Playoff Chase

[swerb]

Standings - and my comments

EAST (games played/points)

1. * Philadelphia 59 83 - Looking scary good. Only question is the guys between the pipes.
2. * Tampa Bay 59 75 - In a little funk right now. 4th most pts in the league but have actually been outscored this year. Can Rolo hold up in goal for em? Offensive firepower there with Stamkos, St. Louis and LeCavlier.
3. * Boston 59 73 - I hate this team. Toughest team to score against gets tougher w the addition of Kaberle from the Leafs.
4. Pittsburgh 60 77 - Hanging on for dear life without Crosby and Malkin. Will they be back for the playoffs?
5. Washington 60 72 - A lot of individual talent but they're flaky. Two youngsters between the pipes.
6. Montreal 60 69 - My darkhorse in the East. In a bad funk right now though.
7. NY Rangers 61 66 - Great job by Tortorella this season as these guys have been killed by injuries. Gaborik (who was just getting going) is the latest. Could be a sleeper in the playoffs if they get healthy w Lundqvist in goal.
8. Carolina 60 64 - Gonna be a dangerous 1st rd opponent for someone. Playoffs started today it would be Philly, who they just beat in a great game.
9. Buffalo 58 60 - Blah year for Ryan Miller. They're right in the mix for one of those final 2 spots though.
10. Atlanta 60 60 - Wheels are falling off the wagon.
11. Florida 59 57 - About to unload talent at the deadline in yet another rebuild
12. Toronto 59 57 - Some good young talent. Got more from BOS for Kaberle.
13. New Jersey 59 54 - On fire right now after a horrific start.
14. NY Islanders 60 53 - Love the unis, love the young talent. Grabner is en fuego. Couple years and a goalie away.
15. Ottawa 59 47 - Gutting their team at the deadline in a total rebuild.

WEST (games played/points)

1. * Vancouver 60 85 - Just keep ROLLIN despite all kinds of injuries.
2. * Detroit 59 80 - Amazing how they just keep reloading this thing with no high draft picks ever. With Howard going like he is, the faves along with PHI and VAN.
3. * Phoenix 60 73 - Interesting team that is on fire now atop the Pacific and in the 3 hole. Bryzglaov has been great in goal. Yandle having a Norris type season.
4. San Jose 60 72 - All kinds of talent. Niemi has been good in goal. Climbing the West standings and a dangerous out.
5. Nashville 59 70 - My sleeper in the West. Rinne has been a beast in goal and Suter and Weber could be the best 1-2 punch on D in the league.
6. Calgary 61 70 - On a roll as well right now after shellacking the Canadiens in the Heritage Classic.
7. Minnesota 59 68 - Flying under the radar ... no super stars but a lot of 40-50 point guys and good goalkeeping.
8. Dallas 59 68 - Circling the drain after a surprising start.
9. Los Angeles 59 68 - A lot of talent. A team some of the favorites in the West prolly dont wanna see get in.
10. Anaheim 60 68 - Falling apart with goalie Jonas Hiller injured.
11. Chicago 60 68 - Amazing that a team with Keith, Seabrook, and a top two lines that talented is out of the chase.
12. Columbus 58 64 - Steve Mason is playing like he did his rookie season, Nash is having a great year and has developed into a leader. A lot of good young, still developing offensive talent. Special teams has been better during this hot run. Desperately needs a defenseman to anchor the power play and that can put the puck in the net.
13. St. Louis 58 63 - Disappointing season now defined by a couple big trades they've made already w a week before the deadline.
14. Colorado 59 57 - Can score the puck. Some great young talent. Couple years away.
15. Edmonton 59 46 - Nice collection of young talent. Like the Islanders, a couple years and a goalie away.

[StewieG]

Pittsburgh just got some help, trading Goligosky to Dallas for LW James Neal and D Matt Niskanen. My initial reaction is great deal for Pit. They've been looking for a good winger for awhile, and Neal will immediately step into the first line. Goligosky's a good young D-man, but Dallas could've (and should've) held out for more.

