Magic Wands, Oil Rigs, and Octopi

2009-01-27T14:43:00.002-05:00

Blue Jackets - Ladies and Gentlemen from Skraut on Vimeo.

Every time I watch this, I get major chills.

Puck drops at 7 PM tonight and the push for the playoffs begin.

CARRY THE FLAG.

I liiiiiive.

2009-01-25T02:35:00.004-05:00

If I'd been blogging about this season so far, it would have involved a lot of keyboard smashes, a lot of tears, and a lot of love for Steve Mason. And I've tried not to get my hopes too high. Because this season, there's a lot to hope for. For this season, and for seasons to come.

All season the Jackets have been looking for traction. This is where the rubber has to meet the road.

The first four games bring Detroit, Ottawa, Dallas and St. Louis. That needs to be at least six points (3-1).

Among the three road games – Pittsburgh (Feb. 6), Carolina (Feb. 14) and Toronto (Feb. 19) – all are in the Eastern Conference and two are very winnable. That should be at least four more points (2-1).

It leaves six remaining home games with the Sharks (Feb. 7), Avalanche (Feb. 10), Red Wings (Feb. 13), then the Stars (Feb. 16) and Blues (Feb. 18) and finally the Ducks (Feb. 21). The Jackets need nine points here (4-1-1).

That would be a 9-3-1 stretch good for 19 points. It would almost certainly get the Jackets above the eighth-place bar and pushing hard toward fifth or sixth.

I look at this, taken from Puck-Rakers, and I just stare at that record. 9-3-1. Against those teams. Is it possible? 19 points.

Part of me says no, it's not, because I look at the teams we play in that time span. But then, the more I think about it, the more I realize that the majority of those teams, are teams we should be able to beat. Should be. Whether we will or not, remains to be seen.

I think what it all comes down to, is those last six games listed. Can we pull 9 points out of games against those teams? We'll face Detroit and San Jose in that time span. Can we beat them both, or take one of them to overtime, or both? Can we beat three other teams that, if we play good solid hockey, like we all know they can, we should win?

We're just going to have to wait and see. When I step into Nationwide Arena in April, for the season finale, will I be seeing a team going to their first post season? Or will it be another mantra of "There's always next year." for the boys in blue?

RIP Alexei Cherepanov

2008-10-14T00:29:00.002-04:00

I don't even really know what to say. A young man, a year younger than myself, died of a heart attack, playing the sport he loved.

I didn't know much about him, as a player or as a person, I just remember watching him get drafted in 2007, watching as team after team passed him by, until finally, the team with his idol, Jaromir Jagr, drafted him 17th. The irony that it was Jagr with him is not lost on me.

I've cried, I threw up, and I think it's finally out of my system. Is this going to be the end of the tragedies for hockey for now? I guess we can only pray that it is. Three promising young lives taken in the short course of a year are three too many.

RIP Alexei.

...Two months?

2008-09-16T05:34:00.002-04:00

Really? Has it been two months? Um. That crashing sound you just heard? That's the sound of epic failure on Skye's part.

Last I posted, Nikky had been traded, and since then, it's just been a really, really, really long off season. I watched the Celtics win the NBA championship, the amazing spectacle that was the 2008 Summer Olympiad, and the horrific debacle that was OSU vs USC.

And now, training camp is four days away, and I've already bought tickets to three of the games I'm going to for sure this season down here in the big ATL.

10.1.08 - Detroit vs. Atlanta (Preseason)
10.10.08 - Washington vs. Atlanta (Season Opener)
11.22.08 - Columbus (!!!) vs. Atlanta (I will be there rocking the Nikolai jersey like you wouldn't believe.)

I'm also planning to go to the Detroit vs. Atlanta regular season game, but seeing as that one isn't until March, I still have a while.

So my hopes for the season are:
- Kris Russell and Ole-Kristian Tollefsen cracking the line-up, even though we have approximately 238947329847 defensemen.
- Jared Boll smashing and bashing his way to 1st in PIM in the league.
- Rick Nash stepping up and fulfilling his role of captain in the way I think we all know he can.
- Winning the season series over Detroit (HAHA yes I know. I can dream.).
- Finishing the season with a franchise high in points.
- Finishing 7th in the West...And ultimately...
- Reaching the playoffs for the first time, where I don't care if they get swept, for the love of God, just make it.

And as it's now a quarter to six in the morning... I'm out!

2008-07-02T18:04:00.003-04:00

Well, free agency was fun and happy and hilarious, until I got a text today about Nikolai.

The Rangers. The Rangers. All I have to say is they better take damn good care of him.

I know, I know.

2008-06-22T00:27:00.002-04:00

It's been a while. And I should blog about the Jackets picks (all I know about at this exact moment is Filatov, I haven't been able to check others, and I'm already eeeeeee! over Filatov still.)

But I just wanted to take a second and post about this.

Lightning give David Carle a gift.

I think, in my now three years of hockey watching, this is the classiest thing I've seen a team do. David Carle won't make it to the NHL, and he knows it, and he even took his name out of the Draft. But they still drafted him; he's associated with the NHL. He won't get to play, but it's still one of the sweetest and classiest things I've seen in a long time, in any sport.

Way to go Bolts.

Boo?

2008-06-01T01:01:00.003-04:00

I'm alive, I'm rooting for the Wings (one more!!!), and I have to be up in four hours for work. Joy.

In actual Jackets news, we acquired Jonathan Sigalet from Boston. Nash is going to be on the cover of 2K9. Vyborny's not coming back.

And I'm terrified for the offseason.

Avalanche advance! (I feel dirty.)

2008-04-20T05:02:00.001-04:00

I love José Nicholas Theodore. (There are four links in that, for the record.)

They made me cry tonight. He made me cry tonight, with how happy he looks, and how proud of him they all are. Your contract may be up this year José, but damn if you aren't giving them a reason to want you back. And if the Avalanche don't want you, someone is sure to grab you. You're looking better and better each game, and things can only go up from here. You've hit the lowest before, José, now let's hit the highest. Don't give them a reason to doubt ever again.

And the best part about it? You'll still be as humble and sweet as ever, and you'll pass the praise off to your teammates...But we'll both know that you're back. And the media can shove it for all they ever said about you, and are now singing your praises. They didn't believe in you then, they have no right to now. But those of us who love you and always believed in you, even when you were letting in five and six goals a game... We know. We know that you're back. And we'll laugh at the media together.

Keep driving. Keep making me cry. When it's you, a few tears are a price I am more than willing to pay to see you smile like you did tonight.

I fail as a blogger, plain and simple. Playoff brackets and minor explanations.

2008-04-07T16:28:00.001-04:00

BUT that doesn't mean I'm not going to keep trying!

Here, have a bracket.

In explanation of my Western (because yes I know it's visually screwed up) Detroit is not playing San Jose in my bracket until the THIRD round. For the second round, in the West, at least, GO BY SEEDING NUMBERS. High seed plays low seed. So I have Detroit matched up against Colorado, and San Jose against Dallas. ...If that confused anyone, let me know, and I'll try to explain further. XD

I was going to do writeups for each matchup...But then I got lazy and bored. So...Have at the bracket. Ninety percent of it is personal bias. I may have Detroit going all the way, but that's becuase i have money riding on them. I'm really actually pulling for the Caps. Who would have thought little old Western Conference me would pull for an Eastern Conference team?

CHI @ CBJ: 4-0 SHUTOUT

2008-03-26T21:58:00.000-04:00

Dear Blue Jackets,

I love you. If only we could combine Steady Freddy's two shutouts with Pazzy's nine. That's still an amazing stat, and holy God, I love you guys. ♥

So Much Love,
Skye

I go to see Jose play tonight...

2008-03-11T09:17:00.001-04:00

And I'm going to try my hardest to not make the people around me hate me again.

...Ah, who'm I kidding?

At least I'm not going to wear all Thrashers stuff this time.

So the only hockey happening in my head is:

2008-03-08T00:46:00.000-05:00

OH MY GOD. I see Jose Theodore in ~~four~~three days! If he plays like he did the other night (SHUTOUT ANYONE? Over the DUCKS?), I will be in tears before the night is over.

Dearest Jose Nicholas Theodore,

Please, please for the love of God, play like you played against the Ducks.

Much Love Always,
Skye

And I'm not even going to talk about Huet.

2008-02-27T00:45:00.000-05:00

I got through today without crying, except after the intial news.

And now that I'm home, and thinking about it, fuck, there are the tears again.

It's not the same team anymore.

I don't care about Foote, I really don't, other than to wonder who'll get the C.

But fuck. Sergei. No. Just no. I knew he was going to be gone by the end of this season. But I didn't expect this.

