OFFICIAL Columbus Blue Jackets Thread

[scarletandgrey]

Wow what a game. Leclaire looked good out there tonight.

[jimotis4heisman]

http://dispatch.com/bluejackets/blue...01.html&chck=t

JACKETS 3 | WILD 2, SHOOTOUT
Leclaire’s first win comes in shootout
Balastik scores winner on Jackets’ third attempt
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Aaron Portzline
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
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ST. PAUL, Minn. — It was hard for the Blue Jackets to decide which milestone to celebrate last night.
Goaltender Pascal Leclaire earned his first NHL victory, center Sergei Fedorov played in his 1,000 th NHL game and the Blue Jackets beat the Minnesota Wild 3-2 in a shootout last night in the Xcel Energy Center.
It’s only the second time all season the Blue Jackets have won backto-back games, and the first time they’ve done so on the road.
"More than anything else," Fedorov said, "we needed a win. . . . That’s the most important thing."
Jaroslav Balastik, the third Jackets shooter, scored the only goal in the shootout, a simple but effective little wrist shot that passed over the right shoulder of Minnesota goaltender Manny Fernandez.
"We won a second straight game," Balastik said. "That’s very good for us."
The only sobering thought on this night concerned rookie forward Gilbert Brule, who suffered a left leg injury midway through the third period and did not return. More will be known today, but the club might have to call up yet another player from Syracuse.
Leclaire, appearing in his seventh NHL game, was at his flexible, flashy best. In the shootout, he became impenetrable, stopping Marian Gaborik, Mikko Koivu and Randy Robitaille.
He had been 0-6 for the Blue Jackets.
"They say the first win is always the most difficult," Leclaire said. "This being my (seventh) game, obviously I was thinking about it a little bit, when it was going to happen.
"This was a fun night. It’s real exciting. Now it’s off my head a little bit."
Leclaire made 32 saves, including stopping 14 of 15 shots in the third period.
"I felt he was the best player out there, for sure," Wild coach Jacques Lemaire said. "He kept them in the game.
"We put a lot of pressure on him in the second and third periods."
Leclaire stopped several primo looks for the Wild, including two in the final 20 seconds of the second period. With 1.9 seconds left, Gaborik snuck in on the near post and bounced the puck off the far post.
Other than that, Gaborik’s many scoring chances were swallowed whole by Leclaire.
"(Leclaire) played well," Gaborik said. "Maybe we should have put more shots high on him. He was down on most of them."
Trevor Letowski and Duvie Westcott scored for the Blue Jackets, both in the first period. With Westcott’s goal at 18:53, the Jackets led 2-0 for only the second time all season.
The Wild slowly crept back into it. Koivu scored early in the second and Robitaille tied the score with 6:33 left in regulation. Robitaille was parked in the slot when he redirected a shot by Filip Kuba, skipping the puck down and past Leclaire’s right pad extended.
"I think that’s the only way they were going to beat (Leclaire), honestly," Blue Jackets coach Gerard Gallant said.
The Blue Jackets could have — should have? — won it in overtime, but they failed to score despite having a 4-on-3 advantage for four of the five minutes.
On to the shootout, when Gallant showed some guts in his shooter selection.
Letowski went first because he scored to give the Jackets a shootout win over the Wild on Oct. 28 in Nationwide Arena.
Fedorov was next in line. No questions there, he’s Sergei Fedorov.
Balastik was a curious choice, especially with skillful forwards David Vyborny and Nikolai Zherdev on the bench.
"The third choice was Balastik because he shoots the puck very hard," Gallant said. "I think he was 3 for 4 in the preseason.
"He’s a sniper. He shoots the puck. I just had a good feeling with him."

aportzline@dispatch.com

and on manny malhotras injury

http://dispatch.com/bluejackets/blue...201-D8-03.html

BLUE JACKETS | NOTEBOOK
Back spasms keep Malhotra on bench
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Aaron Portzline
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
<!--PHOTOS--><TABLE class=phototableright align=right border=0><!-- begin large ad code --><TBODY><TR><TD><TABLE align=center><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=credit width=200>CHRIS POLYDOROFF | KNIGHT RIDDER </TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline width=200>Sergei Fedorov of the Blue Jackets applies a hit to Stephane Veilleux of the Wild. Fedorov played in his 1,000 th NHL game last night. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Manny Malhotra, one of the few offensive bright spots for the Blue Jackets, was a late scratch from last night’s game against the Minnesota Wild in the Xcel Energy Center.
Malhotra experienced back spasms toward the end of yesterday’s morning skate. He’s questionable for tonight’s game in St. Louis.
Jaroslav Balastik, who likely would have been a healthy scratch last night, took Malhotra’s spot in the lineup.
Malhotra had been centering the Blue Jackets’ No. 2 line, with rookie Gilbert Brule on his left and David Vyborny to his right.
In recent games, that line has been the Blue Jackets’ most dangerous in terms of creating scoring chances.
Malhotra, with 15 points (two goals, 13 assists) is third on the team in scoring. His 13 assists have already matched a career high set during the 2003-04 season, and his minus-1 rating is tops among Blue Jackets who have played more than eight games.
Malhotra’s 54 percent faceoff winning percentage is 13 th in the NHL among players with 300 or more faceoffs.
Welcomed move