[swerb]

With about 20-25 games left in the reg season ... my guess of how it ends up:

EAST

#1 Philadelphia Flyers vs #8 Carolina Hurricanes
#2 Boston Bruins vs #7 New York Rangers
#3 Washington Capitals vs #6 Tampa Bay Lightning
#4 Montreal Canadiens vs #5 Pittsburgh Penguins

WEST

#1 Vancouver Canucks vs #8 Columbus Blue Jackets
#2 Detroit Red Wings vs #7 Chicago Blackhawks
#3 San Jose Sharks vs #6 Los Angeles Kings
#4 Nashville Predators vs #5 Phoenix Coyotes

[Govbarney]

CBJ in "Todays Slate"! finally some respectability for the Jackets! Ohio's only Pro Playoff contender.

(I will be cold in my grave before I consider Cincitucky part of this great state)

[swerb]

CBJ in "Todays Slate"! finally some respectability for the Jackets! Ohio's only Pro Playoff contender.

(I will be cold in my grave before I consider Cincitucky part of this great state)

Big one tonight.

They're all big the rest of the way.

[Govbarney]

Nashville has always been a thorn in the CBJs side, and I would consider them the Jackets only true rival (as much as CBJ management would like you to beleive its the Wings, I am sure Wings fans laugh at the notion. Check back in 30 years after a few CBJ Stanley Cups, for that rivalry ) I wouldnt say its must win, but I would say its pretty close to must get at least 1 pt.

I'd be going tonight, if I didnt already have tickets to the Bucks game. But I will be paying close attention on my Droid.

[swerb]

Nashville has always been a thorn in the CBJs side, and I would consider them the Jackets only true rival (as much as CBJ management would like you to beleive its the Wings, I am sure Wings fans laugh at the notion. Check back in 30 years after a few CBJ Stanley Cups, for that rivalry ) I wouldnt say its must win, but I would say its pretty close to must get at least 1 pt.

I'd be going tonight, if I didnt already have tickets to the Bucks game. But I will be paying close attention on my Droid.

Looking forward to this one. Never got a chance to sit down and watch a full Nashville game. Lots of clips, cut ins, highlights.

Anymore - I dread when Cavs games are on because of the Blue Jacket FSN blackout.

[RickNashEquilibrium]

Darth Vader can eat a di#$. We play them twice over the next 3 games. Here's hoping Steve Sullivan doesn't dance around our blueliners like he has done so many times in the past. Dude is a jacket killer. I agree we need a #1 defenseman, but the emergance of Clitsome and Stralman not playing like complete trash is helping us win games. I am jacked up for the rest of the year. Great race happening in the west that's for sure.

[Govbarney]

Anymore - I dread when Cavs games are on because of the Blue Jacket FSN blackout.

Back when I used to live in Cleveland and had TWC they would somethimes put CBJ games on an alternate channel.
I have ATT UVERS now and they have regular FSNHD that shows Cavs, FSNHD CBJ ,and , FSNHD CL (Reds) channels , that come with the basic HD package, so even if all three are on at the same time, none get blacked out.

[swerb]

Anymore - I dread when Cavs games are on because of the Blue Jacket FSN blackout.

Back when I used to live in Cleveland and had TWC they would somethimes put CBJ games on an alternate channel.
I have ATT UVERS now and they have regular FSNHD that shows Cavs, FSNHD CBJ ,and , FSNHD CL (Reds) channels , that come with the basic HD package, so even if all three are on at the same time, none get blacked out.

I have that channel. Unless I'm nuts, they (Time Warner) still black it out when the Cadavers are on.

[skatingtripods]

Jackets schedule is terrible for them the next two weeks. Nashville's a bad matchup for them, Phoenix is always a tough game, and then the western Canada road trip rears its ugly head again before two more with pesky St. Louis.