It's not the team I fell in love with anymore. And it's so much worse than it was with the Oilers last season. At least for me.

I just want my Sergei back. I want Shelley back. I just want my team back.

So. It can't be any worse than last year. I hope.

2008-02-26T03:46:00.000-05:00

Since I last posted, work has eaten my face, proceeded to uneat my face, and I continue to fail at catching hockey games. Sigh.

What I do know is that Pazzy got his ninth shutout of the season against Montreal, and I couldn't be more proud of him. Much love to you, Pazzy.

And as I post this, I am dreading the coming of my second Trade Deadline Day of my hockey fan-ship, and frankly, I don't know if this year could possibly be worse than last year. The Jackets might be hell bound and determined to make it worse, however, if these rumours of Brule, Fritsche, and Tollefsen being traded to Tampa have any merit. If this happens, the Jackets and I will not be on speaking terms for a little while. ~~And I'll have to have a vague liking for Tampa.~~

Although, it is a nice change to have a secure feeling in that Nikolai Zherdev is staying with the team, whereas last season, I was panicking come TDD. Now I'm panicking over Sergei, Vybes, and the babies. I'm not sure this is a great trade off, actually. No pun intended.

Why do I have to work on TDD? Ugh.

Here's to hoping I don't get a text at work that will make me sob.

Trades!

2008-02-02T01:41:00.000-05:00

So. Jody Shelley has been sent to San Jose for a 6th rounder in 2009 (did they send us the bag of pucks too?).

And then today, Glencross to the Oilers, for Dick Tarnstrom. I personally don't understand this one very much. Unless this is just because of Howson knowing something about Tarnstrom that we don't, given that he was with the Oilers...I still don't understand why Glencross.

That said, at least it wasn't to the Ducks or Nashville.

CBJ @ CHI: 1-0 SHUTOUT WIN

2008-01-25T00:14:00.000-05:00

Why isn't Pascal Leclaire in the All-Star Game again?

Eighth shutout, baby.

Boll with his fifth goal, in front of his hometown crowd. Way to go, Bollsy.

And while I'm at it, because I suck, a big giant YAY to Kris Russell for his two goals the other night, numbers one and two. Here's hoping for many many more.

In conclusion, the Jackets rock, and here's to All-Star Weekend! :D

So basically all you need to know...

2008-01-23T02:18:00.000-05:00

About my first foray into Atlanta hockey is:

-Hemmer saw my sign and shook his head at me.
-Souray saw it as well and yelled 'HEY YEAH HEMMERTIME!' and I cracked up.
-Philips Arena was out to kill me because I'm an Oilers fan, not a Thrashers fan.
-I was in literally the TOP row of the arena, and my section hated me for loving that the Oilers won.
-Pictures are here.
-Final point? I'm good luck for the Oilers, apparently.

Final Score?
4-2 Oilers WIIIN.

So basically.

2008-01-18T01:19:00.000-05:00

The Jackets rock, Nikolai Zherdev is still sexy, and life still hates me when it comes to hockey.

That said, I'm going to my first Thrashers game on Sunday, against the Oilers (I'm sensing a trend. I always go see the Oilers.) and I have made retarded signs for Hemmer for during warmups (because my brother is cheap and did not inform me that I was getting NOSEBLEED 400 seats for Christmas). One reads "STOP! HEMMERTIME!!" with the footnote of "My sister sign is in Kalamazoo, MI!" And the other is imploring him to grow his damn curls back.

And don't even TALK to me about the damn All-Star Game.

Also? It snowed in Atlanta. Like, snow accumulated (true it was gone by the morning, but it was there, I swear.). This is comparable to hell freezing over. I shit you not. People were going 35 miles per hour on the highway. I love the south sometimes.

Skye said I should sooo....

2007-12-31T21:29:00.000-05:00

I knew no one else was watching the game tonight depressingly enough but a match up between Oilers and Jackets was not to be missed. (The same is true about the game I will be seeing in person tomorrow stop working so much you're all jerks damnit)

Of note Oilers captain, Ethan Moreau, scored his first goal after finally finally returning to the Edmonton lineup. All I have to say is Why Ethan? Why this team?

However Rick Nash had answered by the end of the game with a startlingly amazing hat trick with only 7 seconds left in the game. So what if it was on an empty net it was a thing of beauty. I quite approved of the long drawn out shots of his decidedly entertaining conversation with Jared Boll afterwards but maybe I'm just personally drawn to anything the babies do. Maybe.

Also of note Jiri Novotny continues to be a big fat jerk and makes Ales Kotalik cry and think their BFFship was not enough to motivate him in Buffalo. Jerk. Ales' should never be allowed to cry.

Finally GILBERT BRULE STOP FAILING AT LIFE. How could you get scratched on your birthday (shut up it counts) no I don't care if you had the bubonic plague it's still pathetic! And you're making me cry!

PS: Buffalo will be playing tomorrow (they were afraid the ice wouldn't be ready which would've made for a stadium full of unhappy people I'm fairly certain) and notice how I say BUFFALO and not SIDNEY CROSBY. It was our city first you little brat gtfo. This disgusting display of favouritism with not discourage me from cheering for one, Ty Conklin, however and I'm sure Buffalo will welcome him warmly when he gives up that turnover goal that wins us the game. I love you Ty, no sarcasm there.

CAR @ CBJ: 4-1 WIIIN!

2007-12-29T21:36:00.000-05:00

My 100th post, and I am crying.

Anyone who says that Nik Zherdev hasn't grown this season needs to just look at that EN goal that he HAD, his hat trick that was guaranteed, and he passed it instead. And the fans threw hats anyways. Love it.

See what you do to me, Nik Zherdev? You reduce me to tears, baby boy. Love you so much.

First star well earned and deserved.

Also: Eric Staal, I am not friends with you right now. That was supposed to be a shutout. Jerk.

Jackets Goals: Zherdev, Klesla (Hainsey, Zherdev), Zherdev (Nash), Beech (Zherdev, Foote)
Carolina Goals: Staal (Whitney)

Final Score: 4-1
JACKETS WIN

Christmas sort of rocks this year.

2007-12-28T14:47:00.000-05:00

So, my Christmas present this year was to pick two Thrashers games to go to, and my brother'll get me two tickets to each game.

I picked:

Oilers/Thrashers - January 20

and

Avalanche/Thrashers - March 11 (heeeJoseTheodore)

If Colorado ends up missing a goalie, it wasn't me, 'kay? ~~They won't miss him, I promise. ;-;~~

In other news, I bought Martin Brodeur's book, "Beyond the Crease" and the man is hilarious. The tongue in cheek humor has me giggling like a retard.

In actual Blue Jackets news, I got to see Pazzy's SEVENTH SHUTOUT OF THE SEASON this past December 26. The one time I will get to see them on an actual tv? Love it. ♥

That's all from me for now. Ta~

Weekly seems to be my thing, apparently.

2007-12-20T00:06:00.001-05:00

Chris Simon draws 30-game suspension, longest in NHL history.

My reaction to this is: Maybe it needs to be more than a suspension. This isn't the first time he's shown himself capable of doing things like this. Stop him completely. Don't let him play.

Yes, that's what his 'leave' was for, was for him to figure out what was going on, but to me, that's not going to solve anything.

In other news.

That poor, poor tour guide. My heart goes out to her.

This just in:

2007-12-14T00:47:00.000-05:00

Hemmer loves Steph.

That is all.

Take that, Aaron Portzline.

2007-12-09T01:41:00.001-05:00

Four game goal streak?

Oh. Yeah. Baby. ♥

That said, we lost tonight, 2-1 to the Wild, and I didn't get to see it. Who else is surprised? Yeah, no one? Yeah, thought so.

I'll get to watch the game against the Ducks on Monday though, so woo for me!

I'm going to go back to looking up the weather in Helsinki, Finland now. Don't ask. Just...Don't ask.

Yes, yes, I live.

2007-11-20T20:44:00.000-05:00

I'm beginning to wonder why I even have this thing anymore. I never remember to post. Damn you work.

I rarely ever get to see Jackets games anymore, because I'm always working.

I heard that Saturday's Wings/Jackets game was a good one, though, complete with Pascal Leclaire taking a roughing penalty, plus Westcott's first goal, and goals for Fedorov, Nash, and Zherdev.

Speaking of Zherdev, his play this season has been nothing short of amazing. It makes me laugh in the face of all the nay-sayers. I'm looking at you, Aaron Portzline.

So that's my little update to say oh hay, I'm not dead, but don't expect every-game-posting like last season, 'cause that's...Just not going to happen. ._.

