Blue Jackets vs. Senators: A Must-Win for Columbus

The Columbus Blue Jackets have to be feeling pretty down in the dumps after the way the team has performed to start the season.

After Friday night's 5-2 loss to Detroit, the Jackets are now 0-6-1 and only have one point and are currently the worst team in the league. Derrick Brassard and Aaron Johnson scored the only goals Friday night while Steve Mason stopped 28 shots. But the team is still not together, according to coach Scott Arneil.

"These guys are going to have to find a way to find the answers to get a win," the Columbus coach said. "The only answers are going to come from that room. We've got to stick together."

They're going to have to, unfortunately because they are still without center Jeff Carter (broken foot), RW Jared Boll (hand), and D James Wisniewski (suspension). Honestly, these guys are the best core guys the Jackets have and without these players, they're going to have a tougher time getting up the standings and catching the leaders of the Western Conference.

But there might be some hope for the Jackets to redeem themselves a bit and that's Saturday night against the Ottawa Senators. The Senators are 2-5-0 with four points after a Thursday win against the Jets, but they aren't looking too hot right now, either. Ottawa has been outscored 14-2 in the opening 20 minutes of its seven games, so maybe Columbus has a chance to get their offense going, but without their key players, Ottawa can easily turn themselves around and put up a fight against the Jackets. After all, Senators goalie Craig Anderson is 4-0-0 with a 2.00 goals-against average in his last four starts against the Blue Jackets. And that might not be a good sign for the Jackets.

The Jackets need to win now because their schedule down the stretch is pretty brutal. After Ottawa, Home against Detroit, at Buffalo, at Chicago, and then home against Anaheim to finish the month. That could be bad and these are premier teams that can really do some damage.

Will the Jackets succeed in getting a win in Ottawa? We'll be finding out. I'll be watching the game and seeing just if the Jackets can pull themselves together and finally nitch out a win. Enjoy your Saturday hockey, puckheads!

Is There Bad Influence In the Vancouver Riots Spa Campaign?

This is one of the weirdest and maybe most negative stories to hit the NHL airwaves since the Vancouver riots after Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

Eccotique Spa and Salon, a Vancouver-area spa treatment place, is offering a $50 gift card to eligible Vancouver riot members. However, there is a condition: The recipients must turn themselves in for their role in the riots.

"We'll get them nicely manicured for a court date or prison or whatever punishment they're going to get but we want to make sure they're going to get punished for what they did," spa owner Milajne Soligo said, according to The Star of Toronto.

The riots have had a brutal impact on the downtown Vancouver business and the spa owner wants to make sure they pay for what they did. Some restrictions away, as one might expect when receiving a prize. The candidate must show valid photo ID, explain his role in the riots, then apply his fingerprints to a certificate, which must be taken to the police.

So far, no one has taken up on the offer by the spa and some Canadians are pretty upset about the spa using the riots as a playful market campaign. Charles Gauthier, a worker with the Business Improvement Association, thinks it's "not something we'd recommend -- prizes for people to come forward."

Soligo isn't surprised that some reactions to the campaign have been negative. But believes that the larger goal is for people to turn themselves in for what they did. The whole point, she said, was to "coax them into some confessions, that's the whole point of the campaign."

Now although the spa seems like they're having something going, it just seems like a one-way ticket to long-term jail. I understand their direction and their idea, but this is something that just doesn't make sense at all. You're giving people a reward just for turning themselves in. Actually, it just seems like a trap for people to confess and then go to jail for an incredibly long period of time. It doesn't seem worth it to use this kind of ad to get people to turn themselves in and get the reward. It is negative and it seems like it's bad infleunce. I don't believe you should get people to turn themselves in by making an offer up for grabs.

Whether or not the ad is a good idea, it's already out there. It's driving criticism and it's making more people not confess to these riots. Whether or not it was Canucks fans or fans alike, I think they should turn themselves in, but I don't think an advertisement is a great way to get them to confess. I hope this wasn't you, puckheads, because a lot of good property was damaged thanks to violence that shouldn't have happened in the first place.

Wednesday Night Hockey Recap: The Blue Jacket Struggles

Out of all the Wednesday night hockey I've seen last night, there's nothing I can be more sad of than seeing the Columbus Blue Jackets, a team that had somewhat high expectations, fall completely flat on their first three games of the season.