They willed their way to a huge road win against Chicago. That was a game they had to have.

Tonight's a big game, outside of the standings, because they need somebody to contribute offensively in Brassard's place. He can't even grip a stick, so 2-3 weeks might even be a little on the short side of how long it may take. With Blum in the lineup for NSH, means there's a good chance that Suter doesn't play tonight. That should help CBJ.

-----

On the rest of the playoff stuff, I thought I made this post but I guess not, with PIT, Malkin's done with a torn ACL and MCL. Crosby, who knows. Kunitz is out too. They might hold on to a lower seed, but they'll have a rough playoff road if they get Philly or Boston. Tampa Bay is who they'd want. They're the most vulnerable.

The trade deadline will be incredibly interesting next Monday. Lots of teams in striking distance and a lot that are health and/or one more guy away. Not many sellers this year. Though if Columbus wins just one of these three and is 8 points out heading in to Sunday night, Howson has to seriously consider seeing what pieces and parts he can move. With so few sellers, teams can charge a premium for guys. Even if Columbus snuck in to the playoffs, they'd get blasted by either of the top 2 teams.

LA is a deadly team for those top seeds, you've got that right. Buffalo would be a deadly darkhorse in the East because they'd be getting Derek Roy back and they've got the best road record of the bubble teams. Plus, Ryan Miller can elevate his game like none other. They've made good deadline moves in years past as well.

[Govbarney]

Anymore - I dread when Cavs games are on because of the Blue Jacket FSN blackout.

Back when I used to live in Cleveland and had TWC they would somethimes put CBJ games on an alternate channel.
I have ATT UVERS now and they have regular FSNHD that shows Cavs, FSNHD CBJ ,and , FSNHD CL (Reds) channels , that come with the basic HD package, so even if all three are on at the same time, none get blacked out.

I have that channel. Unless I'm nuts, they (Time Warner) still black it out when the Cadavers are on.

Doesnt suprise me , Time Warner hates its customers.

Not to sound defeatest or anything , but in the long run it would be far better for the team if they where sellers at the deadline instead of buyers, or they just stand pat and dont do anything stupid like trade draft picks (much like the Cavs this team isnt getting high priced free agents, but unlike the NBA you can build through the Draft in Hockey). Besides last year after selling at the deadline they still went on a nice winning streak with the young kids, that could happen again.

[skatingtripods]

Not to sound defeatest or anything , but in the long run it would be far better for the team if they where sellers at the deadline instead of buyers, or they just stand pat and dont do anything stupid like trade draft picks (much like the Cavs this team isnt getting high priced free agents, but unlike the NBA you can build through the Draft in Hockey). Besides last year after selling at the deadline they still went on a nice winning streak with the young kids, that could happen again.

Absolutely. Problem being for Columbus that they don't have many pieces to sell. Moreau has been hurt all year so he has a red flag. Huselius has next to no value (another year at 4.75M on the books), plus he's also dinged up. There has been talk of trading Klesla, but I think that's silly. He's the closest thing to a #1 defenseman on this team, though he's not really close. Not to mention, he's injury-prone and signed to a very friendly (if healthy) contract for CBJ.

Hejda would have a lot of value to somebody. I don't know what kind of return they could reasonably expect outside of a 3rd round pick or something, though. Chris Clark could net maybe a 5th round pick. Mathieu Garon could be worthwhile to a team who wants a backup, but there aren't many of those out there. Pahlsson would have value, but he doesn't need to be traded at this point.

They have more ammo to be buyers than sellers with a lot of decent prospects.

[swerb]

Not to sound defeatest or anything , but in the long run it would be far better for the team if they where sellers at the deadline instead of buyers, or they just stand pat and dont do anything stupid like trade draft picks (much like the Cavs this team isnt getting high priced free agents, but unlike the NBA you can build through the Draft in Hockey). Besides last year after selling at the deadline they still went on a nice winning streak with the young kids, that could happen again.