GO JACKETS.

CBJ @ DET: 4-1 LOSS

2007-11-10T01:10:00.001-05:00

Well, that was disgusting.

Goals for Jackets: Nash
Goals for Red Wings: Lebda, Holmstrom, Cleary, and Zetterberg

Final Score: 4-1 Jackets Loss

I promise I'm not dead. Really I'm not.

2007-11-09T20:24:00.000-05:00

Work is just kicking my butt lately. And I have to catch games on crappy China when I'm not working, so yeah.

So, in the middle of watching the Jackets/Wings game, it's 2-1, on a Lebda goal and a Holmstrom goal for Detroit, and a Nash goal for Columbus.

Go Jackets!

90th post and it had to be this?

2007-10-27T18:32:00.001-04:00

So as I listen to the Jackets on the radio (tied 1-1 in the second), all I can say is...

Please be alright, Patrice Bergeron. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Anybody that finds out anything, I'm begging you to let me know. Thanks.

A few hours late, but! CBJ @ BUF: 3-0 SHUTOUT WIN

2007-10-20T02:48:00.000-04:00

...All I have to say is:

omgboysiloveyou.

nikkyiloveyoupleasegetmoregoals♥.

Goals for Columbus: Peca, Nash, Zherdev
Goals for Buffalo: NONE

3-0
BLUE JACKETS WIN

GO JACKETS.

Well, shit.

2007-10-18T20:20:00.000-04:00

So, we've played 4 games since I last posted, and we've won one out of those four, and it was another shutout.

I haven't gotten to see a lot of the Jackets because being in Atlanta, FSN Ohio hates me. What I have seen is the Thrashers NOSEDIVE. Wow has that been shocking or what? 0-6, they fire Hartley, and now this. All I can say about the Thrashers is "Well. Shit."

As for the Jackets, I'm trying to reserve judgement. They're looking good, but optimism could only hurt me at this point, so I'm going to be muchly cautiously optimistic.

In other news, but not really...I love Freddy's new mask. It's shiny and pretty and new logo! I love it.

That's all for now. Drea's going to the Jackets/Sabres game tomorrow, maybe she'll give us a nice post (with pictures!) about it.

ANA @ CBJ: 4-0 SHUTOUT WIN.

2007-10-05T21:57:00.001-04:00

I seriously don't even know what to say. That game was nothing short of amazing. Just plain out amazing.

Zherdev played amazingly. His passing, his skating, his hitting.

The cannon is so made of win. I love it.

Nash with first star wholeheartedly deserved it. He had an amazing game.

Phrase of the night? Simply amazing.

There are no other words. ♥

BLUE JACKETS WIN
4-0
Goals for Columbus: Nash, Fedorov, Nash, Hainsey.
Goals for Anaheim: None.

I hate the Canes.

2007-09-27T23:29:00.000-04:00

This just in: I hate the Canes.

End of story, kthxbai.

In other news, Valtteri Filppula with a goal in the Wings game, which makes me mildly happier.

Blue Jackets Season Preview

2007-09-23T19:06:00.000-04:00

Because I'm pretty much incapable of anything beyond, "It can't get any worse than last year, can it?", I'm gonna link to the NHL's preview.

Intro

Goalies

Defense

Forwards

Numbers

Schedule

I repeat. It can't get any worse than last year. Can it?

Cuts and stuff...Stuff.

2007-09-20T22:37:00.000-04:00

The following players were assigned to Syracuse, the club's American Hockey League affiliate: forwards Andrew Murray, Philippe Dupuis, Petr Pohl, Jeff Szwez, Kevin Jarman; defensemen Dan Smith, Trevor Hendrikx, Darcy Campbell, Jon Landry, Kyle Wharton, Jekabs Redlihs, Andrei Plekhanov and goaltender Adam Munro. Forwards Stefan Legein (Niagara/Ontario Hockey League), Matt Marquardt (Moncton/Quebec Major Junior Hockey League) and defenseman Ben Wright (Lethbridge/Western Hockey League) were assigned to their junior clubs. In addition, defenseman Brian Sipotz was returned to the AHL's Chicago Wolves.

Taken from the Blue Jackets site.

Uh. We've lost two and won one. Right? Or was it lost three and won one? I think it might be the latter. I hate working sometimes. D:

Oh, and some articles of interest.

2007-09-14T13:07:00.000-04:00

Jackets Suspend Him (Hi, yes I'm still being petulant and refusing to say his name. :D)

Blue Jackets to Try Zherdev at Centre

I'm excited about this one. Like, really really really excited. Like, I can't even explain. Though it might have a lot to do with the image of Zherdev almost falling off his chair. That's just hilarious.

You know it's going to be a good season...

2007-09-14T13:06:00.001-04:00

When the Kings beat the Ducks.

WELCOME TO HOCKEY SEASON EVERYONE! IT'S FINALLY HERE. HO YEAH.

This seemed like good enough news to drag myself out of hiding.

2007-08-24T10:58:00.000-04:00

Jackets Sign Michael Peca

I really don't have an opinion on this, since I only know of him by name (Second year fan, remember?). Hopefully it'll bring about some good.

And no. I don't want to talk about him. He is dead to me, 'kay? 'Kay.

Woohoo!

2007-08-03T13:13:00.000-04:00

Voracek Signs Three Year Entry Level Contract

Kudos to Bethany for the heads up. I would have completely missed it. I just rock like that.

Nice to see the Jackets are doing something in the offseason.

This is too good to pass up.

2007-07-25T15:45:00.000-04:00

Source!

Carolina Hurricanes' centre Eric Staal and younger brother, Pittsburgh Penguins' Jordan Staal, were among 14 people arrested in Cook County, Minnesota Monday after the elder Staal's bachelor party got out of hand.

Both brothers were charged with disorderly conduct and obstructing the legal process, while Jordan was also charged with consumption of alcohol while under 21 years of age. Eric's agent, Rick Curran, said he expected the misdemeanor charges to be reduced or dismissed.

According to a statement released by the Cook County Sheriff's office, after the Sheriff's office received complaints about "screaming, yelling and playing loud music," the group of about 20 was warned "multiple times" before it was ordered to leave the resort by Sheriff's deputies, a Minnesota State Patrol trooper and a U.S. Border Patrol agent at 3 a.m. Monday.

"After leaving the property, the group gathered on Highway 61 and began harassing passing motorists," the Sheriff's office said, at which point 14 members of the group were arrested at approximately 4 a.m. Eric Staal was one of 10 people to spend the night in jail.

Eric Staal scored 30 goals and picked up 40 assists last season while brother Jordan, a Calder trophy finalist, had 29 goals, 13 assists and lead the league in shorthanded goals.
-------------------
Ahaha. Um. *snrk*

Uh, yeah.

Jordan: Don't tell Mom. Do NOT tell Mom.
Eric: ...Shit, we're screwed. We can't tell Marc or Jared, they'll run to Mom.
Jordan: ...Call Cam?
Eric: Holy shit, no!

*shot* Ahaha, this has been your daily dose of retarded. XD

EDIT: Oh God.

Source

So, uh, to let you all know I'm not dead. :D

2007-07-20T20:13:00.000-04:00

I just have one question.

Is it October yet?

No?

What about September?

Negative on that too?

...Shit.

In other news: Conks! He's been signed! ...By the Pens. Dear Lord. Now, we need to hear news of Juicy, 'kay?

Little things have happened with the Jackets: As in, Svitov and Tollefsen were resigned ages ago and I squeed, because my Norwegian's back. Oh, and Nikolai's best-friend-forever too. So, uh, right. There was other stuff too, but Ole > other stuff. :D

Oh! And schedules are out! Aren't you all happy?! At least we know the season's slowly getting here. D:

Edit: Oh, and I still love Jakub Voracek. :D *wanders off now*

So. My summary of FA so far.

2007-07-04T19:36:00.000-04:00

-The Oilers are decimated. Way to go Kevin Lowe.

-
This is Chris Drury making a "Oh shit, now I need to hire a bodyguard for the rest of my career in New York." face.

-Chris Drury looks horrid in the Rangers jersey.

-The Jackets grabbed Novotny and Hejda. Adding this to the other four Czechs we already had, we are quickly forming a Czech Mafia (no matter how hard that hurts, Steph, it's true!).

-I still love Jakub Voracek.

-Slava Kozlov is staying in Atlanta!

-The Ducks continue to play the "Whee let's steal our competitor's players! :D" game.

And that's all from me.

Gee, thanks Foote. WE LOVE YOU TOO.

