Have you ever been to a restaurant where the menu is greek or spanish or some other language you don't understand? You then proceed to start pointing at things because you don't want others to think you don't know what your doing.
So went last night with the Blue Jackets as they played their first playoff game in franchise history. The first thing they pointed to on the menu came out and it didn't taste too bad. The Jackets came out and played the way they wanted and forced 4 penalties on the Red Wings. The unfortunate part is that they were unable to capitalize on the power plays (which is no shock) but also the scoring opportunities that they had throughout the 1st period. At the end of the period, the Jackets felt good about their play but as I stood at the Frog Bear and Wild Boar at the NHLTweetup viewing party, you could feel the uneasiness of the fans as they knew that you have to jump on Chris Osgood early to have success. The Jackets pelted Ozzie with 13 shots and were unable to light the lamp.
All right, the Blue Jackets did OK with their first selection, on to the main course. As the Blue Jackets dug into the next course, it tasted alright but it was causing some heart burn. The Red Wings were pulling the CBJ into their way of play and you knew it was a matter of time until the Jackets bit into something foul. Hudler and Filppula finished a 2-on-1 rush when Kris Russell got trapped in no man's land and allowed the pass from Filppula get through to Hudler that made no doubt and put the Wings up 1-0.
The heart burn settled down quickly though as only 52 seconds later, R.J. Umberger took a nifty pass from behind the net from Jakub Voracek and buried a slick back hand shot around Osgood.
The heart burn came back though with a vengence as the Wings popped another goal in after Manny Malhotra tried to play goalie unsuccessfully and deflected the puck past Steve Mason. They gave credit to Ericsson for the goal but Head Coach Ken Hitchcock would have given at least an assist to Malhotra. Mason had a clear view of the shot and would have made an easy save if not for Malhotra trying to do too much that ended up back firing on the Jackets.
Then the Blue Jackets were reaching for the Pepto when only 48 seconds later and only 8 seconds into a power play when Kronwall whistled a puck that skipped off of Jan Hejda's backside and the score was 3-1 after 2 periods. After putting 13 on net in the 1st, the Jackets only mustard 6 shots on Osgood in the 2nd.
The dessert comes out and your stomach is rolling to the point you think your going to yak. The Blue Jackets had no stomach to fight their way back into the game and it showed. 2 shots on goal and Mason let in a goal by Franzen when he didn't hug the post and the game was over 4-1. The Blue Jackets only could get off 2 shots on goal in the 3rd period which just demonstrated how whipped they were coming out for the final course.
I have already read some things by writers and fans alike that state that Osgood flexed his muscle last night. I believe that the Red Wings defense showed a lot in shutting down the attack of the Blue Jackets. Ozzie only saw 8 shots in the final 2 periods and let one of those in. Jackets need to play like they did in the 1st period and that was like their hair was on fire!
A lot of Jacket fans are ready to jump off the ledge already and Red Wing fans are already making plans for the 2nd round but hold on folks! A series doesn't begin until a home team loses. The goal for the Blue Jackets was to get a split and that is still possible. If the CBJ can take some of what they learned last night and put it into action Saturday night, this series could turn on a dime.
NHLTweetup a HUGE Success!
The Blue Jackets might have came up on the short end of the stick last night against the Red Wings but the fans came out in force! Over 200 fans packed into the Frog Bear and Wild Boar in the Arena District to cheer on the Union Blue.
I want to thank Mike D from the NHL, Goalie Girl and Angela that really did a lot to make this thing go. I also want to thank the Blue Jackets organization as they were very helpful and brought a lot to the event with more give aways including a pair of playoff tickets for Tuesday night, team signed stick, signed pucks, t-shirts, rally towels and much more! Then to have the stuff given away by the Pepsi Girls and Stinger just added that much more to the event.
The event also drew a lot of media coverage that included ABC, FOX and CBS to the event where I was interviewed for all of them (I want to apologize for all the traumatized kids that saw my face).
A huge thank you to the Frog Bear and Wild Boar that invited us in with open arms and really pulled it off great! Big crowd but never felt cramped in. TV’s everywhere and great food and drink specials made it a great night!
Ohio Hockey Celebration Offers Fans Two Ways to Win Hard-to-Find Playoff Tickets
Fans attending the Ohio Hockey Celebration this Sunday, April 19th from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency in the Arena District will get two separate opportunities to win lower bowl tickets to the Blue Jackets up-coming home playoff games. The first opportunity is a raffle for two pairs of tickets—one to the Jackets first home playoff game in team history next Tuesday and another pair to next Thursday’s game. Tickets for the raffle will be $5 each and proceeds from the raffle will go to the Columbus Blue Jackets Foundation. The event will also feature a hardest slap shot contest free with admission. The fan in attendance who has the hardest slap shot as clocked by radar will win two lower bowl tickets to next Thursday’s game at Nationwide Arena.
The radar cage is one of five interactive games at the Ohio Hockey Celebration brought in directly from Top Shot Interactive in Toronto, Canada. Other games include: Top Shot Hockey, an electronic full-sized hockey net which provides shooters an opportunity to play a variety of games testing their shooting accuracy; Road Hockey Warrior, a goaltending simulation where the contestant gets foam pucks shot at them and must prevent them from getting in the goal; Shut Out Virtual Goalie, a game in which the player faces off against virtual shooters on a TV monitor; and a mini rink complete boards, nets, foam pucks and plastic sticks for children to play hockey.
The event will also feature an exhibit from the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Canada, a game worn jersey expo, a hockey memorabilia auction and an autograph session with former Blue Jackets Geoff Sanderson, Kevyn Adams and Brett Harkins and former Cleveland Baron Dennis Maruk. The FS Ohio Blue Line will be on hand selling team merchandise and game worn Blue Jackets jerseys.
Tickets for the event are available online at Ohio Hockey Celebration’s website (www.ohiohockeycelebration.com) and are $15 for adults and $10 for children. A portion of net proceeds from the event will go to the Columbus Blue Jackets Foundation.
For additional information on the Ohio Hockey Celebration, contact Victor Roehm or visit
www.OhioHockeyCelebration.com
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Eric Smith
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