Absolutely. Problem being for Columbus that they don't have many pieces to sell. Moreau has been hurt all year so he has a red flag. Huselius has next to no value (another year at 4.75M on the books), plus he's also dinged up. There has been talk of trading Klesla, but I think that's silly. He's the closest thing to a #1 defenseman on this team, though he's not really close. Not to mention, he's injury-prone and signed to a very friendly (if healthy) contract for CBJ.

Hejda would have a lot of value to somebody. I don't know what kind of return they could reasonably expect outside of a 3rd round pick or something, though. Chris Clark could net maybe a 5th round pick. Mathieu Garon could be worthwhile to a team who wants a backup, but there aren't many of those out there. Pahlsson would have value, but he doesn't need to be traded at this point.

They have more ammo to be buyers than sellers with a lot of decent prospects.

Well said. That nails it.

Any chance they move Filatov?

[skatingtripods]

Any chance they move Filatov?

God, I hope so. The company line up until it happens will be "absolutely not". But, it has to be considered. First, you have a kid who couldn't make it with Ken Hitchcock, a defensive-minded coach. Then you had him bolt to Russia when he faced some adversity (though CBJ supported it to keep him playing nightly at a higher level than the AHL). But now, he can't crack a lineup devoid of depth and secondary scoring with a coach who supports, and preaches, offensive creativity?

His ship has sailed. If the Jackets are buyers, and if a relatively big name comes available, I'm talking a Milan Hejduk of Colorado or an Alexei Kovalev, they have to seriously consider it. They'd need more coming back with Kovalev, but Hejduk and Filatov could be an awesome core of a deal.

He's the best trade chip they have, but there just may not be a player worth him at this deadline. This offseason? Definitely.

[Govbarney]

Absolutely. Problem being for Columbus that they don't have many pieces to sell. Moreau has been hurt all year so he has a red flag. Huselius has next to no value (another year at 4.75M on the books), plus he's also dinged up. There has been talk of trading Klesla, but I think that's silly. He's the closest thing to a #1 defenseman on this team, though he's not really close. Not to mention, he's injury-prone and signed to a very friendly (if healthy) contract for CBJ.

Hejda would have a lot of value to somebody. I don't know what kind of return they could reasonably expect outside of a 3rd round pick or something, though. Chris Clark could net maybe a 5th round pick. Mathieu Garon could be worthwhile to a team who wants a backup, but there aren't many of those out there. Pahlsson would have value, but he doesn't need to be traded at this point.

They have more ammo to be buyers than sellers with a lot of decent prospects.

I am curious, where do you think the Jackets "Farm System" ranks with the other NHL clubs?

[RickNashEquilibrium]

Great great win last night by the Jackets. All the folks on the HF and Puckrakers boards can shove that "Rick Nash is no leader" talk up their a$$. What a show they put on in the 3rd period. Excellent back/fore-checking and they stayed sound defensively. Its been fun watching Calvert and Clitsome get up to speed with the NHL game. Calvert was highly underrated going into the draft because of his linemates and we are seeing why he put up more than a PPG during the Wheat Kings regular season and playoff run last year. Kid could be an allstar if the CBJ find 2 bonafide centers for the 1st and 2nd lines. Vermette might be a #2 but it depends on who he is with. Anyways, go Jackets and keep the momentum going!

[skatingtripods]

Great great win last night by the Jackets. All the folks on the HF and Puckrakers boards can shove that "Rick Nash is no leader" talk up their a$$. What a show they put on in the 3rd period. Excellent back/fore-checking and they stayed sound defensively. Its been fun watching Calvert and Clitsome get up to speed with the NHL game. Calvert was highly underrated going into the draft because of his linemates and we are seeing why he put up more than a PPG during the Wheat Kings regular season and playoff run last year. Kid could be an allstar if the CBJ find 2 bonafide centers for the 1st and 2nd lines. Vermette might be a #2 but it depends on who he is with. Anyways, go Jackets and keep the momentum going!