2007-07-01T19:05:00.000-04:00

Adam Foote Regrets Going to Columbus

...Well, honestly, after the day I've had, all I have to say to that is "Go the fuck back to Colorado then. We don't need you.".

I think that's it for now. Unless Free Agency really does make me cry and throw things. This hockey off season does not bode well for me.

Jakub Voracek...

2007-06-24T13:56:00.000-04:00

Is ridiculous.

And I love him.

Also, there's a kid that got drafted by the Thrashers named Niklas Lucenius, and he looks like Valtteri Filppula, and that is enough for me to love him. >> ...That and he's Finnish. *snerk*

Right. I'm gonna be on a hiatus for a few days (this time completely voluntary), so I will see you all in a few days, hopefully! ♥

Oh. Right.

2007-06-15T18:23:00.000-04:00

Awards. Since Versus was an ass last night, I didn't actually get to see it.

Anybody know if they actually ever showed them? Because I couldn't find them.

Anyways, here's the list of winners.

I'm gonna go back to poking at the Blue Jackets roster and being amused by "Bio" section that they now have.

New GM Time!

2007-06-15T17:47:00.000-04:00

Let's hope this one is a SIGHT better than Maclean, shall we? Yeah, I thought so.

Blue Jackets Name Scott Howson General Manager

As for my thoughts, everything seems to be pointing in the right direction for my boys. ~~...Now, Nikky, darling, please quit being an emotastic little Ukrainian and listen to your coaches so that they don't trade you, yeah?~~ Actually, my true thoughts would be: ANYONE is better than Doug Maclean at this point.
-----------
As for the Stanley Cup results...Let's just say, I spent the night sitting on the floor, sobbing as I watched Chris Pronger lift the Cup. The rest of the team deserved it.

And seeing my two little Jacket boys (Shush, they ARE STILL JACKETS dammit, I will not resign myself to associating them with that team.), Motzko and Hartigan, lift the Cup made me smile bigger than anything did that evening. And Teemu Selanne made me cry as well. What is it with me and my inherent love of all Finns? I seriously need to stop. It's going to get me in trouble one of these days.

So, I think I'm going to join the campaign that seems to be going around and just pretend that the '06-'07 playoffs never happened, and I didn't see Chris Pronger hoist the Cup. Sound good? Yeah, sounds good to me too.

Should I get the Kleenex ready for tonight?

2007-06-06T14:37:00.000-04:00

I think I may need these tonight.

Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals tonight, and I am dreading it with every fibre of my being. If I have to see Chris Pronger hoist the Cup tonight, I think I will just sob.

At the same time, if the Ducks do clinch tonight, I don't have to worry about missing any hockey while I am in Jamaica this weekend (can we say Skye will be sunburnt to HELL? Yes? Thought so.). But I did NOT want that to be at the expense of having to see Chris Pronger hoist the Stanley Cup. It makes me want to cry just thinking about it.

Who knows, though? Maybe Ottawa will stop playing like ass like they did in Game 4, and take it to 7. And maybe have a better outcome than another Canadian team that introduced me to hockey one year ago. We can hope, yeah? *sigh*

Idaho Wins The Kelly Cup

2007-06-01T14:07:00.000-04:00

So, I've honestly had more interest in the ECHL's Kelly Cup than I have had in the Stanley Cup. Is that sad, or what?

Idaho Captures 2007 Kelly Cup Championship

The ECHL's baby Jackets gave it their all, but they fell short to Idaho. They had a good run, and that's all you can ask for.

Good job, Bombers!

Also, words cannot express how loudly I squealed when they interviewed Ryan Smyth during Game 2 on Wednesday.

This is me not caring about the playoffs! :D

2007-05-25T22:41:00.000-04:00

So yeah. I hate Anaheim, and am not the biggest fan of Ottawa either. So I'll just cut to the chase.

Ottawa in 7.

I'll go back to ignoring hockey now, kthx.

PS: I'm in Atlanta now. Kari Lehtonen: ...You better fear for your life. :D

Your regularly scheduled roundly update

2007-05-23T04:01:00.001-04:00

Though that is only because the entirety of the eastern finals were too painful to comment on and not just because of the loss. But here are my thoughts on the west:

Canada for the Cup!!

Firefox ate my post.

2007-05-08T18:13:00.000-04:00

So I had started a playoff predictions post earlier, and then my Firefox imploded, and I lost it. Gee, thanks, Firefox. SO MUCH.

Anyways. Here's a shortened version of what it was going to be.

Western Conference

(1)DET vs (2)ANA
So, I had this nice little paragraph written up about these two teams, and how I disliked them both at the beginning of the season, and now I have a stupid affection for the Wings. Seeing as I can't remember what it all said, I'm just gonna say this is going to be a very hard fought series.

My Prediction: Detroit in 7

Eastern Conference

(1)BUF vs (4)OTT
Gee, another matchup where I like one team and loathe the other. Again, both teams are very good, and it will be hard fought. Not to mention The Brawl that happened earlier this season. Will we see a repeat performance? Let's hope not. We don't have Martin Biron to go up against Ray Emery anymore. ...Though that could possibly be a good thing, no matter how much I love Marty. *pats him*

My Prediction: Buffalo in 7

So there you have it. I don't think I've been right so far, so who knows what'll really happen? :D

So.

2007-05-05T18:10:00.000-04:00

First of all, amazing win for Detroit earlier today. That game was just made of awesome.

I didn't get to watch a lot of the Sabres game last night, but I saw the last four minutes and the overtime goal, and that's all that really matters, ~~jaa~~yeah? ~~...I need to stop with the Finnish. Seriously.~~

Anyways. I have some news. I was planning to go to the NHL Draft in June in Columbus. Sadly, since I am moving to Atlanta in two weeks, I won't be able to do this...I'm seriously distressed about it, but there's not much I can do about it.

So, like, Steph, Drea, if you still want tickets or something, let me know, and I'll keep the tickets reserved for you.

So, right. I'm gonna go back to listening to Green Day and hoping I can watch more hockey later tonight. :D

Random ECHL Update, Whut?

2007-05-04T18:18:00.000-04:00

Yes, that is what I am going to talk about. XD

So. I live about a half hour away from Dayton, Ohio, where the Dayton Bombers play. Well, they're in their playoffs right now, and my mom and I had kind of resigned ourselves that they were going to get eliminated, because they were down 3 games to 1 game. And wouldn't you know it...

Dayton Beats Cincinnati 5-3
Bombers Advance To American Conference Finals

They came back from a 3-1 game deficit to win the series. Way to go, boys!

That'll teach Mom and I not to count good ol' Ohio boys out, huh?

Sometimes I like to follow baby hockey...

2007-05-04T14:44:00.000-04:00

...though I suppose this is more like pond hockey with college and minors being the babies. Meh. The point is in my beloved North Division the two worse teams possible had to face each other. That is the baby slugs (yes I do indeed call them that because you can't shorten Buffalo or Sabres to anything cute) and the baby habs had to face off. It's actually strange enough that I even care that much about Hamilton let alone enough to make them one of my favorite teams but it's no secret that it's probably all the fault of la famille Biron in particular le petit pas frerot. But then watching the team the depth of the habs organization started to emerge especially their ridiculous knack for amazing french goalies. Plus Jaroslav Halak who is sadly off being amazing at worlds but that just means one Yann Danis gets plenty of time to shine (and when the goalie he's facing is Dennis that makes for some amazing confused hilarity from the drunk college crowd let me tell you).

So before getting too into why there is love for them, the point is they beat Rochester and advance to face Manitoba (a shame it couldn't have been Grand Rapids if only for Steph but they were really only pulling off wins in OT) . The plus side is that the Sabres have pretty much called up all their prospects in a similar fashion to New York. I assume this is to give them a feel for the NHL playoffs (and many of them had already been called up for the regular season) and keep them a little busy for the rest of this run to boot. Or maybe Stafford was just lonely.

So it's all Hamilton and WBS from here. I can't really say I know enough about the other teams play to determine who will take series but it seems like Hamilton has a decent chance against the Meese. The team I'd be worried for is the Iowa Stars as the Wolves swept their first round opponent (the adorable Milwaukee Admirals with the cutest little skull logo in the whole of hockey shush don't deny it!) and dealt a brutal beating for game one. Atlanta can certainly remind us that a 7-0 shut out is no minor sting. I've seen them a little due to their solid fanbase and I think it's a safe bet to say they can take conference if they keep it up and I only hope that round will involve Hamilton so I can see them both at the end of the month.

As for the East (Hamilton and Rochester in the west? Weird huh?) WBS probably will have their hands full with the current defenders the Hershey Bears but if they can pull off the needed wins I think they puts them in a good position for finals. Otherwise I wouldn't mind seeing Hershey defend either. Now if only that success would translate up a level.