Their first game was against the Predators. A team that went to the playoffs last year, Columbus was hungry to give Nashville a loss to start their season, but instead it was Nashville who came behind to win it. Next up, Minnesota Wild, who I though was a good team to start the season and Columbus allowed them to walk away with a 4-2 win, with goalie Steve Mason allowing goals by Devin Setoguchi and Dany Heatley. Next, it was Vancouver at home. It started out well, with rookie Cam Atkinson scoring his first NHL goal of his career. But there was nothing the Blue Jackets could've done to stop the mighty firepower of a Vancouver team and they walked out with a 3-2 loss. An 0-3 start? Well, it was a chance for a win against Colorado. It was a pretty good start. Even though Colorado got the first goal, the Blue Jackets answered in the 2nd and 3rd periods with goals from Rick Nash and Radek Martinek. But the Avalanche came back with a late-tying goal and an eventual shootout winner to continue the Blue Jackets' misery.

Now, you would think that with all the players they picked up in the offseason, such as Jeff Carter and James Wisniewski, the Blue Jackets would be top contenders in the Western Conference, right? Well, right now, it's a bit of a sore start to this team. Even their attendance has dropped. 8,986 attended the game and that's below 50% of the entire stadium. Yes, I realize it was a school night, but come on, at this rate, the Blue Jackets won't even have 40% of their entire arena filled.

The Blue Jackets have had the worst first week of any other team in the league. Surely, they only have a point, but their offense is really not picking this team up and Jeff Carter is certainly having a quiet start to the season. Rick Nash is being Rick Nash but the other members of that team are not helping out in any way.

They’re tied for the league lead in games played with four, yet they’ve managed only one point in those games. At least it puts them ahead of the Flames, who only played two games and the Winnipeg Jets (with only one game played), and it ties them with the Phoenix Coyotes (two games played).

The bright side to these games are that they are not getting blown out in those games, like Winnipeg did against Montreal. Three of their four losses were only by one goal and they got a point from the shootout. But certainly the offense and special teams needs to find a way to get that act together and get Columbus right back into the mix, because other teams are going to find a way to beat those sorry Jackets if those Jackets don't get their offense in shape.

78 games left for Columbus and probably 74 with Wisniewski. Right now, there should be no panic. But there should be some worry from GW Scott Howson, coach Scott Arniel, and Jackets fans if this teams' month turns into a lousy one. They have a home-and-home with Dallas and if they want to get some offense going, how about beating Kari Lehtonen in those games?

A rough start to Columbus, but can they rebound and can they get back into the mix as one of the favorable teams come playoff time? Only time will tell, puckheads. And we'll see if Columbus steps it up and really makes a statement that they can be one of the favorites when the playoffs roll around. Keep an eye on them!

Here is the recap and a little analysis from last night's Jackets game, courtesy of NBC Sports.

Breaking sports news video. MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL highlights and more.

The Bruins Are Being Thrown the Punch

It may only be three games in, but the Boston Bruins are certainly taking the beating from teams alike, and coach Claude Julien is not impressed with how things have been going so far for the Bruins.

That Monday afternoon affair with the Avalanche, with resulted in a 1-0 loss, is my best description of "flat play." Tuukka Rask made 35 saves on the day, but the offense gave no help to them in trying to get pucks past Simeon Varlamov.

That team's effort is certainly not fitting well with coach Claude Julien. "I don't think I can stand here and say I was. We got outworked by a team that was a lot more hungry than we were. Right from the get-go, as soon as they got that power play, it gave them some momentum and then they just never looked back. Throughout the game, I felt our team was second on the puck. We're losing the races, and whenever we got there and got into battle, they certainly were a lot hungrier than we were," he told reporters.

It is agreed that the Avs are an improving team, but the Bruins are a team that is already flying into the dumps after winning the Stanley Cup last season. The top line of Milan Lucic, David Krejci, and Nathan Horton has yet to make offensive dents in the opposition. And whether or not letting Michael Ryder go was a good idea, it is certainly not his leaving that is causing the Bruins' problems. Without the top line, the offense is pretty much nothing more than a cellar team. The Bruins need to get going, if they are to defend their Stanley Cup, and right now it's not looking that good.