Let's not get carried away on Calvert. He is what he is, a kid providing a spark due to his speed and tenacity. But, he's played 19 games. At the end of the day, he's still 5'9" 164. He's going to take a beating in this league night in and night out.

I like the kid a lot, but an all star, I doubt it. Regardless of who he's playing with.

On Nash and leadership and all that, Nash has more help in that locker room now than he did before. He used to be the only leader. Now, they have Moreau, Clark, Umberger, Hejda, and Nash. That goes a long way. There's not as much pressure on him. He can just play.

But, like I said last night, the Olympics turned the light on for him. He was in a room full of leaders. Best thing that could have happened to CBJ was him playing in that tournament.

On a separate note, this team is much better with Huselius out of the lineup. They need to find a taker for him or just release him and eat the buyout.

[skatingtripods]

I am curious, where do you think the Jackets "Farm System" ranks with the other NHL clubs?

Glad you think highly enough of my opinion to ask.

To me, it's like the Cleveland Indians' farm system. There's a lot of good depth, but very few impact players. Ryan Johansen has stud potential. He's a Ryan Getzlaf to me. Big body, can play physical, has a lot of talent. He just needs a little work on his skating stride and adding 20-25 pounds.

I like John Moore. Have since the day he was drafted. I think scouts and fellow execs have soured a little bit on his offensive ceilings. I'd say he can be a 40-50 pt defenseman and be a solid #3 guy who can quarterback the powerplay.

Beyond that, you have a lot of guys who could fall in to 2nd or 3rd line roles. The Dalton Smiths of the world, guys like Petr Straka, Kevin Lynch. They have a very nice collection of defensemen prospects. None of them have star potential, though. I like most of them, I'd like to see how they do moving up the ranks. A few of them are in AHL Springfield right now, with mixed results. All of them have trade value though, hence my "more ammo to be buyers than sellers" comment.

Hockeysfuture.com is the authority on hockey prospects and they have Columbus ranked 8th. Personally, I think that's a little high. They have Filatov listed as an 8.0C, which is a fringe first line type player. I think the Filatov ship has sailed. If you take him out, they're more around 12th.

Johansen's the only game changer. If another one develops, I'd be happy. But, they have a lot of "glue" guys. Guys you need on a hockey team. The guys they have in the prospect pool already show consistency. There are no Nikolai Zherdevs or Gilbert Brules down there. That's big for me.

So, long-winded answer to your short question, I'd say they're just outside the top 10 of prospect pools.

Hope that helps a little.

[RickNashEquilibrium]

No love for Tomas Kubalik or Cam Atkinson? Cam is putting up good numbers again as a junior at Boston College.

As an aside, this year Matt Calvert and Grant Clitsome really should have been considered part of our prospect pool. Injuries and ineffectiveness have brought them up and both are going to be staples on this team for years. I was high on Calvert at draft time and he very much got looked over because of both his size and linemates on the Brandon Wheat Kings. The guy can skate, stickhandle in a phonebooth, and has put up points at every level of his career. I'd say his floor is a 2nd line winger at the bare minimum.

[Govbarney]

Glad you think highly enough of my opinion to ask.

You and RickNash, seem to be the resident Hockey experts.

Saying the Farm system is comparable to the Tribes is not very reassuring. Jackets need something better then the never ending ‘ 5yr plan’ if they want to get the season ticket holders back, and keep the team in Ohio. Well that plus a new Arena lease would'nt hurt.

Do you think Ryan Johansen will go straight from the WHL to Columbus next year, or do you forsee him spending some time in Syracuse next season?

[skatingtripods]

No love for Tomas Kubalik or Cam Atkinson? Cam is putting up good numbers again as a junior at Boston College.

Not that there's "no love" for them, neither of them are going to set the world on fire, though. At least not in my opinion. On Atkinson, I find that, more often than not, guys with big numbers in juniors translate better to the NHL than guys with big numbers in college.

