What? I live?

Apparently, I do. At least, I think I do, today. I hate Mondays sometimes. Anyways. I’ve had steady computer access for a little while now, but Google has been giving me shit whenever I try to post in the blog, because I created a new account, and it doesn’t seem to like the idea of letting me sign into my OLD account so that I can post here. Ugh.

Note to self: Poke at Blogger to add my other account.

Anyways. Hockey has happened quite a bit since the last time I posted. So, here we go with the bulleted list!

-The Jackets have played 7 games since I posted last, and lost only 3 of them. True, one of these losses was to Nashville, which means they swept the entire season series, but that’s not really surprising, given where they are at in the standings.

-We played Anaheim on the 14th, which wasn’t on TV, but we won it in a shootout, with David Vyborny getting the game winner. Way to go, Vybes.

-We then lost two straight in back-to-back games, one against San Jose, and one against Los Angeles. Both games were pretty much equally disgusting, with an abundance of penalties to go around. I didn’t pay much attention to either game, as I was on the phone with ‘Drea for the duration of both, but I paid enough attention to be disgusted each time.

-The only three players that seemed to show up against Los Angeles were Nash, Zherdev, and Platt, who combined for something like 8 points in the game. Platt with two goals, Nash with a goal, and Zherdev with assists on each goal. It seems to me like Hitch has hit a good line with these three. I personally hope that next season, Geoff Platt stays up with the big boys, because he’s got talent, and he’s producing. He may be little, but he’s quick, and he’s got a mean wrister. Size isn’t everything, as he’s proving (along with the Red Wings’ Jiri Hudler, who is the same height as Platt, and has been producing extremely well recently as well).

-After Los Angeles, we played Chicago, and won it soundly, 5-2. Ole-Kristian Tollefsen got his first NHL goal, so way to go, Ole-Kristian.

-Then there was the Detroit game on the 22nd. My mom and I watched this game together, and for the first time since she bought it, Mom wore her Sergei Fedorov jersey for the game. I, predictably enough, was wearing my Nikolai Zherdev jersey (though, the question really is, "When don't I wear that jersey?"). I've finally given in and admitted that I am a Red Wings fan, but this game was really no contest for me. I always want my Jackets to win, no matter who they're playing.
This game was, if nothing else, exciting to watch, and proved yet again, why Danny Gare and Jeff Rimer have taken to calling Fredrik Norrena "Steady Freddy".
When Detroit finally scored in the third, I was rather torn, because the goal was scored by Pavel Datsyuk, with an assist from little Jiri Hudler, both of whom I have extreme soft spots for. In the end, 'upset' won out over 'happy', because I wanted the Jackets to win this game. They had played phenomenally all game, and to see them play the way they had in that game, failure wasn't an option to me at that point. I wanted them to win.
With about two minutes left in the third, Ole-Kristian Tollefsen netted his second career goal, and tied it up, leading me to call 'Drea and flail to her that they had tied it up. The game went into overtime, where Steady Freddy reigned again, and it went to a shootout.
This is where I started flailing more. I am not a fan of shootouts. I like to watch them, but I don't like them deciding games. Especially Jackets games. Because history has shown that we're not very good at shootouts. Tonight, they would totally surprise me. I don't really remember much of the shootout, except for Rick Nash's beautiful goal that totally faked Chris Osgood out of his skates, Geoff Platt having his first career shootout attempt (and subsequently failing, but that's alright, he tried), and Nikolai Zherdev's failed attempt.
What I remember SO WELL, however, is realizing that the crowd in Joe Louis Arena was booing louder than they had all night. My head snapped up and I looked at the television. And there he was. Sergei Fedorov. The one that I defend ALL THE TIME against the Red Wings fans that are my friends. (Steph, looking at you.) Mom was yelling, and I told 'Drea who was up next for the shootout, and promptly started shaking. All I knew is that I wanted Sergei to net this one SO BADLY, to win this game. To win it against the Detroit Red Wings.
And he did.
Mom and I have never screamed so loud at home. 'Drea was laughing on the phone, and all three of us were just blown away by the fact that Sergei Fedorov had just won the game for the Columbus Blue Jackets, against his old team. I haven't been that elated over a win since the Jackets pulled out that amazing upset against Anaheim in January.

-Then, we played St. Louis last night, who had just come off of, ironically, a shootout win against Detroit. I had discovered earlier in the day that Manny Legace was injured, and apparently had been for a while (Uh, Steph? Why didn't you tell me? ;-;). The game started off well enough with a Jackets goal, and then St. Louis tied it up with a goal from Doug Weight. Fredrik Modin netted a goal for the Jackets, earning him his 20th goal of the season, and his 400th point of his career. What a milestone. Way to go, Freddy. Jason Chimera set a personal best for himself by tallying three assists on the night. Geoff Platt netted his fourth of the season in the third period, making the score 4-1, and made me love him just that little bit more. All in all, a good game.

So, in the time that I've been gone, hockey hasn't really been all that horrible to me. Let's hope it continues to be that way, yeah?

This is Skye-chan, signing out for now. I should be posting with more regularity soon (barring the possiblity that I don't get the job I'm hoping for, which will kill most internet chances for me, as well as my hockey watching).

Oh, oh, oh. And you know what else? Sergei Fedorov still rocks. :D