as the game wore on.  The Jackets carried the play, and as it became apparent to the Anaheim skaters that this dog would not roll over and beg for a treat as they probably imagined, they took stupid penalties.  The worst offense (of dumb, frustrated penalties) I saw from Anaheim was Andy McDonald hunched over Jackets winger Gilbert Brule, holding his head down in what seemed like an effort to get Brule’s opinion on how the Nationwide ice tasted.

I don’t know about the ice, but the victory probably tasted pretty good.  The Jackets play tonight in Minnesota, with both squads looking to remain unbeaten in their second game.

Thanks for stopping by the End of the Bench.  Come back soon.

Dose of Reality #52

Congratulations, Ducks!

I want to congratulate the former Blue Jackets on the team; Todd Marchant, Francois Beauchemin, Joe Motzko, Mark Hartigan, and Coach Newell Brown.  CBJ fans should also be made aware of all the former Cincinnati Ducks on the team; Ilya Bryzgalov, Ryan Getzlaf, J-S Giguere, Chris Kunitz, Andy McDonald, Samuel Pahlsson, Dustin Penner, Corey Perry, and Ryan Shannon.  Don’t accuse me of cheerleading like The Dispatch does to former Buckeyes.  I just thought that Columbus hockey fans needed to know the number of Ducks who paraded through this area.

I’ll have more on the GM search later, but the search is looking more like a clusterf*ck.  You can read more here.  It is very discouraging to see the former Jackets holding up the Cup while our team can’t even get its act together.

-Truth Serum

Stanley Cup Finals prediction

After shooting 75% through the first two rounds, I missed big time in the conference finals. Buffalo and Detroit are both cleaning out locker rooms, and Anaheim and Ottawa are preparing to duke it out in the Stanley Cup Finals. For the final time this spring, my prediction for the next playoff round.

Stanley Cup Finals

I’ll be the first to admit that I haven’t watched enough hockey in the last month and a half to really know who to pick in this series. But that’s never stopped me from jumping head-first into the deep end before, so here goes nothing.

When the Ducks traded for defenseman Chris Pronger in the off-season, many were quick to place Anaheim at the top of the Western Conference. After a full season and most of the playoffs, the Ducks have done their part to make a lot of people look like they know a thing or two. They haven’t always been the prettiest team but in the end it doesn’t matter how you looked getting there, just that you’re still standing.

Ottawa lost Zdeno Chara to Boston, and more than a few wondered how this would affect their chances of going deep in the playoffs. Often criticized for not being tough enough, and being more flash than substance, the Senators have shown that they have what it takes to continue playing meaningful hockey into June. For Ottawa fans that have showed patience with their club, the rewards are piling up. After suffering though four straight sub-20 win seasons, loyal fans have to be enjoying this. Blue Jacket fans can afford to have a little hope when they see this story unfolding. Not to say that the situations have been comparable, but even the darkest days can eventually turn into something good.

So what do I think? Who’s going to win? I’m taking the Ducks in six. There you have it, a prediction void of meaningful analysis.

And finally, can I direct you back to a post a certain someone made back in September? Notice who the top two teams in each conference were? That said, feel free to ignore the rest of the predictions there (particularly the Flyers in the #2 slot).

Coming very soon (I promise this time), the Spotlight Series 2007.

Thanks for stopping by the End of the Bench. Come back soon.

2007 NHL Third Round Playoff Predictions

I meant to get these up yesterday, but I’ll spare you the details and just say that it obviously didn’t work out that way.  I will state that at this time (10 AM), I have no idea who won last night’s contest.  So that in no way affects my picks, which will likely be wrong.  In the second round, I went (3-1) and brought my overall playoff prediction record to (9-3).  Not bad, if I do say so myself.

Eastern Conference

Buffalo Sabres (#1) vs. Ottawa Senators (#4)

Drew’s take: This series would have been anticipated even without the hit Chris Neil laid on Chris Drury late in the regular season and the ensuing two-game free for all.  That’s like throwing another can of frosting on the cake.  I think Buffalo will eventually wear down the Senators by being a deeper squad.  Ottawa will play tough as nails, which will extend this series to six or seven games, but in the end the Alfredsson/Spezza/Heatley line will not be enough to carry the rest of the team.

