The Columbus Blue Jackets will be without forward, Kristian Huselius, for at least a week after he got injured during practice.  He’s been placed on the injured reserve list retroactively as of November 3, 2009.
While his game has not quite been on fire, he is off to a fairly decent start having scored five goals and posting four assists in the 13 games he’s played.  Last year, he notched up 56 points.
I think that Huselius is a really great player so I’m sure they will miss him.  While he was on the Calgary Flames roster, he did well at first …read more

Did you catch the Columbus Blue Jackets at Calgary Flames game last night?  The Flames won 6-3 and, while I was happy with the result, it was the goal by Fredrik Sjostrom that served as the highlight for me.
Sure, Calgary didn’t really need it with 4:05 left in the third since they were already up two goals but since Sjostrom is new to the team, I haven’t really seen what he can do and last night I was totally surprised.

He approached the net and couldn’t get a shot away, faked out Columbus goalie, Steve Mason, and then did a spin-o-rama …read more

The Columbus Blue Jackets have given Derick Brassard a four-year extension on his contract worth $13 million.  He will begin the final year of his three-year deal next month and will earn $765,000USD next season.

The 22-year-old center posted 10 goals and 15 assists in 31 games but was sidelined with a shoulder injury in December.  It’s too bad because he was off to a great start – he was leading all NHL rookies in points and was named “Rookie of the Month” in October.
Blue Jackets GM, Scott Howson, said: “we are pleased to have Derick under contract for the next …read more

The 2009 Calder Trophy was awarded to Columbus Blue Jacket goaltender, Steve Mason, and I am thrilled!  The rookie recorded 10 shutouts and helped lead his team to the playoffs for the first time. 

The young netminder, who beat out Bobby Ryan (Anaheim Ducks) and Chris Versteeg (Chicago Blackhawks), had an incredible year despite suffering from mononucleosis. 
I don’t know if I ever agreed with him playing while he was so sick but I am glad that his efforts have been recognized. He definitely deserved this award after the year he had even though he kind of fell apart …read more

The Detroit Red Wings completed their sweep of the series against the Columbus Blue Jackets last night.  The Jackets did try to stave off elimination but it was just too little too late.

The teams scored and answered each others goals and you could tell that the players really made an effort to take more shots but the goaltenders also struggled.  Shockingly, the teams were tied 5-5 late in the third when the worst possible thing happened.  The Blue Jackets incurred a penalty for having too many men on the ice and with 47 seconds left in the game, Johan …read more

This was the first year that the Columbus Blue Jackets have ever made the playoffs and it looks like it’s going to be a short-lived run for the Cup.  Unless something miraculous happens, they are about to be swept by the Detroit Red Wings who won their third straight game in the series last night and need just one more win to eliminate the Blue Jackets.

It’s sad because it was the first time a playoff game was played at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio and it was catastrophic.  There, in front of the franchise-record crowd of 19,219 fans, the …read more

The Columbus Blue Jackets fell again to the Detroit Red Wings during Game 2 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Quarterfinals last night. 
Despite the unfavorable outcome of the first game in the series, I really was stunned that the Blue Jackets were not only shut out but lost 4-0 to the Wings.  It’s like Steve Mason has completely fallen apart between the pipes in the postseason but, then again, I felt like the team pushed the rookie goaltender too hard during the regular season.  Star player, Rick Nash, is also underperforming so, unless things change, the Blue Jackets will be …read more

The battle (or non-battle) between the Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets last night really shocked me. I thought this was going to be a lot closer than it was but their first game in the series ended with a 4-1 victory for Detroit. What the heck happened? The game started out so well. There was no scoring in the first period and then things just got crazy in the second with Detroit scoring three times (Jiri Hudler, Jonathan Ericsson and Niklas Kronwall) and Columbus answering just once (R.J. Umberger). In the third, …read more

The 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs will begin next week and, with the remaining spots taken last night by the Anaheim Ducks and the St. Louis Blues, the NHL has announced the final matchups for the first round.
In the Western Conference the following teams will square off:

San Jose Sharks vs. St. Louis Blues
Detroit Red Wings vs. Anaheim Ducks
Vancouver Canucks vs. Columbus Blue Jackets
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Calgary Flames

Those are some interesting matchups. I predict that the Sharks will take out the Blues and the Wings will pick off the Ducks but I am not sure what will happen with the others. …read more

The teams who will compete in the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs have been decided and I’m extremely excited!  There are a few surprises (Montreal just squeaking in) and things that I’m truly happy about (Chicago, Columbus and St. Louis making the cut) but aside from that, it’s pretty much what most of us could have predicted a couple months ago.  I am disappointed, though, that Dallas wasn’t able to pull it together this season to push past their problems and get to the postseason.  Maybe next year…
Here are a list of the teams that made it:

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

1
Z
Boston
114
1
Z
San Jose
117

2
Y
Washington
108
2
Y
Detroit
112

3
Y
New …read more