I like defensemen better coming out of college than forwards, though the last couple World Junior teams have produced some terrific kids from the US NTDP and US colleges.

As an aside, this year Matt Calvert and Grant Clitsome really should have been considered part of our prospect pool. Injuries and ineffectiveness have brought them up and both are going to be staples on this team for years. I was high on Calvert at draft time and he very much got looked over because of both his size and linemates on the Brandon Wheat Kings. The guy can skate, stickhandle in a phonebooth, and has put up points at every level of his career. I'd say his floor is a 2nd line winger at the bare minimum.

Clitsome was drafted 7 years ago. Hard to still call him a prospect. Now Calvert, he still is a prospect. Only 19 games, he'd still be eligible for the Calder Trophy next year if he only played 5 more games. There's no way that his "bare minimum" is a 2nd line winger. I'd say that's his maximum. I don't want to rain on the Calvert parade. Believe me, I like the kid. I just fail to ever see him being a 65-70 point player in the NHL.

Keep in mind, since Calvert hasn't been playing with Nash, he's facing one of the lower defensive pairings for the opposition. You really think Calvert could do this playing 80% of his shifts against Shea Weber, Nick Lidstrom, Jack Johnson, Drew Doughty, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, etc.? It's all relative to who he's playing against. If you start elevating him up the depth chart, he'll have less time and space based on who is on the ice for the other team.

Again, I like him, but Martin St. Louis he is not.

[skatingtripods]

You and RickNash, seem to be the resident Hockey experts.

Saying the Farm system is comparable to the Tribes is not very reassuring. Jackets need something better then the never ending ‘ 5yr plan’ if they want to get the season ticket holders back, and keep the team in Ohio. Well that plus a new Arena lease would'nt hurt.

Don't read that in the wrong context. I meant for it to symbolize that the team is deep with good quality depth, but not high on top end talent. There is not a Drew Doughty in the system. There's no Tyler Seguin. No Tyler Myers. They don't have a Duncan Keith in the making. That's all I'm saying. There are a lot of quality NHLers. What I would hope for is that you have a top line of Voracek-Brassard-Nash and these other guys filter in alongside the Umbergers, Vermettes, and Calverts of the team.

Hockey is much different from baseball in terms of projecting players, too. We're not talking about a jump as big as AAA to the majors. The biggest thing for most prospects is just the time to grow in to their bodies. Johansen was 6'3" and something like 175 when he was drafted. He has to add 20-25 pounds to that frame to play in the NHL. That's what takes time.

Do you think Ryan Johansen will go straight from the WHL to Columbus next year, or do you forsee him spending some time in Syracuse next season?

I can't see them sending Johansen to Springfield. Quite honestly, he's playing better competition nightly in juniors than he would in the AHL. He'll start with Columbus and play his 9 games to keep the first year of his contract from beginning. If he's good, he'll stay. If he needs more time, they'll send him back to the WHL (and he'll play another World Juniors, which is awesome for young players). Personally, I think he'll be good enough to stay and he'll be playing with Rick Nash shortly thereafter.

[RickNashEquilibrium]

Glad you think highly enough of my opinion to ask.

You and RickNash, seem to be the resident Hockey experts.

Saying the Farm system is comparable to the Tribes is not very reassuring. Jackets need something better then the never ending ‘ 5yr plan’ if they want to get the season ticket holders back, and keep the team in Ohio. Well that plus a new Arena lease would'nt hurt.

Do you think Ryan Johansen will go straight from the WHL to Columbus next year, or do you forsee him spending some time in Syracuse next season?

Jackets will have a good core of players next year especially with Johansen being NHL ready by 2011 or early 2012. Looking at him being ready, 2012 looks like this for our top 6 forwards:

Nash/Johansen/Voracek
Huselius or Calvert/Brassard/Umberger
Moreau/Vermette/Murray
Boll/McKenzie/Clark

Next year we are going to have a glut of forwards on the big club so Howson does have some work to do. They key is making trades that net some amount of talent under contract for more than 1 year. That or getting additional draft picks.