So, uh, I had something to say.

2007-05-02T22:19:00.000-04:00

Really, honest I did.

But then this happened.

...My brain is kind of dead.

That's my contribution for the day. :D

The picture is shit and I still stand by it...

2007-05-02T02:00:00.000-04:00

As I told Skye. Either King Henrik's pads have sprouted cancer (and if so, it's such a shame that it's not contagious) or that's a puck I see over the goal line. And I can argue it with that kind of shit quality. I think that's the most blatantly BS call I've seen all season regular and post.

That said the slugs are still living up to that name and they shouldn't even NEED to be relying on these type of goals to have a shot at OT and relying on OT to have a shot at possibly maybe winning the game. They're a better team than that. I can't even watch them anymore because they lack energy and heart and grit and they don't even deserve to be called sitting ducks right now the way that team is showing up. It's like they're already polishing the golf clubs for all they care. Whatever they care about it certainly doesn't seem like the rest of this play off series with the cup waiting at the end. New York isn't even playing THAT much better save for Lundqvist who has been nothing short of a wall and I think the number of times I heard his posts ring was damn near heart breaking. If Buffalo stepped it up... if they could get even one line moving they'd probably be putting up and even fight.

If the rest of the series' continue the way they're going I dare say I will be left teamless by the end of this round. It's rather baffling to considering going into even conference finals full of indifference and I don't like it one bit. Someone better step up soon (No slight against you Vancouver, you guys have been playing your hearts out and it shows and I only wish it would show in the score)

Playoff hockey? ...Oh yeah, that's still going on. :D

2007-04-25T16:39:00.000-04:00

So. I'm not dead, honestly. Just have been kind of blah lately, but figured I'd give my predictions/thoughts/whatever on the next round.

Eastern Conference

(1)Buffalo v. (6)New York Rangers
Well, I have an affection for both teams, but I want Buffalo to advance. A goal from Petr Prucha for NYR would not be discouraged though.

My Prediction: Buffalo in 6.

(2)New Jersey v. (4)Ottawa
...Can I say neither? No? Ok. Uh. Damn this one is really hard.

My Prediction: New Jersey in 7.

Western Conference

(1)Detroit v. (5)San Jose
So, as much as I love San Jose lately, I still have to go with Detroit, because of the rookies. That and I'm a horrible Ohio girl. *sigh*

My Prediction: Detroit in 5.

(2)Anaheim v. (3)Vancouver
This one's harder. Anaheim has been a good team all year. But, I'd love to see Vancouver go forward, soooo. (No mid-series breakdown, this time, ok, Canucks? Ok. Awesome.)

My Prediction: Vancouver in 6.
--------------

So, right, I think that's it from me for now.

It's like a triathalon...

2007-04-25T15:02:00.000-04:00

...except instead of simply passing on the magic wand at the end you have to wrestle some other jerk at the end of the line for it. Unless you are the magic wands. Better luck next decade?

No I'm not sure where I'm going with this metaphor or if it even makes sense but with each pass it gets a little harder on them and a little easier for me to ramble about them. I suppose I should have made another post after those last two slugs games since it seems like all I really do is rag on the team. But seriously. I was proud of the team. I was happy to see them doing well again. Game four I thought they showed up in a way that hadn't since the plague of injuries struck. Minus a captain going down here, a goalie brawl there and a trade deadline to top it all off. Which is more than I can say about a certain coach who we have the misfortune of being associated prior to Ruff's tenure. (Seriously though, I don't dislike Nolan but geez could he whine about every thing OUT of his control a little more? How about owning up to the fact that you're stuck with two of the real slugs in the league. Still cleaning up the mess you started with aren't ya Ted.)

That said this was just the begining and everyone better know that. The Rangers are not the Islanders. But bias aside I'd be hard pressed to ever doubt (at least for quite a while) that upset can't over come the challenge of long island (I'm seriously thrilled about this whole mini battle of New York State we've got going on okay?) So what makes this one so much harder? Jagr and Nylander? Yeah sure they can throw a bit more offense at us than the Isles but they're only running two... three lines at best and I hear they plan to put them through the blender to take ours on. When Buffalo shows up they have four solid competant lines. Do the math. Avery? Ha. Ha. Ha. And I'll have you know each one of those exclamations was written with emphatic deliberance (IT'S A WORD) Avery thinks he can get under our skin as do a couple comments from the coachin staff that I've seen. Not going to happen. Tom of Sabres Rattling points out that Buffalo faces guys like Chris Neil and Darcy Tucker eight times a season. We know what to expect. We know how to take advantage of it and we've got our far share to throw back just in case. Defense? I don't think it's any secret that this is probably the weakest point of both teams. That said Buffalo's D is very different in that they regularly perform offensively. We wouldn't have made it out of round one without them and I think that could make a huge difference in the long run.

So that pretty much leaves. The goalie. I think the hardest wall to over come is without a doubt the better half of the lesser known pair of swedish twins. Lundqvist is hot right now and he knows it and that's a dangerous combination. I could make plenty of arguements that he's in far better form than Miller and I think round one already offered us a glimpse at what can happen when a lesser team has a superior goaltender. Does that mean it's over? Of course not! If Buffalo keeps playing the way they have it'll be a long painful series. I could see it going to seven rounds like that. But they keep improving and if they're in top form for this series I could see it getting done in 5 but lets just say 6 to be on the safe side.

As for the rest of the league. Ottawa faces New Jersey and nothing will make me happier than to see one of those two teams get knocked out. Now who do I prefer? Well our record against both isn't too different. 3-5-0 for the Sens and 2-2-0 for the Devils this season. That said I think Ottawa tends to get under Buffalo's skin more. Imo the most annoying team in our division but we know them. I'd still prefer the devils as if the first series was any indication Ottawa is playing some of their best hockey all season. Not to discredit the Devils as it seems like they've found a perfect medium to play their trap while still carrying some effective offense which makes them just as dangerous but it doesn't look like they're as together as the Sens. A point for the Sens also lies in the brawl of the season which could make for a fantastically good series and added rivalry. Either way it'll be hard but should be good.

In the west I think I'll be paying the most attention to the Ducks and the Canucks (oh snap it even rhymes). Not to discredit the Wings or San Jose who are both looking great but I think the conference winner is going to come out of the other series. Calgary's out (and I won't defend what they did nor speak ill of it but I do feel that series ended in the best way possible as Steph so cleverly pointed out) so that pretty much leaves me with ~~Jan Bulis~~ Vancouver to cheer for from the great white north. My pool has the Ducks taking it but that doesn't mean I don't still have faith in Canada and if I end up having to cheer for the Sens over Anaheim I may as well just take up golf early like the 22 not so successful teams of the season have already. And I loath golf. Maybe I'll just eat this glass bottle sitting next to me. I'll save it should the need arise.

Buffalo and Vancouver to play tonight and I'll be stuck at school being lured in by free sushi. There in spirit. Go Slugs.

We hope you enjoyed theTour de Franzen

2007-04-23T01:28:00.000-04:00

Irony.

Here comes round 2.
Courtesy of Let's Go Wings Forums

So. I had playoff hockey to talk about.

2007-04-19T14:24:00.000-04:00

Really I did.

But now, all I have to say is this.

DOUG MACLEAN FIRED? omgyespleasekthxbai.

Words cannot express how seriously and phenomanally HAPPY I am about this news. Though, what does this mean for my emotastic little (ok, not so little) Ukrainian wunderkind who doesn't like to listen? I shudder to think of it.

In other news, Wings/Flames game 4 tonight. Please don't make me cry, Wings. Please?

Now. I'm off to go patrol Youtube a little more Martin Biron stuff. Steph, where'd you find those commentaries you were talking about yesterday before I went out to die while driving?

As a Pens fan I feel like this right about now...

2007-04-18T15:05:00.000-04:00

As a Sabres fan I don't feel much better. Granted the Sabres are 2-1 in their series while the Pens are 1-3 but I'm going to blame that entirely on luck or lack thereof. No one said the playoffs were going to be easy and if they did they were high. Or in Anaheim (for the record I'm really pissed they didn't sweep I just want that series to be over, dead and done :b). But to follow a team that seems to play like they don't even care about it being the playoffs and that's about a hundred times more painful. Especially when said team fought so hard during regular season to accomplish what they did.

