Paul Berthelot: Post Battle #77: All of the goals Blue Jackets win 7-3 over the Edmonton Oilers

Great comeback !! I had it written off, down 3-0. Thought they lost their scoring mojo after the St Louis loss.

Need to continue for the next 5 games.

I turned it off, I admit it. I could not stand to see our playoff chances go down the drain. But the team was playing good before the mistakes, basically dominating the game IMO. Then just they have all season the real Oilers showed up, and were run over like fresh pavement on the Trans-Canada highway. I saw most of the goals in real time, and it was fun to see.

At least for tonight we can sit back and watch, because tonight and tomorrow are the two biggest days of the season. and things are crazy, did anyone even dream or think that DET would beat PIT?

Standings:

PIT: 92 (ROW over everyone)
CBJ: 91 (with ROW tiebreak over PHI)
PHI: 90 (ROW tiebreak over NJD and FLA)
NJD: 88 +1 game in hand on everyone they chase in the Metro
FLA: 85 +1 games in hand with NJD, +2 games in hand with everyone else.

Wednesday: FLA@TOR, PHI@COL
Thursday: PIT@NJD, CBJ@CAL, FLA@OTT

CBJ:

@CAL, @VAN, DET, PIT, @NHS (predict/hope 8 points if they win out out West, beat DET and PIT at home. If they win their next 3 PIT game for possibly 2nd in the Metro or being in the lottery. My guess is still they win their next three and split the final two, a win out would be fantastic).

PHI:

@COL, BOS, @NYI, CAR, NYR (predict 6 points, if they can beat COL it can be 8. Loser point at DAL hurt bad, lose @ COL they are in trouble. NJD/FLA is close on points and ROW now. They are playing for 3rd in Metro at best now. At least they play dead fish NYI and CAR before final game with NYR who are showing some fight).

PIT:

@NJD, MTL, WSH, @CBJ, OTT (Predict 6 points, they have to beat NJD or CBJ to stay 2nd in the Metro. What would happen if NJD, CBJ and WAS all beat them? 96 points might only be good enough for a wild card, maybe.).

NJ:

PIT, NYI, @MTL, NYR, TOR, @WSH (predict 8 points. Possible division death match with PIT tomorrow, if they win and PHI loses tonight they are 3rd in the Metro and could go higher. Finishing season with TOR and WAS who will likely be in cruise control is huge advantage. Could get 10 or 12, then wow!)

FLA:

@OTT, @BOS, CAR, NSH, BOS, BUF, @BOS (Predict 10 points, and right now they are getting hammered in TOR. @OTT is back to back, and @ BOS Saturday. Next week is the crusher for them, and they can't afford any missteps.
I think they will lose a game they should win, based on schedule, but it could be more with all the easy games and even loser points available. @BOS, CAR and NSH is 3 games in 4 days with CAR and NSH the back to back, Then they finish with BUF and @BOS in a back to back. Needless to say there are plenty of minefields in that finishing schedule. If they get in they will earn it the hard way.)

Max OUT points (if they win every remaining game, but not every team can do it)

PIT: 102
CBJ: 101
PHI: 100
NJD: 100
FLA: 99

Current guess finish:

CBJ: 99 (2nd in division, all depends on the next four games)
PIT: 98 (3rd in division, does it matter if they are 2nd, 3rd, or 1st WC?)
NJD: 96 (1st wild card, based on ROW, totally deserved)
PHI: 96 (2nd Wild card maybe. Lose in COL and they are in trouble. Too many loser points)
FLA: 95 (Out, but anything is possible at this point)

Keep winning CBJ,

Nice character win , also a testimony to Jarmo's acquisitions to solidify this team for a post season run, but again the ball (or puck for that matter) is in the players court at this point.

Tonight is huge for the CBJ. They need to get 2 points. The Pens, Devils, and Panthers all in action.

I'm torn in the Pens vs Devils game - who to root for. Either way I don't want a 3-point game. Assuming a CBJ win, Pens loss would put CBJ in 2nd Metro, 1 pt ahead of Pens & Flyers, but still only 3 up on Devils. Devils loss puts CBJ in 3rd Metro, 1pt behind Pens but 5 up on Devils.

Panthers haven't lost 2 in a row since early Feb., but hoping it happens tonight @ Ottawa.

Bottom line - CBJ must win to maintain some breathing room.

The playoffs have started !

Nice character win , also a testimony to Jarmo's acquisitions to solidify this team for a post season run, but again the ball (or puck for that matter) is in the players court at this point.
- Alexzanki

Great post

Tonight is huge for the CBJ. They need to get 2 points. The Pens, Devils, and Panthers all in action.

I'm torn in the Pens vs Devils game - who to root for. Either way I don't want a 3-point game. Assuming a CBJ win, Pens loss would put CBJ in 2nd Metro, 1 pt ahead of Pens & Flyers, but still only 3 up on Devils. Devils loss puts CBJ in 3rd Metro, 1pt behind Pens but 5 up on Devils.

Panthers haven't lost 2 in a row since early Feb., but hoping it happens tonight @ Ottawa.

Bottom line - CBJ must win to maintain some breathing room.

The playoffs have started !
- birdie03

Well....it just happened

Well....it just happened

- Alexzanki

Yeah . . . good game. Now on to the next one in Vancouver. In the big picture, the fat lady hasn't sung yet ! There are still needed points out there.

I'm somewhat surprised at the $$ in the Nutivaara signing. He was coming off an ELC @ $816K; I think an AAV @ $2MM, with 1st year @ $1.75MM, and increasing thereafter would be reasonable. Or a shorter term than 4 yrs. Let's see Marko show some consistency. I like what he shows on D and O - but it's been a pretty small sample.
Jarmo has a tendency to react to one good year with a higher than normal value contract at long term.

I'm somewhat surprised at the $$ in the Nutivaara signing. He was coming off an ELC @ $816K; I think an AAV @ $2MM, with 1st year @ $1.75MM, and increasing thereafter would be reasonable. Or a shorter term than 4 yrs. Let's see Marko show some consistency. I like what he shows on D and O - but it's been a pretty small sample.
Jarmo has a tendency to react to one good year with a higher than normal value contract at long term.

Keep in mind we bought out 2 years of him being a UFA. That is why the AAV is that high. I think it was a good deal. Hopefully this will keep Murray's next contract under $4 mil per year.

Yeah . . . good game. Now on to the next one in Vancouver. In the big picture, the fat lady hasn't sung yet ! There are still needed points out there.

I'm somewhat surprised at the $$ in the Nutivaara signing. He was coming off an ELC @ $816K; I think an AAV @ $2MM, with 1st year @ $1.75MM, and increasing thereafter would be reasonable. Or a shorter term than 4 yrs. Let's see Marko show some consistency. I like what he shows on D and O - but it's been a pretty small sample.
Jarmo has a tendency to react to one good year with a higher than normal value contract at long term.
- birdie03

Yeah , see Foligno, Dubinsky, and thank god Atkinson has pickup his game, for a moment there I thought this would be 5 years of Cam sitting on his laurels.

Nuutivaara is simply a clear indication that JJ won't be back. I think he can assume a top 4 role as a shutdown with Savard, and pitch in offensively from time to time . He's ahead of Murray in terms of development and does a better job then JJ at shutdown opponents. The sample size is a risk but every team does this for young players displaying talent , in fact he's been a regular for about 3 years now so clearly he belongs in the league.

If it makes you feel better Pierre McGuire (for what it's worth) holds him in high regards as being one of the 3 pillars (Zach and Seth being the two other) that pushes the offence in transition.