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Well, it’s always good to get the hockey season off to a good start.  Although I had to tape the game against the Minnesota, I was able to at least watch it while listening to the audio of the Buckeyes handing it to Indiana.  I couldn’t help but muse to myself how apporpriate it was that former Buckeye R. J. Umberger who scored the first goal in Saturday’s opener.  It was even better to see Rostislav Klesla knock in the winner just after re-upping to a long-term deal with the team.  Welcome home, gentlemen.  Now it’s time to hit the road.

And what a road trip it is.  Vancouver tonight, San Jose on Thursday and the Phoenix Coyotes on Saturday.  It figures, of all the possible “tough early schedule” scenarios… sure enough, the Hockey Gods send Columbus way out west for three games.  That’s okay.  They won’t be easy games by any means, and the Jackets are without Mike Commodore and Anton Stralman.  However, the good guys do have Steve Mason.  That’s a good step in the right direction.

"The Jackets [...] have to establish that power play tonight. Improving that percentage from last year has got to happen, starting tonight."

First up is Vancouver.  There will be a frustrated Canucks team on the ice, after an unlikely 0-2 start against Northwest Division rivals Calgary and Colorado (yes… Colorado – I couldn’t believe it either).  The Canucks are going to come to GM Place hungry – not panicked, but definitely aggressive – so the Jackets have to be ready.  Attacking fast and hard to start is going to be the key, but not at the expense of good defense.  The Jackets also have to establish that power play tonight, after an 0-3 start in the opener.  Improving that percentage from that abysmal performance last year has got to happen, starting tonight.  It doesn’t have to be pretty – standings points are more important than style points any day.

San Jose is always going to be a tough team, and Thursday’s game should be no exception.  They have a lot of weapons, including newest acquisition Dany Heatley.  Plus, the tank is never an easy place to play.  And even with all the distractions going on surrounding the Coyotes in bankruptcy court, the coaching change, and as much as hockey writers have written them off – they are at home for the first time.  They priced their seats to move for their opener – $25 for lower bowl and $15 for upper bowl – and it’s a Whiteout Night, which the franchise made famous during its days in Winnipeg.  They have knocked off Los Angeles already (though that’s probably not a stretch, really), and the Coyotes hope to be somewhat rested after returning from a road trip to Pittsburgh and Buffalo this week.  In short, don’t write them off.  As badly as the Coyotes did last year, they also swept the Jackets.

So, in short, it’s important for the Jackets to establish their road show this week.  After that, they have two home games, and then the next road trip is even longer.

"It’s important for the Jackets to establish their road show this week. The next road trip is even longer."

But… one game at a time.  GO JACKETS!

Random Notes Around The NHL

The Colorado Avalanche is 2-0?  Wow.  Did NOT see that coming.  Same deal with the Detroit Red Wings’ 0-2 start.  Still, I don’t see either of those situations lasting.
To Colorado’s credit, their young guys have really stepped up in those first two games.  That youth will help them in the long run – and by the way, they have two 18-year-olds on their roster this year.  I still think they’re a long shot for a Playoff spot.

The reason the Wings are 0-2-0?  The St. Louis Blues.  Look out for Paul Kariya this year.  Kariya put up two goals and two assists for the Blues during opening weekend in Sweden.  He’s not powerful or brawny, but he is a finesse guy.  If he stays healthy this year (which he was certainly not last year), it may not be the Chicago Blackhawks threatening Detroit for the Central’s top spot, after all.

The Next Art Modell?  Owner Charles Wang says he may consider relocating the New York Islanders.  Wang is upset the local gevernment in Hempstead can’t seem to give him an answer after eight years on whether he can build his “Lighthouse Project” – his vision for a destination spot on Long Island to be built around a new arena for the Isles.  It’s an interesting situation.  The deadline for an answer from local officials supposedly passed over the weekend.  The Islanders seem like they have a fairly strong fan base – win or lose – and haven’t really been lousy (or at least not consistently lousy, anyway).  Then again, neither were the old Cleveland Browns.
A lot of talk has centered around Kansas City.  ESPN mentioned it in their story, and the Isles played a preseason game there a few weeks ago.  The city has had an arena ready for awhile, by the way.

"I occasionally feel bad about the fact that a nation whose national pastime is hockey holds only six of the NHL’s 30 teams."

J? E? T? S? Jets…? Jets…? JETS?  So, CBC seems to think Winnipeg is ready for the NHL again.  Apparently, a potential ownership group who is interested in buying the Atlanta Thrashers would relocate the franchise.  It seems weird, but then again, it’s not like Atlanta hasn’t lost an NHL franchise to a Canadian city before.  Personally, I wouldn’t oppose it.  I occasionally feel bad about the fact that a nation whose national pastime is hockey holds only six of the NHL’s 30 teams, after the Winnipeg Jets moved to Phoenix and became the Coyotes, and the Quebec Nordiques moved to Colorado and became the Avalanche.  It just seems weird.  Hockey is greatly underappreciated in the U.S.  I’d welcome more Canadian NHL cities in the NHL.  But this whole thing is only a rumor for now.  It’s an interesting one, though.  Plus, NHL Commish Gary Bettman seems to not be in a relocation mood lately (See: Phoenix Coyotes).

The intriguing thing about both of the above scenarios is that it would more than likely mean the NHL would undergo realignment for the first time since the NHL announced the four new franchises in Atlanta, Nashville, Minnesota and here in Columbus.  If a realignment were to happen, I believe Columbus would be the most likely to move to the Eastern Conference.  Columbus and Detroit are the only Western teams in the Eastern Time Zone… and you can bet the pond the East does not want Detroit over there.  Talk about sheer terror… the Eastern Conference would not be able to stand up to that for very long.

Tags: atlanta thrashers, chicago blackhawks, colorado avalanche, columbus blue jackets, minnesota wild, new york islanders, phoenix coyotes, r.j. umberger, realignment, relocation, rostislav klesla, san jose sharks, st. louis blues, vancouver canucks, whiteout, winnipeg jets