In fact I'm almost a little pissed that the those numbers aren't reversed because Pittsburgh may have been slow to come out of the box but they're trying. They're still together and they're still fighting but Ottawa has just been scary good from the start. The Pens are struggling but they're still trying! I can't say the same about Buffalo. At every turn they are disgusting me. They are suppose to be a high scoring puck moving team and what are they're forewards doing? They're on vacation in key west already. Especially our CAPTAIN. Our fourth line is performing better than our top and it's a good thing fans aren't allowed near the plays or I think more than a few would be tearing one, Daniel Briere, a new one. I am just waiting for Lindy to bump him for it and I have noticed that he hasn't been sporting a C lately.

I've always felt that Dru was the true captain of the team though while Danny was our star and boy everything bad you can say about star players has been ringing true with him lately. He's failing to make plays, follow through on plays, he's afraid or just unwilling to take and make hits and don't give me the size excuse cause than man can be obnoxious and rough when he wants to (and often is). He doesn't have the third highest pims on the team for nothing. Speaking of penalty minutes, generally I can be okay with those when you can back them up with some valuable points but since the end of regular season I have seen him do little more than take ridiculous hooking and slashing penalties and he even got himself thrown out of the game at one point. And no I am not giving him even the slightest ounce of credit for that goal he just got last game until he can start performing consistently. He's not the only one though just the one that infuriates me the most. It would be nice if Pominville and Vanek could step up too and Roy while making some great plays that I'm glad for is offsetting them with horribly costly ones. Of course like I said Dru is in top form and that's very important and somehow the D is keeping it together and even performing in place of the forewards while they flounder like fish.

I hear rumours that the team is falling apart in the locker room. That they're at each others throats and calling each other out some of them doing so publicly. I'm looking at you Ryan Miller, it wasn't cute or appropriate the first time and it sure as hell ain't helping anyone now. Not to mention bitching about the D when they are the only ones that are performing just because you haven't been in top form between the posts all series is not acceptable. It is your problem. Even if it is theirs it is your problem to address with them. Either way. FIX IT. And don't go crying to the media anymore because it is doing nothing to endear anyone to your cause.

I don't want to sound like I'm kissing monsieur Biron's ass right now but I think this is the hardest I've ever missed him right now. Off the rink, this was his forte. I'm not saying he was a some messiah that could solve all these problems oh of course not but he could still draw a group together inspite of them. I look at last years team and compared to this year and I don't know why we're falling apart now, when it made us so much stronger then but I'm truly sad to see it happening.

Speaking of the team last year we lost so many treasured players in the off season who are doing fantastic in their respective playoffs this year. JP Dumont for Nashville (Why JP? Why?) is having a spectacular post season with something like 7 points already. In spite of the fact that they will probably (hopefully) get trounced by San Jose. Which brings me to Mike Grier who is always a pleasure to watch and makes me feel not so terrible about cheering for the Sharks. And over in the Vancouver Dallas match up the Taylor Pyatt score a game winner on top of gaining some other key points while for the stars we have Stu Barnes netting a point or two himself. It's impossible to want them all to succeed but if it were!

In conclusion, I still have complete blinding faith in the Pens, want to have faith in Buffalo and Calgary, hope Anaheim would just hurry up and get their series over with, have a strange affection for Tampa shutting down NJ's game (and essentially kicking their fourth line out of the game in a brilliantly retarded ploy that I love them for), and am just so ridiculously glad that Vancouver is keeping me in the orange.

Playoff hockey...Round TWO!

2007-04-14T19:00:00.000-04:00

So, while I'm waiting for the Isles/Sabres game on Versus to appear, instead of bull riding, I figured I'd ramble a bit.

-Watched the Flames/Wings game 1, and was SO happy. Valtteri Filppula's first playoff goal, right off the bat. Amazing. The Wings played very well, and earned that win wholly.

-I then got the end of the Sabres game 1, which Drea was at, and I talked to her on the phone for the entire third period. Drury and Briere amused me.

-Today, I've watched the Pens/Sens game, and was much more happy with the results. Sidney game winner, so I was quite a bit more happy.

So, since I have now run out of things to say, I will leave you with this.

Skye: Guess what gonna's be happening on my stove soon? :D
Drea: uhhh... cheese?
Skye: It involves cheese! :D
Drea: AND MCLENNAN!?
Skye: YES! XD

There's your daily dose of dorky-ness, from yours truly, and Drea. ♥

Oh playoff hockey, how I love thee.

2007-04-12T15:13:00.000-04:00

So, after the EIGHT AND A HALF FUCKING HOURS of absolute GLEE last night that was playoff hockey (barring the rememberances of the Pens getting absolutely SLAUGHTERED, and of VERSUS saying, "Oh, nope, no more hockey for you! Here, have an INFOMERCIAL before OT4 happens! :D"), I have a feeling that the playoffs are going to kill me.

Calgary vs Wings tonight, and I am a horrible Ohio-born-and-bred girl for saying I want the Wings to win. Want them to win like I want the Jackets to make the playoffs ~~at some point in my lifetime~~ next year. Want it more than I wish Bertuzzi could run Phaneuf over for me. Want it more than I want pocky.

Though I really want the Islanders/Sabres game more than all that, because, hello, Martin Biron in booth? Do they KNOW what they've gotten themselves INTO? Oh God, I hope someone YouTubes some of that, because it will be AMAZING, hands down. ~~And Drea, I expect periodly-updates on cute things that happen, and the like. XD~~ Still distressed over the lack of Rick DiPietro, but hey, what can ya do?

I also found out that my brother is going to the Rangers/Thrashers game in Atlanta on Saturday, and I am not a happy little sister. But, since I am apparently moving to Atlanta in the near future (as in, within six months), I forsee a lot of Thrashers-hockey (and Kari-stalking) in my future. Though, with that happening, there will be a serious and distinct lack of Blue Jackets, and that is not ok. I will find a way to remedy this, however. I'm not staying in Atlanta forever, I know that. Oh God, big city = dead Skye-chan.

So, I think that's it for now. I would bother with predictions for the playoffs, but that kind of requires effort, and as I'm still wore out from yesterday's 8-and-a-half-orgasmic-hours of hockey, I'm just way too lazy to do that. XD So right. Go Wings! ~~...I can't believe I just said that. x_X~~

Fantastic Finale VI? Maybe...Maybe Not.

2007-04-07T14:50:00.000-04:00

Well, folks, the Jackets play their last game of the season tonight against the Anaheim Ducks. We have a chance to win the season series tonight, and further our all-time record against them.

I don't know what my feelings towards tonight's game are. I'm excited that we could win the season series, but at the same time...I don't know. Maybe I'm just tired after the 5 AM wake up call that my body decided would be fun this morning. Eh, who knows.

So, I think I will just leave you with this, and go on my way.

NHL.com PREVIEW

Go Blue Jackets!

Hay guys, guess what?

2007-04-04T13:31:00.001-04:00

We lost to Detroit again.

And it was our 16th shutout of the season. :D

...Can I just shoot myself now and get it over with? *sigh*

Hmm.

2007-04-03T00:02:00.000-04:00

I just have one question.

Why am I still blogging for the Blue Jackets? Ugh.

We lost to the 'Hawks, and then got murdered by the Wings. Thank you, Jason Chimera and Rick Nash for being our saviors, in each game respectively, and not making our "shutouts against" record get worse. *sigh*

Dear Columbus Blue Jackets,

Winning is good, 'kay?

Love, Skye

This shit's official?

2007-03-30T01:41:00.000-04:00

Buffalo wins, Pens win, Detroit wins (but I'm not allowed to care) , All of Canada except Edmonton is winning (god damnit St. Louis the ONE time) and the Canes are losing spectacularly. New Jersey is officially number two in Atlantic tonight oh glorious day and Isles are as good as out of the race with their goalie having post symptoms but it would be fantastic if something would trip Tampa or the other not so contract happy New York team. I'm not even picky about this. And to top it all off in two more win Buffalo will clinch division and if they can hold out for three they break the team record they set last year for best season. Things are good.

And then this happened.

Video aside, wtfever happened to "We're gonna win that cup"!? It's a classic and this is a year of classics in Buffalo. I am full of depressed and I can think of a couple other people that won't be happy about this development either. I think I could record a better song myself on the little red tape player from when I was two. Who wants to sing back up?

ANA @ CBJ: 2-5 LOSS

2007-03-29T22:04:00.000-04:00

Dear Blue Jackets,

I am not pissed at you. You played well. I heart you guys seriously.

Love,
Skye
------------------------------------------------------
Dear Officiating for the Jackets Game,

Go fucking jump of a cliff, you fucking morons. kthxbai.

WITH HATE,
Skye
------------------------------------------------------
Dear Freddy Modin,

Please come back soon. Tonight proved that we need you.

Love,
Skye
------------------------------------------------------
Dear Chris Pronger,

... ... ... ... ...

