If you had to pick one part of this team that completely fell apart this year, it was the defense. The Avalanche defense looked so lost most of the year that it was never a question of if there would be a ridiculous defensive lapse, just when. The goaltending suffered as a result of this as ...
Statistics can be taken out of context, or used to prove points that are not relevant to the statistics themselves. Some statistics can be close to irrelevant, plus/minus and shots on goal eventually may be phased out by better statistics like Corsi ratings and scoring chances. Some statistics however can help pinpoint a team’s issues ...
When the Columbus Blue Jackets hired Scott Howson away from the Edmonton Oilers the team was coming off the sixth straight season in which they missed the playoffs.
There were no major signings on the first day of free agency, by that I mean Brad Richards is still available. Paul Holmgren continued to do quite a number on the Flyers and Dale Tallon threw his money around trying to build a playoff team. While there were no particularly great or terrible signings, some ...
Jim Neveau, NHL Correspondent The main theme for this year’s free agent class was a simple one: slim pickings. Most of the potential big name free agents had either locked up to long-term deals before July 1st even came (Christian Ehrhoff, Kevin Bieksa, Ilya Bryzgalov, and Devin Setoguchi are examples), but there were still some ...
As the Columbus Blue Jackets enter the last 40% of the season, they teeter on the edge of viability in the playoff race. It has been a season that has veered from early success to December despair, and all spots in between. A 14-6 start was undone by a 6-14-3 swoon in late November and ...
young winger is viewed as one of the lynchpins of the future for this franchise, yet has been a startling underperformer this season, notching only 6 goals and 14 assists — a paltry total for a talented winger who has spent the entire season as a top six forward. The knock on Voracek has been ...
Columbus, OH The Columbus Blue Jackets dropped another game in front of a less-than-stellar crowd of 9,892. The Nashville Predators prevailed in the shootout, winning by the final score of 4-3. This was the first shootout loss this season for Columbus. Columbus head coach Scott Arniel summed up this loss in one sentence: “That one shouldn’t ...
Columbus, OH At the quarter mark of the season, the Columbus Blue Jackets find themselves only two points out of first place in the tight and tough Western Conference. But even more so, opposing teams are still underestimating a surging Blue Jackets club. “I like being the underdog,” said Columbus captain Rick Nash, ...
By Rick Gethin The Blue Jackets were back on the ice working the power play and board battles. After getting out-hustled by the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday to the tune of 5-1, the boys know that they need to get their confidence back. “You can’t pass up a good scoring chance”, said center ...