Defenseman Ron Hainsey joined the Blue Jackets yesterday morning, a day after he was claimed off waivers from the Montreal Canadiens.
"I’m absolutely excited," Hainsey said. "I want to play in the NHL, and I look at this like it’s a fresh start for me."
Hainsey, 24, was the 13 th overall choice in the 2000 draft but had played only 32 games with the Canadiens.
He’s the second defenseman the Canadiens have lost on waivers to the Blue Jackets in 14 months. In September 2004, the Blue Jackets took defenseman Francois Beauchemin, who recently was traded to Anaheim in the Sergei Fedorov trade. Last night, the Blue Jackets paired Hainsey with Luke Richardson on the No. 3 group.
Slap shots

Fedorov played his 1,000 th NHL game last night, becoming the first Russian to do so. Fedorov will be honored before the Dec. 8 game against the New York Islanders. Among the gifts from the organization will be an engraved watch. . . . Hainsey will wear No. 6, previously worn by Jamie Heward (2000-02) and Jamie Pushor (2003-04). . . . Defensemen Cale Hulse and Aaron Johnson were healthy scratches.

aportzline@dispatch.com

no word yet on this years first round draft pick gilbert brules injury. he left the game after being slashed in the leg. last i heard his skates were off in the third period and he was headed for x rays.

[jimotis4heisman]

<TABLE cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=2 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=headline align=middle width="100%" bgColor=#ded8b6 colSpan=2>Columbus at St Louis</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center align=middle width="50%"></TD><TD vAlign=center align=middle width="50%"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- End Header Table --><!-- Begin Head-to-Head Stats Table --><!-- End Head-to-Head Stats Table --><!-- <span jwcid="visitingTeamName" />-<span jwcid="homeTeamName" /> Preview
--><!-- Begin Article Body --><!--This is a GAME PREVIEW-->Blue Jackets-Blues Preview
<!-- Begin Article Body -->GAME: Columbus Blue Jackets (7-18-0) at St. Louis Blues (4-15-3).
TIME: Thursday, 8 p.m. EST.
The hapless St. Louis Blues look to snap a franchise-record seven-game home losing streak when they host the Columbus Blue Jackets in a matchup of the worst teams in the NHL.St. Louis has just four wins in 22 games and an NHL-worst 11 points. The Blues have already set a team record for consecutive losses with an 11-game skid from Oct. 20-Nov. 12.
Their run of 25 consecutive playoff appearances, the longest in U.S. professional sports, appears to be in serious jeopardy only a quarter of the way through the season.
"I think everyone agreed we should have done far better than this," defenseman Christian Backman said. "Everyone feels we're capable, but we've got to find a way to do it. We're going through a tough stretch and I hope everyone can step up and get out of this together."
St. Louis had dominated at home with a 217-118 record over the decade, but fell to 2-9-1 at the Savvis Center this season with a 4-3 loss to Columbus on Saturday.
Barret Jackman scored his first two goals of the season for the Blues, who have lost three straight while surrendering 15 goals. St. Louis has been outscored 8-0 in the third period in those losses.
"I don't know what it is," St. Louis coach Mike Kitchen said. "We sure have to improve in that area because we've blown a lot of leads."
Aaron Johnson scored his first goal of the season Saturday to lift the Blue Jackets, who halted a seven-game skid and moved past St. Louis into fourth place in the Central Division.
"It's big for our team," Columbus coach Gerard Gallant. "We're a lot like St. Louis. We're struggling."
Columbus, which scored just nine goals during its losing streak, followed up its win over St. Louis with a 3-2 shootout victory over the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday. Jaroslav Balastik scored the game-winner for the Blue Jackets, who have won two in a row after losing 11 of their previous 12.
Sergei Fedorov had an assist and became the first Russian-born NHLer to play in 1,000 career games. Acquired two weeks ago in a trade with Anaheim, the six-time All-Star center - who turns 36 on Dec. 13 - is the 205th player to reach that milestone.
"I'm just happy for this locker room, to overcome the obstacles they've dealt with," Fedorov said.
STANDINGS (through Nov. 30): Blue Jackets - 14 points, 4th place, 24 PB, Central Division. Blues - 11 points, 5th place, 27 PB, Central Division.
TEAM LEADERS: Blue Jackets - David Vyborny, 6 goals and 16 points; Manny Malhotra, 13 assists; Jody Shelley, 46 PIM. Blues - Dean McAmmond, 9 goals; Petr Cajanek, 16 assists and 18 points; Jamal Mayers, 41 PIM.
SPECIAL TEAMS (through Nov. 30): Blue Jackets - Power play: 10 percent (14 for 140), 30th in NHL. Penalty killing: 81.8 percent (140 for 171), 19th. Blues - Power play: 14 percent (21 for 150), 26th (tied). Penalty killing: 80.8 percent (114 for 141), 22nd.
GOALTENDERS: Blue Jackets - Martin Prusek (3-3-0, 0, 3.22); Pascal Leclaire (1-4-0, 0 SO, 3.93 GAA). Blues - Patrick Lalime (2-9-3, 0, 4.00); Curtis Sanford (2-4-0, 1, 3.21).
SEASON SERIES: Blue Jackets, 2-1.
LAST MEETING: Nov. 26; Blue Jackets, 4-3. At St. Louis, Malhotra had a goal and two assists and Luke Richardson and Martin Brule also scored for the Blue Jackets.
ROAD/HOME RECORDS: Blue Jackets - 3-10-0 on the road; Blues - 2-9-1 at home.