With Hate,
Skye
-------------------------------------------------------
Dear Sergei Fedorov,

BEAUTIFUL goal, Feds. Just beautiful. Do that more often, 'kay?

Much Love,
Skye
-------------------------------------------------------
Dear Jackets Announcers,

Joffrey Lupul doesn't play for Anaheim anymore. Maybe you need to write that down in your notes for next time, yeah?

Amused, but Not Really,
Skye

What? I live?

2007-03-26T18:08:00.000-04:00

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

It hasn't been that long...

2007-03-21T00:18:00.000-04:00

I can't decide how I feel about hockey tonight. Or how I've felt about it in general as of late. But lets just start with tonight. On one had the majority of the matches turned out favourably in my opinion. Though a lot of them seemed quite uneventful (seriously? When Jackets and Hawks are the most promising match and they deliver and it's the only game that I didn't/couldn't catch at some point tonight there is something not quite right in the cosmos.) However the two teams I actually cared about most failed me.

That would be St. Louis and the Flyers (shush it's not true). Both of which were about as much fun fun as a drive through the Minnesota wild with a grandfather who has tourettes and no there was no stoping at St. Mary's to ~~oogle~~ catch a glimpse of the future prospects. Flyers just had me in tears for their poor goalie but really that's come to be the norm. At least two of those goals were not his fault (oh the last one had me swearing like a sailor it did) and when you take twice as many shots on goal as the opposition well of course it makes sense that a couple more are going to go in especially when your team's defense has been vacationing in Key West since the Forsberg trade. That doesn't make it any less distressing though. This team has to be like a curse but I'm sure it's so easy for them to just give up, being ten points down from the second step on the ladder but still. I could go on but I'd just be repeating myself hesstillagoodgoaliedamnit.

Speaking of further disappointment I can't get through this without bitching about another upset imo that is the Sabres latest road trip (with 100% less room service, they kept it in the club). Yeah I'm sure it seems like I should be content. Six of eight is good. Especially when two of those teams were the vicious birds of the east (it's a wonder how threatening the flightless variety can be and I'm not talking about ratites). And over all there would have been content with the outcome had they maybe played like they deserved it. Which is the most upsetting factor. The Atlanta game. The only game where they actually decided to show up. In fact in my opinion they out skated and out played Atlanta the whole and the only thing keeping the Thrashers in the game was that damn Finn. No really. That and the fact that our special teams are like... shit. Even when they get it together. It was close. We got the point. I still wanted two. Which is the complete OPPOSITE of the Pens game. I'm actually disturbed that we got one out of that one. Dear Pittsburgh showed us up in every way that night and I was totally ready to wish that they crash and burn for the rest of the season (oh I was, my loyalties are so cheap) but they totally deserved that while we just got way too lucky. Even in Florida we were averaging 20 shots on goal maybe per night which I know is not everything but damn it's abnormal for them okay. It was rather disgusting to watch and I'm still not sure how we crawled back out of that hole we were clinging to the edge of for a short while there. (I sound so dramatic I'm sure but after spending an entire season at the top and you kind of like to stay there, especially over traitors).

So in conclusion once again Atlanta has crushed my hopes and dreams but could they had least have the courtesy to show up some of those other teams I'd like to see smacked down a few pegs. Of course not. Because inevitably at 78.3 percent of the time hockey is destined to plague me with emotional turmoil. I have a feeling those numbers are in the general area of normal.

And so this post isn't all bitch bitch negative! Sabres did clinch playoffs as of the Habs defeat of Toronto (not that there was doubt but it's nice to have that insurance from here on out so long as it's not an excus for slacking... but really if we even lost division and the advantage at this point I would be severely shocked and may have to default to afformentioned flightless birds who can seriously take a dive and pick themselves up without so much as a skinned knee. I don't know how they do it but they're quite the force~) . Speaking of which Pens are also all but assured. I am mostly okay with the way the playoffs are shaping up to be but I would like to see the Habs or Toronto make it in (so Carolina can get bumped out, if Edmonton's out I will not sleep until they are too!) St. Louis was a nice pipe dream while it lasted (really that was sealed the day they decided Guerin and Tkachuk were too cool to skip post-season [really really, I may just be delusional])

Also Ty Conklin finally decided that patriotism was dead (or something was, I'll be nice or Skye might eat me!) and got the shiniest of shinys and it's taking every ounce of will power not to ship over to Buffalo to go see it tomorrow night (that and the fact that the Russian threesome [lollithuania counts] and Ales and his BFF will be reunited! I can't imagine there wouldn't be something worth seeing in either of that] But right. Conks has a helmet and it is quite possibly the greatest of helmets this team has ever seen. Though I do think Miller's design is nice as it's so intricate and utilizes the shape of the mask perfectly. But it's not blindingly shiny. Seriously that has to be a tactical advantage or something as it's sure to burn the retinas of all who attempt shooting the puck in that general direction! That man bs's so badly when he says he's not a mask guy (possibly worse than Marty and that takes skill!) wtf I have counted like at least 10 in the not even decade that he's played.

We'll see wether or not I actually am weak of mind tomorrow. Probably not though as it also promises more Marty.

PS: This just in. Huet is from France. Seriously.

...

2007-03-10T19:18:00.000-05:00

Remember that hiatus that I thought I was gonna be taking a little while back that was a false alarm? Yeah, this time, it's not.

I was caught online again, and will probably not be able to have computer access until I move out. That will hopefully not to be too far from now.

So, I'll catch y'all at some time in the future, I hope.

LAK @ CBJ: 3-2 OT WIN

2007-03-07T23:19:00.000-05:00

Spaztastic LJ Phone Post about game.

And the one thing I didn't spaz about in that is Geoff Platt's first goal. It's about damn time. Good for him.

A goal from Platt, and two goals from Vyborny, including the game winner.
Can't remember who scored for LA, don't really care. ^^;

Final Score: 3-2
BLUE JACKETS WIN.

Game Day!

2007-03-07T13:24:00.000-05:00

What, a post from me? XD That actually happens? Yes, yes it does. Sometimes. When I'm not being lazy, it seems.

Game Day
Los Angeles Kings @ Columbus Blue Jackets
7 P.M. Eastern Time
NHL Preview
Game Day Score Card

The Jackets are coming off a successful
two-game road trip, where they came away with 4 of 4 points earned.
~~Can we say 'woot'? I thought so.~~

Norrena is getting the start tonight after Boucher won his first game as a Blue Jacket on Saturday night.

It also looks like Hitch might have played a little blender with the lines again, as Nikolai Zherdev is up on the second line with Sergei Fedorov and Fredrik Modin. Geoff Platt is still up on the top line with David Vyborny and Rick Nash, as those three seem to have extremely good chemistry together.

A win Wednesday would also snap Columbus' three-game home losing streak. The Blue Jackets are just 1-4-1 in their last six games at Nationwide Arena.

This is not the greatest of stats, but hopefully, we can break this horrible slump tonight with a win against Los Angeles, who are struggling at the moment.

The Kings went 0-for-6 with the man advantage Tuesday, snapping a run of nine straight games with at least one power-play goal.

Los Angeles, which owns a league-worst 9-20-2 road record, visits Detroit on Friday before closing out the four-game swing Sunday at Dallas.

In other news, Edmonton plays Tampa Bay tonight, and Buffalo faces Colorado.

I think that's it from me, and I'll go back to writing fanfiction that I really should not.

GO BLUE JACKETS.

Sports math: Hockey > School

2007-03-07T11:50:00.000-05:00

I deemed ten minutes before I had to run to school an appropriate time to write about hockey huzzah! Sabres didn't play last night but it should be noted that our captain is slated to come back in the Avs match up tonight. I think we should be pretty solid for this game with him back with the way the rookies have been performing. And his return also means we can send the ones that haven't been performing as much back down. I'm looking at you Mike.

There's also been lots of discussion over whether or not Ruff may just keep Stafford for the rest of this season and post. I for one think he has more than earned that place. To be honest I thought he felt like a full fledged Sabre long ago. I wouldn't even argue with Macarthur getting the same honor too if chance allows. Anyway in a rare display of guessing scores I predict 4-2 Buffalo tonight. Go Slugs!

In other news a lot of chance victories took place last night. I frighted the dog in my cussing over the Wings Nashville game not because I wanted the latter to win but because I really wanted the Wings to win regulation and I don't want that often! A repeat of this scene also took place as I audibly squee'd over the New Jersey Flyers game. Lowly Philly taking down the top team in the division is good for everyone in spite of the fact that the Devils still get a point. But it's good for the Pens on the off chance that they decide to try and play well enough to take them on again (speaking of which quite nervous about their match on Thursday and the win over Ottawa is huge to give them some insurance) and it's good for the Sabres if we want to clinch top of the division (hey we're not out of the woods yet).