The Blue Jackets biggest problem has never changed - they do not have a top flight #1 defenseman. No one on the current roster is that guy, not even close. People have been touting Klelsa, but I feel that is sentimental more than anything. The guy positions himself well, but has lead feet and does very little offensively. That and hes awful at the first pass out of the zone. Clitsome is a keeper, so are Hejda, Methot and Tyutin. Stralman and Russell are maddeningly inconsistent but have played great down the stretch. I still think John Moore will be a top 4 guy, but other than that, we have no outstanding D prospects down on the farm.

[skatingtripods]

Clark, Moreau, and Murray are all unrestricted free agents. They'll all be gone after the season. They could potentially keep one or two of them, but I doubt it.

Want to know something sad? They're still paying Duvie Westcott $616,667 through the end of next season from his buyout.

Anyway, I'd pencil Sestito and Blunden in for Murray and one of Clark/Moreau. They'll probably get a similar player in free agency this offseason.

Huselius will be gone after next season too.

[RickNashEquilibrium]

Again, I like him, but Martin St. Louis he is not.

Just saw your previous post and I agree, those guys will be gone. No reason to resign them if we're focusing on upgrading talent. I leave Huselius in because SH has been so hesitant to make a move. Sestito should be a lock and I totally forgot about him. Murray is a great energy guy, but if there are better talents to be had, so be it and don't resign him As for my take on Calvert and why, see below......

It takes some time to get to that level, but the kid has chops. Honestly, with some time under his belt, I believe hes going to be our 2nd or 3rd best producer next to Nash and have felt so since we drafted him. Like Peeker says about baseball, just watch the games. He is going to put on some mass, but its not like he is physically overmatched out there. Matt has looked great on the forecheck/backcheck, is creating turnovers, and doesn't shy away from contact. The dude put up 230 (99/132 G/A) in 198 games in the WHL and was a beast in the playoffs. I guess my hopes are high, but based on his body of work there is no reason to think he isn't going to contribute for the foreseeable future. St. Louis is setting the bar high, but having a Mike Richards, Mike Cammalleri, Sam Gagner, Ray Whitney, or Danny Briere caliber player is very much in the realm of possibility.

[Cerebral_DownTime]

They destroyed the Sex Predators last night. Owned them all over the ice. They're still such a streaky team. But the 3-8 seeds are WIDE OPEN.

[RickNashEquilibrium]

They destroyed the Sex Predators last night. Owned them all over the ice. They're still such a streaky team. But the 3-8 seeds are WIDE OPEN.

So fu#king true. 9 pts separating the 3rd-12th spots, 4 pts separating 5th-12th. It doesn't get much closer than that this time of year. Last nights game was one of the funnest regular season CBJ games I've seen. Great defensive game with great goaltending in the 1st and 2nd periods, then the Jackets simply enforced their will on the forecheck in the 3rd. That and I recall them making only 1 or 2 bonehead passes in their own zone (courtesy of Umby and Jake who get reprieves because they're not usually the culprits). 4-0 blanking of our biggest rival + Bell's Batch 10,000 Strong Ale = good night.

[skatingtripods]

St. Louis is setting the bar high, but having a Mike Richards, Mike Cammalleri, Sam Gagner, Ray Whitney, or Danny Briere caliber player is very much in the realm of possibility.

He will not be a Mike Richards. I promise you that.

He doesn't have Cammalleri's shot, but I think he's quicker. Gagner might be an ok comp. Whitney and Briere have been too consistent for too long for me to even think about putting Calvert in with them.

I'd go more along the lines of a Tyler Ennis from Buffalo. But they're about the same age. He doesn't have the passing skills (or the vagina) of Derek Roy, but they might be on a similar plane in terms of skating ability.