A Scary Step Back . . .

In his post-game press conference, Columbus Coach Scott Arniel noted that, of the six games played thus far, four were “pretty good” and two were “rock bottom ugly.”  This was one of those two — a 6 – 2 defeat at the hands of the Calgary Flames that was so ugly it was scary. 

Flickr/B.G. Lewandowski

Rene Borque contributed a hat trick for the Flames, who were starting a rookie goalie (Henrik Karlsson), and were playing their third game in four days.  Can you say “trap”?   The Jackets were coming off of two wins over Minnesota and Anaheim, and face a “revenge game” tomorrow night in Chicago. 

Coming into this one, the recipe seemed fairly simple — come out hard, exert pressure and put lots of rubber on Karlsson.  All fine thoughts, except the Blue Jackets were unable to do it. Calgary took the initiative, intent on protecting their young net minder, and pressuring Columbus all over the ice.  Columbus reverted to the sins of past season, scrambling in its own zone, failing on the clear, crisp exit passes that had begun to emerge, and failing to maintain the possession that Arniel looks for.  At the halfway mark of the game, Columbus had mustered a total of 8 shots — hardly enough to cause Karlsson to even breathe hard, let alone panic.

The 6 – 2 score might lead people to believe that goaltender Steve Mason was the primary culprit in this one.  People would be wrong.  While not as sharp as his last outing, Mason was hung out to dry by a defensive corps that was inexplicably inept at either defending or clearing the puck.  The first two goals came as power plays expired, and the defense remained unable to clear the zone.  On the first goal, Fedor Tyutin (minus-3 on the night) stood in the crease as Calgary took a rebound, skated across the crease and parked a backhand past Mason.    It was a theme to be repeated for the rest of the evening — a defensive gaffe hanging the goaltender out to dry.  Besides Tyutin, Guenin, Methot and Klesla were just bad.  Hejda had a goal, but also knocked Mason to the ice once and seemed apprehensive in his own end.  Stralman was the best blue liner, but that was an awfully low bar to clear tonight.

In perhaps the most baffling goal of the evening, with under 40 seconds left in the first, Marc Methot came down the left wing and rang a shot off the post.  The rebound arced high and reached the neutral zone, landing just in front of the Calgary bench.  The Flames dutifully executed a change, with Bouwmeester chipping the puck to Jokinen entering the Jackets’ zone.  Inexplicably, Huselius peeled off to the bench for a change, and Methot retreated from Jokinen faster than a cornerback playing prevent.  The result was the same.  Jokinen deftly left a drop pass for Borque, who nailed a one-timer past Mason.  Methot, in the meantime, had succeeded only in screening his goaltender.  As good as Methot was against Anaheim, he was awful tonight.  That was a distinction shared by most of the blue line tonight.

Some of the forwards share equal billing for this defeat.  The first line was stagnant most of the night.  Only when Arniel shook up the lines in the third did some chemistry show and some shots start reaching the goaltender.  Kyle Wilson was simply awful.  Impressive in the pre-season, he had been a healthy scratch for the first five games.  Arniel charitably referred to his play as “rusty”, however two tripping penalties in the first, some blatant missed defensive assignments and a general “deer in the headlights” demeanor did not do much to warrant future ice time.  

The three Dereks(actually 2 Dereks and  1 Derick) were the best players on the ice for Columbus.  Dorsett had the first goal, and made a prophet out of

Columbus Coach Scott Arniel

 Arniel, who had jokingly indicated prior to the game that if Dorsett could get Iginla in a fight, it would be just fine with him.   Well, right after parking a rebound past Karlsson, Dorsett accomplished the feat, removing the Calgary captain for five minutes.  Brassard, though not notching any points, was one of the few bright spots.  He created a lot of opportunities, and was always involved in the play.  Karlsson had to make a tremendous save off of one Brassard shot from the slot, and his play raises hope that he is rounding into form.  MacKenzie continued the solid play that he has displayed over the past week.

There will clearly be some serious conversations between coach and players out of the public eye.  After the game, Arniel noted that he had “learned quite a bit” about the team, and “not all of it is positive.”  He declined to elaborate, noting that the season is only six games old.  However, he made it clear that his foot was likely to metaphorically find a few rear ends, and that some ice time would be decreasing.  Never too early to send a warning shot across the bow.

Everyone knew that there would be ups and downs as players became adjusted, and this was certainly one of those times.  After last Friday’s poor performance, the club bounced right back, and now must do the same before taking on the Blackhawks tomorrow night.  The club is 3 – 3, so no need to push any panic buttons, but some individuals will likely be looking in the rear view mirror.  There are some solid defense prospects in Springfield, and GM Scott Howson may not extend a very long leash to those who don’t show progress.  Physical mistakes will happen — but neither Arniel nor Howson will tolerate a lack of mental preparation. 

Tomorrow is another day in the process, and the club will again look for vindication.   Some individuals had best take full  advantage of the opportunity.