Drew’s pick:

Western Conference

Detroit Red Wings (#1) vs. Anaheim Ducks (#2)

Drew’s take: I picked against the Wings the last round because I didn’t think they were tough enough.  Through four games of their series with San Jose, tied at 2-2, I thought I was right on track.  But Nabokov’s fatal clearing attempt off of Datsyuk’s stick that broke the tie in the game was the beginning of the end.  Detroit proved that they are tough enough and that they are in it to win it.  Anaheim overcame Roberto Luongo to dispatch the Canucks.  I won’t make the same mistake again, I’m picking Detroit to win this series and go to the Finals.

Drew’s pick:

2007 NHL Second Round Playoff Predictions

I didn’t do quite as well as Truth did in my picks for the first round.  I missed both of the 4 vs. 5 matchups.  Wiping the slate clean, I’m starting fresh for round two.  Here are my selections to advance in the conference semifinals.

Eastern Conference

Buffalo Sabres (#1) vs. New York Rangers (#6)

Drew’s take:  Henrik Lundqvist is my key to this series.  If he can slow down the four very viable lines of the Sabres, it may be enough for Jagr to lead the Rangers to the conference finals.  Something else to watch will be Sean Avery getting under the skin of Buffalo players and fans.  Should be fun.

Drew’s pick:

New Jersey Devils (#2) vs. Ottawa Senators (#4)

Drew’s take:  Marty, Marty, it’s a playoff party.  2.26 GAA, 0.917 Sv%, one shutout, and four wins.  An experienced Devil squad takes on a Senators team that finally seems to have shown up in the playoffs.  Strong defense against strong offense.  The adage is that defense wins championships.  My addendum is that you actually have to get to the finals to get your name on the Cup.

Drew’s pick:

Western Conference

Detroit Red Wings (#1) vs. San Jose Sharks (#5)

Drew’s take:  A lot of people were looking at Detroit’s first round matchup with Calgary to see how the Wings would hold up against the tough Flame team.  I think we can safely say at this point that Detroit is no pushover.  They played great hockey for most of the series, and put on quite a show with their puck-possession game.  San Jose dismissed the Predators for the second year in a row, and have earned the right to face the number one team in the conference.  Nicklas Lidstrom could be elevated to legendary status if he can shut down Joe Thornton and the Wings go on to win the whole thing.  But I’m thinking Joe will be doing all he can to shake the label of a great player who can’t win when it matters.

Drew’s pick:

Anaheim Ducks (#2) vs. Vancouver Canucks (#3)

Drew’s take: About ten months ago, I made some comparisons between Roberto Luongo and Marc Denis, or more accurately between their respective teams.  At the time, they were members of the Florida Panthers and Columbus Blue Jackets.  It wasn’t my intention to say that Denis was of the same caliber as Luongo, but I’d understand if some people saw it that way.  Seeing what Luongo has done in Vancouver this season, now would be the time for anyone who misread the original post to email me with a “told ya so!”  On a team with mediocre scoring depth, Roberto Luongo has turned the Canucks into a contender.  The question for today is this: how will he fare against a team that has considerably more scoring depth (Anaheim) than did Dallas?  If the young Ducklings (Getzlaf, Perry, Penner, Beauchemin) can continue their strong play, Luongo may have to continue pining for that Cup inscription.

Drew’s pick:

Things get started tonight with the Sabres and Rangers at 7, and the Ducks and Canucks at 10.  Tomorrow night sees the Devils and Senators at 7, and the Wings and Sharks at 7:30.  Let’s all hope we continue to see good, solid hockey.

NHL 2007 Playoff Predictions

For the second year in a row, I will be putting my playoff picks on the site for all to ridicule.  This season, I’ve got Truth Serum joining me and putting his two cents in.

The action starts tonight with four games on the docket, so without further ado, here are the results of the End of the Bench first round pick ‘em:

Eastern Conference

Buffalo Sabres (#1) vs. New York Islanders (#8)

Drew’s take: With Dipietro, the Islanders are a long-shot.  Without him (as they will be to start the series), they’re cooked.

Drew’s pick: 

Truth’s pick:

New Jersey Devils (#2) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (#7)

Drew’s take:  If Vinny Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis can solve Marty Brodeur and the Devils offense can’t take advantage of the netminding problems in Tampa, this series could be an upset.  But when you’re not even dressing your highest paid healthy goaltender (former Jacket Marc Denis will be watching from the stands at least in Game 1), I’m not inclined to give you much of a chance.