http://www.nhl.com/scores/previews/383_2_preview.html


the dispatch has prusek penciled in to start...pascal looked amazing last night i would go with him personally.

i was shocked they went with lewty last night for the first shot. no vyborny suprised me to, gallant was apparently saving him and zherdev for sudden death shots.

a few other notes: currently the jackets have 11 roster slots for kids 23 or younger.

[jimotis4heisman]

<TR><TD id=main>Blue Jackets Make Several Roster Moves

Brule and Malhotra Placed on IR; Denis Activated



The Columbus Blue Jackets recalled forwards Joe Motzko and Geoff Platt from the Syracuse Crunch, their American Hockey League affiliate, and activated goaltender Marc Denis off Injured Reserve, club President and General Manager Doug MacLean announced today.The club also placed rookie center Gilbert Brule (pronounced jihl-BAIR broo-LAY) and center Manny Malhotra on Injured Reserve and assigned defenseman Aaron Johnson to Syracuse. Brule suffered a broken leg in last night's 3-2 shootout win at Minnesota and is expected to miss four to six weeks, while Malhotra is suffering from back spasms.

Motzko, 25, has registered 3-9-12 and 12 penalty minutes in 15 games with Syracuse this season and has 48-71-119 and 122 penalty minutes in 164 career AHL games with the Crunch. Last season, he ranked second on the club in goals and points with 28-38-66 and 72 penalty minutes in 79 games. He made his NHL debut with the Blue Jackets on Feb. 2, 2004 at Phoenix and did not register a point in two games with the club that season.

Originally signed by Columbus as a free agent on May 15, 2003, Motzko played four seasons at St. Cloud State University and collected 52-90-142 and 201 penalty minutes in 154 games from 1999-03. He tallied a career-high 17-25-42 and 59 penalty minutes in 38 games as a senior in 2002-03, leading the Huskies to their fourth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

Platt, 20, is playing in his first professional season with Syracuse and has tallied 14-9-23 and eight penalty minutes in 19 games. He leads the club in goals, points, power play goals (8) and shorthanded goals (2-tied). He also ranks third in the AHL in goals (tied) and power play goals, ranks 11th in points and is among the league's rookie leaders in goals (1st-tied) and points (3rd-tied).

A native of Mississauga, Ontario, Platt spent the past four years playing in the Ontario Hockey League where he registered 106-86-192 and 268 penalty minutes in 248 career games. In 2004-05, he notched 45-34-79 and 84 penalty minutes in 68 games with Erie. Platt ranked second in the OHL in goals and power play goals (20) and was 12th in points.

The Blue Jackets return to action tonight at the St. Louis Blues. Game time is set for 8 p.m. ET, with FSN Ohio's Ice Breaker pregame show starting at 7:30 p.m. The game will also be broadcast live on the Blue Jackets Radio Network and flagship stations WBNS-AM Sports Radio 1460 the Fan and WWCD-FM, CD101. Following tonight's game, Columbus is idle until Thursday, December 8 when the club hosts the New York Islanders.
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nash skated for his first time since suffering from his injury.

[CrabMan]

Brule, out 6-8 weeks with a fractured leg, joins Foote (groin), Klesla (fractured hand), Nash (knee), Malhotra (back) and Picard (concussion) on IR. Incredible that 4 or the teams 1st round picks are on the IR at the same time. A tough season keeps getting worse.

[jimotis4heisman]

vyborny left todays game with an undisclosed knee injury and has yet be seen on the bench

[jimotis4heisman]

vyborny is out 4-6 with mcl injury (his streak of 187 i blieve consecutive games played will end next thursday vs the ny islanders)

[CrabMan]

If it weren't for bad luck...