One Down, Twenty-Two to go…

Samuel Pahlsson congratulates Steve Mason on the win over Nashville, 3-2 (Dave Gainer/THW)

By Rick Gethin

     “We wake up tomorrow morning and we’re 7 points out of a playoff spot” ~ Columbus coach Ken Hitchcock

     With the Western Conference playing as tough as it is, the bar for the 8th playoff seed is arguably sitting at 94 points. The Columbus Blue Jackets will have to go on a run of 23-5-0 to reach that level. With the win over the Nashville Predators Tuesday evening at Nationwide Arena, they have started up that long road to try and secure their second playoff appearance in as many years. While they’re not a well-oiled machine yet, they are showing signs of playing a more cohesive game.

     Ken Hitchcock has recently said that they feel like they’ve been on one, long road trip this season. The win started the homestand that sees the Blue Jackets play their next 6 of 8 games at home. With 27 games remaining and most of the other teams just starting extended road-trips, Columbus see themselves positioned well to go on an extended winning streak. Breaking the remaining schedule into 10 game blocks, Hitchcock said “we have to find a way to go 8-2″ in the first block of 10.

     Even though he let in 2 goals in the 3rd period, Columbus netminder Steve Mason had one of his better games in quite some time. He made some stellar saves and was out challenging Nashville shooters that, at times, reminded one of his play of a season ago. Hitchcock on Mason, “our goalie was the best player on the ice tonight”. He attributes this to working more closely with goaltending coach Dave Rook. “It’s alot of hard work that’s gone into it the last little while”, he said. “Obviously, he’s (Rook) been a big part of it. I’ve really put alot of extra time in with him.”

Derick Brassard scored his 7th goal of the season versus the Nashville Predators (Dave Gainer/THW)

      What stood out in this game was, although mistakes were made, Columbus recovered quickly and did their best to keep the puck in the Predators zone. Their passing was crisper but not always pretty. They still seem somewhat tentative of taking the shot when they’re in the offensive zone, more often than not preferring to pass the puck. As the saying goes, good things happen when you put it on the net.

     One player that is still up and down is Kristian Huselius. He likes to skate an east/west game and turns over the puck with regularity. Then the flashes of brilliant play happen, and he ends up scoring his 16th goal of the season. It’s an emotional rollercoaster watching him play.

     The addition, via trade, of Chris Clark to the 3rd line of the Blue Jackets has started to pay dividends in that their collective level of play is getting better. “We’re playing well defensively against their (opponents) top lines”, Clark said. Having played with young teams that are striving to make the playoffs is nothing new to Clark. He addressed the mood in the locker room and of the young players that surround him. “It’s tough,” he said, “because we’re so close. I think we’re maybe 7 points out right now (it’s actually 8 points). We can control it to a point; we have to keep winning as many games as we can. That’s something we can do in here.” Being a former captain of the Washington Capitals, his voice carries some weight in the room. He sees no reason that they can’t go on a run and make the playoffs, especially if they keep playing better hockey.

     With 16 of the remaining 27 games being played at home, they feel that they can go on a run and make consecutive playoff appearances. To do that, they have to play to a consistant level that they haven’t done yet this season. The passion and the fire is there in their eyes and in their voices. If they can translate that onto the ice, they just might surprise a few people.

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