"When your top line is supposed to be your top line, it should try and be that every night," Julien said. "And so far I don't think they're in sync, I don't think they're working hard enough as a group." They aren't working hard enough and it is showing. I mean sure, they managed to take one from Tampa Bay but Philadelphia and Colorado took bites out of this team. And the Bruins' group will need their leaders to put the bite back in the other teams.

The Bruins are in a bad position right now. They need their offense back and they need it back fast. If they don't, it'll look like a losing season and Bruins fans definitely don't want that. You know, at least on Sunday, they participated in the Stanley Cup ceremony at the Jets-Patriots game. But that ceremony is over. It's time to focus on a new season so now they have to find a way to jack up that offense or else it's bust.

The Regular Season Starts Tomorrow

Preseason is over, puckheads. Starting tomorrow, the real action gets going. Four teams are over in Europe, preparing to delight the fans of Finland, Sweden, and Germany. While at home, most eyes are on Sidney Crosby after his first skate with the Penguins met with success. Not only that, but fans are excited, tailgates are starting, and mascots are entertaining them with many tricks and games. They dance, they play, they sing (maybe not all) and most especially, they root for their team.

Ah, yes, that's nothing more entertaining than the return of hockey. Okay, maybe there's the playoffs, but that'll take many months to get to. Meanwhile, which teams are we to watch for? Well, I'll give you one. The Pittsburgh Penguins. Sidney Crosby is coming back his season, but he'll be out a little bit longer while the coaching staff makes sure he is tip-top shape before making his return to the ice. Another team to watch is the San Jose Sharks. Will they make it past the Conference Finals to the Stanley Cup Finals? Sure, unless they manage to get the Canucks or the Red Wings with them, in which case, it'll be a lot harder, considering the fact that Dany Heatley, even though he performed poorly in last year's playoffs, is gone to Minnesota. Also Devin Setoguchi is gone. He was a big player for the Sharks and without his presence, how will they do, especially down the stretch?

No more Sean Avery? That's right, the New York Rangers just waived his contract, meaning he could head to Europe soon. Right now, he just cleared waivers and is currently playing in the AHL. Should Sean Avery just go to Europe? It sounds like it's a better deal for him than playing in the AHL. The mouther is officially without a team...again! But the Rangers have more problems and one of their top players, Marc Staal, is on the IR with concussion symptoms. Will he be able to play soon? Or will this be another Sidney Crosby thing? I doubt it. This is not as bad as what Sidney Crosby went through, but anything is possible. There is a chance that he might not be back for a long, long time.

The Coyotes and the Stars? They have question marks concerning ownership. Can they stay in their respective cities? Or is it time to start packing? The Coyotes will be able to play in the desert one more year but after that, it looks like it's time to hit the road to Quebec City. The Stars are in a better position but not by much. Will Dallas keep its recent struggling franchise? Or is it goodbye and off to either Seattle or Thunder Bay, Ontario?

Well, puckheads, there's more. Below are the teams I believe are going to win each division respectively, the East, the West, and finally, the Stanley Cup. Below that are the players I think you should keep a close eye on.

Atlantic: Philadelphia Flyers
Northeast: Buffalo Sabres
Southeast: Washington Capitals
Central: Chicago Blackhawks
Northwest: Vancouver Canucks
Pacific: Los Angeles Kings
Eastern Conference: Washington Capitals
Western Conference: Vancouver Canucks
Stanley Cup: Vancouver Canucks

MVP: Alex Ovechkin
Vezina: Ryan Miller
Norris: Duncan Keith
Selke: Pavel Datsyuk
Rookie of the Year: Not sure yet.
Coach: Bruce Boudreau

As you may have remembered, I picked the Kings and the Lightning to go to Finals and certainly that didn't happen. This year, even though the Kings are slightly better, I'm not sure they can beat out the Canucks. The Capitals are going to have to go eventually and I think this is their year. Bruce Boudreau knows he's on the hot seat. If he doesn't perform well, he's out. So I think he knows what must be done to get this team to the Stanley Cup. For the player awards, I don't know who all the rookies are this season, but I'll know who my favorite is sometime later this season. Come back in December and I'll probably have the idea.

Regular season's on us, fans. We got a great cast of teams this season. The players are ready, the fans are ready. The question is: Are you ready? Three games to start it off tomorrow, then on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, the big games overseas. Should be an interesting season, puckheads. Get that puck dropped!