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Ready or not…
By Bethany | November 9, 2007
Tonight is a big game for the Blue Jackets. Probably the biggest of this young season. The Detroit Red Wings are on a tear, leading the Western Conference with an impressive 12-2-1 record and 25 points. The Red Wings have always been the pick of the Central Division. Last year, the Nashville Predators gave them a run for their money. So far this season, it’s been the Blue Jackets who have gone a franchise record of 8-4-2 and have 18 points.
Tonight, the Blue Jackets will more than likely try out some new lines after an embarassing 5-2 loss in Chicago on Wednesday. Pascal Leclaire will be in between the pipes tonight. And, this season whenever he’s been in, aside from the game in Colorado we have played extremely well. I don’t expect this game to be an easy win. But, it needs to be a win, whether it’s in overtime or a shootout…our team needs this. Detroit will expose our every weakness. Scott Howson will be watching the game closely tonight according to the article in the Dispatch:
“Detroit is the best team in the NHL, probably right there with Ottawa,” Howson said. “You could call it a barometer game for us, absolutely. I thought the Anaheim games (earlier this season) were those kind of games, too, and we fared pretty well. But you always want to measure yourself against the best.”
The Dispatch also reports that Jiri Novotny will be centering the top line between Rick Nash, and Nikolai Zherdev. Feds will be on the second line between Brule and Vybs. Peca will be between Chimera and Boll which to me will be the line to watch. That line has sooo much energy I just hope they have some chemistry together. Glencross will be in tonight and on the 4th line with Manny Malhotra and Dan Fritsche. It should be a really interesting test for us and I can’t wait to watch.
Also, Duvie Westcott was sent down to the Syracuse Crunch on a conditioning assignment. Westcott suffered a concussion on October 23. Also, I don’t know if any of you read Puck-rakers but Tom Reed put out an interesting blog post late last night about Scott Howson and it’s a must read if you’re a Jackets fan. Another thing, David Amber at ESPN made a Top 10 Moves for the NHL this summer and at number 10…Mr. Michael Peca to my beloved Blue Jackets!! (Thanks to Kukla for posting it up!)
10. Peca signs with Columbus
The move has paid instant dividends for first-year GM Scott Howson. Peca, who is one of the game’s premiere defensive forwards and faceoff specialists, has the Blue Jackets leading the league in penalty killing.
No question that Peca was the biggest signing of this off season. Do I credit him for all of our success? No, but he really really is a perfect fit for us and is thriving under Ken Hitchcock. Also, Nikolai Zherdev is consistent and is quickly becoming one of my favorite players to watch. He is so creative and can do just about anything. Anyway, tonight…go Jackets!!
Topics: Detroit Red Wings, Columbus Blue Jackets |
November 9th, 2007 at 6:37 pm
[…] Original post here […]
November 9th, 2007 at 7:16 pm
[…] (2:15 PM): Bethany of Bethany’s Hockey Rants has her pre-game post up. She says it’s a must-win game for the Blue Jackets and you can bet there’s a […]
November 9th, 2007 at 7:46 pm
[…] Admin wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt“Detroit is the best team in the NHL, probably right there with Ottawa,” Howson said. “You could call it a barometer game for us, absolutely. I thought the Anaheim games (earlier this season) were those kind of games, too, … […]
November 9th, 2007 at 11:54 pm
[…] Joe had some great ideas on this topic.You can read a snippet of the post here.Tonight is a big game for the Blue Jackets. Probably the biggest of this young season. The Detroit Red Wings are on a tear, leading the Western Conference with an impressive 12-2-1 record and 25 points. The Red Wings have always been … […]
November 11th, 2007 at 6:59 pm
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