Drew’s pick:

Truth’s pick:

Atlanta Thrashers (#3) vs. New York Rangers (#6)

Drew’s take: The Thrashers make their first post-season appearance, while winning the Southeast no less, and have the good fortune of facing the hottest goaltender in 2007 in Henrik Lundqvist.  Last season, King Henry and Prince Jaromir were embarassed by the Devils in the first round.  This year, a Rangers squad including Brendan Shanahan gets to pick on the new kid on the block.  Expect a big game or two from Atlanta, but probably not enough to take the series.

Drew’s pick:

Truth’s pick:

Ottawa Senators (#4) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (#5)

Drew’s take: In my opinion, this is the series in the East that poses the most questions.  Will Sid, Evgeni, and the young Penguin team choke in the playoffs?  Will Ottawa play up to it’s potential?  Which goaltender (Emery, Fleury, or Gerber) will come up big?  I think this will be the best first round matchup to watch in this conference.

Drew’s pick:

Truth’s pick:

Western Conference

Detroit Red Wings (#1) vs. Calgary Flames (#8)

Drew’s take: This game is a chance for Detroit to exorcise some recent playoff demons.  In 2004, Calgary eliminated the Wings in the Conference Semi’s… a series the Wings were expected to win.  In each of the last three playoff runs, the Wings have lost in the first or second round to a lower seeded team.  With Henrik Zetterberg expected back, I’m sure there are many Detroit fans hoping this one is short, sweet, and to the point.

Drew’s take:

Truth’s take:

Anaheim Ducks (#2) vs. Minnesota Wild (#7)

Drew’s take:  It’s the time of year Ducks management has dreamt about since signing Chris Pronger to join Scott Neidermeyer on the blueline.  Duck forwards Teemu Selanne and the young guys like Perry, Getzlaf, and Penner will have to find a way to break through the opposition’s strategy of lock-down defense.  Interestingly enough, even with Manny Fernandez on the mend, all five of CBS Sportsline’s hockey talking heads have picked Minnesota to win the series.  As for us…

Drew’s pick:  (That says Ducks… dang small logos)

Truth’s pick:

Vancouver Canucks (#3) vs. Dallas Stars (#6)

Drew’s take:  Last year I picked the Stars and Marty Turco to shake the recent playoff busts and win the Cup.  This year, they face an even more dangerous team in Vancouver.  Though this is All-World goaltender Roberto Luongo’s first playoff action in his career, he’s shown what he can do with a capable defense.  And Dallas… “Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice… well you already fooled me once, you can’t do it again.”

Drew’s pick:

Truth’s pick:

Nashville Predators (#4) vs. San Jose Sharks (#5)

Drew’s take: A team with aging skilled forwards (Forsberg, Arnott, Kariya, Sullivan) takes on a team with younger skilled forwards (Marleau, Thornton, Cheechoo).  (Yeah, it’s simple and unfair… oh well.)  Aside from goaltending, the question I want to see answered is which deadline acquisition will pay off: Forsberg, or Guerin?

Drew’s pick:

Truth’s pick:

Stayin alive: Life in April for a Jackets fan

Okay, it’s been since March 29th since I’ve had a post containing much thought at all.  It’s as though the perfect storm has hit me.  I’ve been busy at work and home, and I haven’t made or had the time to get some good thoughts down on (virtual) paper.  Special thanks to Truth Serum for holding down the fort while I’ve been on a temporary hiatus.  As you’ve read either here or in the Columbus papers, our favorite GM Doug MacLean is a big topic around town lately.  Check out the last few Dose of Reality columns for Truth’s thoughts on the situation.  Me?  For the time being, I’m withholding comment on the situation.  Not because I have some great ideas I’m holding back or anything cool like that, I just don’t have a whole lot to add at this moment.

Mrs. EOB and I made the trip down to Nationwide last Saturday to take in the FANtastic FANale VI, and it was quite an interesting game we watched.  It was full of all the things that make hockey a great game: highlight reel goals and violence.  Despite all the “fun”, it was a difficult game for me to watch.  After competing (in the words of some Jackets players and staff) for five of six periods against Detroit in the last week and beating Dallas on Thursday I expected the Jackets to play out the season against Anaheim with class, dignity, and composure.  Through about ten minutes of the first period, I was watching my wish come true.

