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Saturday night, the Columbus Blue Jackets lost to the Colorado Avalanche by a score of 3-2, and the loss was absolutely devastating. The Jackets played a very tough game, and looked very good, especially through the first two periods. When the Avalanche had a 5 on 3 during the first period after R.J. Umberger and Rick Nash were sent to the penalty box, the Avalanche looked completely lost on the two man advantage. However, things started to go downhill for the Jackets during the second period. Early on, Jared Boll and Cody McLeod had a fantastic fight; it was by far the best fight I have seen from Boll. After the fight was broken up and the players were sent to their respective penalty boxes, Boll left to go to the dressing room, and was holding his hand as if it were injured. Boll did not return to the game.

Blue Jackets winger Alexandre Picard also did not return to the game after sustaining an injury in the second period. This left the Blue Jackets two-thirds of a line short for the entire third period, and it was evident that they were exhausted as a result. The score was tied at two goals each and it looked as though the contest was going to go to overtime. However, the Jackets must have thought they were back in 2003 with Marc Denis in net, because with 57.8 seconds left in the game, T.J. Galiardi scored for the Avalanche, taking a 3-2 lead over the Jackets and eventually winning the game. It was an utter disappointment, to say the least.

"Honestly, I do not think that firing Hitchcock is the answer, and it's just a knee-jerk reaction to this unexpected losing streak. Quite frankly, I believe it is a symptom of Ohio State football fans bleeding into the hockey arena."

The losing rut that the Jackets have gotten themselves stuck in has got a lot of fans really upset with the team and organization. There are some fans that have been calling for the Blue Jackets' head coach Ken Hitchcock, to be fired. Honestly, I do not think that firing Hitchcock is the answer, and it's just a knee-jerk reaction to this unexpected losing streak. Quite frankly, I believe it is a symptom of Ohio State football fans bleeding into the hockey arena. I'm not saying that we should not be concerned or upset about the amount of losing going on - in fact, I believe the opposite. If you are not concerned about the losing streak, you probably do not watch or follow the Blue Jackets very much. However, people in this city (and state) are so used to the winning tendencies of Ohio State football, that once something suddenly goes bad, there is an automatic (and usually rash) outcry about Jim Tressel's coaching, even though Tressel has won five out of nine bowl games with the Buckeyes, and overall has won 81.7% of his games coaching Ohio State. Hitchcock has only coached the Blue Jackets for two full seasons, and he helped spawn the first playoff berth that this franchise has seen in one of those two seasons. Many teams go though slumps in every sport, and it simply is not practical to call for the coach to be fired every time it happens. And be honest with yourselves - who would the Jackets pick up as a head coach right now? There really aren't any stand-out coaches available at this time.

"So, what I want to know is why is the cycle being broken for Mason when, as far as goaltending goes, the system is working well?"

While I do not think that firing Hitchcock is the answer to the team's problems, I am unhappy with a decision that was made by the coaches and staff recently. It was announced Sunday that the team is finished with the "win and you're in" methodology and will be playing goaltender Steve Mason on Tuesday against the Vancouver Canucks, despite the fact that Mason was in net and lost against the Avalanche on Saturday night. I do think that this is a mistake and that they should stick with the rotating goalie system. Before they started "win and you're in", Mason (along with the rest of the team) was playing like crap, and yet the coaches just kept spoon-feeding him the starting position. However, once they stopped just handing him the starts and rotated the position between he and Mathieu Garon, Mason started playing well again. In fact, the entire team has started playing better since they started rotating two goalies. Garon had a great effort in the game against the Nashville Predators, but yet Mason played the next game. So, what I want to know is why is the cycle being broken for Mason when, as far as goaltending goes, the system is working well?

Tuesday's game against Vancouver will not be televised. My suggestion is to listen to George Matthews and Bob McElligott online here, or if you're in Central Ohio, you can listen on 101.1 FM or 1460 AM. These guys are great on the radio and even better in person!

Until next time, friends - Go Jackets!

Tags: colorado avalanche, columbus blue jackets, ken hitchcock, steve mason