We Control Our Own Destiny

Rick Gethin

The Hockey Writers

     Prophetic words from Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock. Every player on this team knows this and yet, with a 3-1 lead, they took their foot off of the gas. Nashville scored 3 unanswered goals before the ship seemed to be righted. On a beautiful pass from Antoine Vermette, Jason Williams buried the game tying goal in the back of the net. They would go on to lose in the shootout, but not before gaining one valuable point in the march to their first playoff appearance. That one point keeps them in 6th place in the ever tight Western Conference.

     Part of controlling their own destiny is the chemistry found on Columbus’ 2nd line in R.J. Umberger, Antoine Vermette and Jason Williams. All three players are the direct result of GM Scott Howson trades. He’s looking more and more like a genius in Columbus every day. Umberger (26-19-45 in 78 games) seems to thrive under Ken Hitchcock’s system of play. “I’m comfortable under Ken Hitchcock’s system. You know my rookie year I had a good year scoring goals with him. It’s a system that I’m comfortable playing in. He has a lot of confidence in me and that helps. I’ve gotten the opportunity to play a lot of PP, a lot of 1^st/2^nd line minutes. So that helps a lot too.”, R.J. said. His 26 goals is a career high for him, with four games still to play in the regular season. He also has the distiction of being one of only three Blue Jackets players to play in every game this season, along with Jan Hejda and Fedor Tyutin.  R.J. spoke recently about the seemingly instant chemistry between him and his linemates: “The first time we played together as a line was in Detroit when we had that big blow-out win. Our line chipped in 3 or four goals. It just felt right, right from the beginning. Vermette’s a very easy player to play with. He has so much speed. He’s skilled and he ‘thinks’ the game really well. He sees the open ice and moves the puck. Having a natural rightie on the other side of Williams makes things a lot easier too. It’s easier to make plays on the rush. He can go to the net hard and his stick’s there. It’s just something that kind of gels all over the place.”, he said.

     Jason Williams was brought into the organization through a trade with the Atlanta Thrashers in January. Williams (11-17-28 in 35 games) has balanced the right side of the 2nd line nicely. He’s added the secondary scoring that this team needed as well as fitting in nicely on the power play. Williams seems to always have a smile on his face and addressed the difference between playing in Columbus versus Atlanta: “That’s the biggest thing, just having fun again. Sometimes, that’s just all it is; getting into a new atmosphere, having fun and enjoying your time when you’re here.”, he said. Ken Hitchcock said this of Williams: “He’s a versatile guy we use everywhere. He’s very comfortable in the middle and very comfortable on the wall; smart player.”

     Centering this line is recently acquired Antoine Vermette. A trade deadline deal with the Ottawa Senators, Vermette has added a skilled scorer to the mix. Vermette (6-5-11 in 13 games) has been on an almost point-a-game tear since donning the Union Blue. He regularly spends 20+ minutes on the ice every game. His speed and vision are just what the doctor ordered for this team. His instant chemistry with R.J. Umberger and Jason Williams have helped to make this a very capable scoring line. Probably the most important fact for the team and fans is that he comes with one more year under contract. He is not the “rental” type player that Columbus fans were used to geting in trades. And with the way this team is gelling, I would anticipate at contract time, he will re-sign with the Blue Jackets.

     Finally, from JAL at A Shot From The Point comes this breakdown of the last eight days of the regular season.

• CBJ hold 6th place with 89 points. We have 40 wins, a 1 point lead over 7th place Anaheim and 3 point leads over 8th and 9th place Nashville and St. Louis.
• We have a game in hand over Anaheim, St. Louis and Nashville
• A win tonight formally eliminates Edmonton from the ranks of those who could pass us, and forces Minnesota, St. Louis and Nashville to win out, while we lose the remainder, to pass us.
• Any regulation loss by Nashville in the remaining three games means we need only have 1 OTL to shut Nashville out from passing us.
• We can shut St. Louis out from passing us by beating them in Game 81, regardless of what happens in other games.

     As you can see, the Blue Jackets really do control their own destiny. The fans in Columbus just wish that they would make that destiny a reality in short order.

     Carry The Flag.

 

 

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