Rick Nash scored his 29th of the season 3:30 into the first, and the Jackets were applying steady pressure to Ducks’ goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov (45 shots faced this game), and were finishing their checks.  We were sitting up high, and in my bird’s-eye view I was taking special notice of the “play behind the play”, seeing what transpired after a good hit or a pass, etc.  It’s one of my favorite things to do at a live hockey game (and along with cost issues, is part of the reason I like to sit in the upper bowl more than the lower bowl).

Anaheim defenseman Sean O’Donnell in particular was getting a bit abused behind his net.  The Jacket forecheckers were quite tenacious in the opening moments, and it seemed that every time O’Donnell started the breakout from behind his net with a pass or went to retrieve a dump-in, he was soon thereafter solidly struck by one or more blue jerseys.  Alex Svitov laid a good hit, and another time I believe I remember Jason Chimera and Manny Malhotra coming together for a Sean O’Donnell sandwich.  It didn’t take a trained eye to see that old #21 was getting a bit pissed off from the extra attention.

If these hits were the matches that lit the fuse, Rick Nash proved to be the bomb exploding.  At around 17 minutes in, the Jackets dump the puck into the offensive zone.  For the life of me I can’t remember right now if it was O’Donnell or Scott Neidermeyer that went to chip the puck out from behind the net to a teammate, so I won’t assign a name and I’ll just call him “poor Ducks defenseman.”  Whoever it was got rid of the puck only to find a 215 pound freight train with a #61 on his back barrelling into him.  Nash absolutely destroyed the aforementioned poor Ducks defenseman, and the crowd began to express their displeasure when the referee raised his hand to indicate the delayed penalty.  When the Jackets finally touched up to stop play, the madness really got underway and in the end there were nine penalties dished out over the next 33 seconds of game play.  One charging major to Nash, two fighting majors to Hainsey and Rob Neidermeyer, a boarding minor to Rob, an instigating minor to Ron, and three 10 minute game misconducts to Scott, Manny, and Ron.

Apparently Manny Malhotra said something to Scott Neidermeyer that prompted Scott to skate over to the Jackets’ bench and do a little screaming.  I’d pay good money to know what was said (not really, but if anybody knows… either put it in the comments or shoot me a line).  This paragraph really has nothing to do with hockey, per se.  But it was one of the weirdest things I’ve seen at a hockey game.

At this point the referees must have decided that the game was not going to get (further) out of hand, and they called the game with a different eye on the action.  There were some ticky-tack fouls called, and there were some fouls that went uncalled.  Depending on which team you’re a fan of, you either enjoyed the job the stripes did the rest of the game or you thought it was a bit lacking.  If you watched the game, you have your thoughts.  I have mine, but I decided I’m not weighing in on this one.  I don’t think the officiating was the worst thing we saw that night.  (Take that for whatever it’s worth)

At the end of the first and the Ducks leading 2-1, the wheels officially transformed from the slow wobble of the last two weeks to completely falling off the bus.  The game ceased to be fun.  The competitiveness was absent for most of the rest of the game.  I was resigned to sitting back and enjoying the Ducks playing some pretty good hockey.  4-1 Ducks after two, and I was almost looking forward to the final buzzer so the wound of this hockey season could be cauterized for this fan.  (Yeah, I’m using pointless metaphors because I like to… you’re still reading.  Suck it up.  We’re almost done.)

Interesting note: Halfway through the second intermission Ducks’ strongman George Parros came up the aisle next to our section and promptly sat down two rows behind us.  He was there for at least half of the third period.  I’m not sure if it was his family he was sitting with or just friends, but you couldn’t miss the moustache as he walked up the aisle in his suit.  Good stuff.

(Ducks forward George Parros.  You know, George… I had an open seat next to me, too)

8:06 into the third, Jacket rookie Gilbert Brule loosed a blistering slap shot to cut the lead to 4-2.  The crowd showed signs of life, and when Jason Chimera made it 4-3 at 12:27 the 17,391 in attendance voiced their appreciation.  For the rest of the game (mostly dominated by the Jackets), the fans were loud.  Louder than I’ve heard them in a long time.  It’s what I imagine playoff hockey would be like, only for sixty minutes instead of eight.  Oh well… until then.

Coming soon here at the End of the Bench, I’ll be doing the second installment of my Spotlight Series where I look through the roster as it stands right now.  This will come out in installments over the next month or so.  Also, the End of the Bench playoff predictions.  Maybe I can get Truth Serum involved.  Stay tuned.

Thanks for stopping by the End of the Bench.  Come back soon.