Most importantly of all Biron made and absolutely disgusting save on Langenbrunner with his leg while he was on the ground. It was so lucky and smart at the same time and he got a standing ovation from his first night in his new city so of course that makes me even happier. I also kind of need to point out Scottie Upshall could this kid have been any better of an acquisition? No it's already quite clear that I don't like Nashville so it's not like I'm noticing him for that either but I swear in the every game I've been paying attention to Philly this kid has been putting up points. Where as Foppa has about three points and is now currently off searching for the newest trend in breakfast foods. By the end of this season Upshall will probably match what Forsberg did in Philly. Gagne's OT goal also made me far more happy than I should ever allow myself to be in the face of this team.

So all and all with the except of the st. Louis game, hockey was a fairly happy thing last night.

And because breakfast foods were mentioned can I please just say how much I don't really care for Joe Thorton one way or another, not to say I dislike him either, but every single time the league does something with him and his damn toast I just DIE truly and completely. I with they would put that commercial up now plzkthnx. Or maybe they shouldn't or I might watch it on repeat for the rest of my life XD;

In case you didn't know I'm obsessed with a certain devil-eyed goalie...

2007-03-05T19:59:00.000-05:00

Well well well, where to begin? It's been quite an emotional week or two, in life and in the world of hockey but thankfully I only have to write about the latter here but I can't promise this won't get sappy and sentimental because I am slowly realizing that I took a great player for granted and am now kicking myself for it but really excited for what's in store too.

Trade deadline has come and gone and it's always a stressing time for fans Foppa went to Nashville making it arguably the most dangerous move for anyone set to face them come play off time. We'll see. Guerin to the Sharks also struck a particular chord with me because he's been a key player with St. Louis this year. Arguably the most important along with Legace in my option (on the plus side he resigned for two years~) and they also lost Tkachuk to Atlanta. Steph did point me toward information that basically stated outright that Guerin was a rental player and i don't see why that might not be the case with the later too though his contract did have an addition if it isn't. So all is not lost for them. Unlike Edmonton, with the most heartbreaking news of all which I'm sure I don't even need to restate here but I was rather broken up about it too. But STILL not as much as I was over this, the trade that hit home most of all. And that was no small news either but I am still reeling from disbelief over the trade of Martin Biron, quite possibly one of the most beloved athletes in the sport, to the Philadelphia Flyers; as in from number one to dead last and I don't think it's possible for me to be any more torn.

What adds salt to the wound is that when all was said and done the Sabres pretty much officially stated that this was a direct result of all the injuries we were taking, to free up money from the cap which they had maxed out. The acid in the wound is that to replace him we signed Ty fucking Conklin . To be fair I am not so bent up over that part of the deal anymore but I don't think I'll ever accept him as a Sabre unless he's in for a long haul. Doubtful. Moving back to the québécois goalie, as much as I don't want to see him leave this is an opportunity for him and he seems more or less excited about it in interviews, any number of which I could point out at home but seeing as I'm writing this at school this is the only one I can access but they're all about the same. Some people have noted that he doesn't seem himself in these but you know what? I don't blame him if that's the case and I don't think that's any reason to assume that he's lying about being happy. He wanted to start more than anything else. He wanted to play probably even more than he wanted to win a cup at least as back up and you know what? If he starts for the Flyers for the rest of the season he will probably end up getting more games than he would have with the Sabres even in post season barring any injuries with Miller [Oh please no injuries. I am having horrible nightmares of facing the Islanders with Bergeron and watching last season in new colours on repeat in slow motion it's horrible]. So in the end, who are we to deny him the opportunity to prove himself again just because we want to hold on to our longest tenured player who we adore? And for that I am glad he's not stuck in the shadow anymore just providing comic relief.

But I still miss him. Still miss him as much as the day the trade went through and I'll admit I cried a little when he was absent from the bench and Conks was there acting like he was just one of the guys with everyone else. It hurt. It felt wrong. He's been a constant from before I departed from hockey for a while and I regret missing a big part of the most important years of his career now. But I do remember him from when he was still a regular in minors which means he's been part of this organization for more than half of my life. The team just doesn't seem the same without him there anymore. And I think the players feel the same way. Nearly all of them were interviewed about the trade and all of them had glowing opinions of him especially Miller who has no doubt been influenced by him greatly. Add to that both captains singling him out as the best teammate they've ever had in their career [and Drury has been with quite a few notable players to be sure] and Brian Campbell actually reacting angrily about it, toward Miller unfortunately but he understood and didn't hold it against Campbell. Earlier in the year Brian also said:

"I really don't know what I would do without Marty out there. Everybody on the team enjoys him so much. Everybody has fun with him and he has fun with us. Marty is the big time key to all of it --- I think the only reason all of this is working is because of the personality of Marty."

And it seems to be holding true. The Sabres have had their fair share of stars to come through their ranks but Biron was something else altogether for them. He seemed sort of like a wall. He was knowledgable , he was supportive, he was sweet, he was funny, he was a notable optimist for them, always looking ahead and I feel like the importance of what he did for them off the ice maybe even doubles what he did on it. The Flyers know they're getting a great goalie in him [and I don't say great lightly, you don't hold records for thirteen straight wins and one for shut outs for your team on mediocrity] but I hope they also realize what a fantastic person they are getting too. I think they do.

My reasoning? Well lets just say in a stunning display of failure to cope with the change coupled with lack of logical reasoning I picked up a ticket to see the Flyers play the Pens yesterday and made a rather expensive day trip of it that was totally worth it. Biron stole the show for me and I couldn't even tell you how good the game might have been though it was ridiculously fun. And unlike seeing him absent from the Sabres bench, seeing him clad in black and orange did not evoke any feelings of sadness. I was just so glad to see him play and get so into the game. But what I wanted to note here is what I observed in watching the other Flyers interact with him. I think they were really trying their best for him. Really going out of their way to help him feel like he fits in because I'm sure they realize he is there to save their sorry last place butts. But it was genuine and cute too. And I'm almost afraid to admit that I warmed to them just a little because anyone that is THAT nice to Biron will get points with me. All I can actually describe here as an example though is how every time there was a break in play, and I do mean every time, so long as they were at centre ice or in their zone one or more players would go over and poke him and or talk with him a little if time allowed. Sometimes the whole line did it! It was excessive and I was happy to see it.

The thing that worries me most is how the management seems to be baiting him. Or it feels like that to me. In interviews it feels like they are being critical of Buffalo and calling the Sabres on only considering him a back up goaltender. Um no. We recognized that Biron was good enough to start or we would not have started him after Hasek left! We knew he could play at that level considering all his accomplishments and I think Darcy and Lindy did a lot to ensure he still got time to show that. But the fact of the matter is Miller was still better and there should be no question about starting the better goalie. The other thing that rubs me the wrong way is how much they are pushing him to sign a new contract now which I suppose is only to be expected but I still hate seeing it happen and I kind of would like to see him hold out. There's no telling what kind of opportunity free agency could bring him so long as he can keep it together for the rest of the season in spite of the team that is fronting him now. He's a desirable goalie and I suppose I just want to see him make out with the very best... and if after all that, it means choosing to stay with the Flyers then so much the better.

Regardless of where he goes from here, I will continue to follow him and love him and miss him and wish him the very best in the rest of his career. Though like any loss it is still sad, over all I am happy for him and I want him to prove his skills can shine as brightly as his personality. So for all we know this could be the beginning of something even better.

And with that I will shut up now! I know I shouldn't have let this get so long winded but I think I really needed to get that out. It's been bothering me this whole time and I'll get over it and move on soon enough and I rambling incessantly probably helped speed that process along~

In other news I can find a really lengthy and amazingly incoherent [to me] interview with Marty's brother Mathieu en français! And I find it horribly unfair that the same does not exist of so many other French Canadian players so readily!

I am also linking NPI to Ty Conklin in an attempt to google bomb because page three just isn't good enough. Though they claim to have fixed the programing to keep bombing from happening I believe it can still be gotten around.

CBJ @ DAL: 3-2 SO WIN

2007-03-02T23:32:00.000-05:00

*sigh*

Good game.

SERGEI GOAL. Adorable Sergei pictures because of said goal. Life is complete.

Steady Freddy indeed. ♥ Did SO GOOD in the SO.

And I now know what to do during shootouts. Wear my Nikky hat sideways. *new superstition spawns...NOW*

In other news, the Red Wings won. Robert Lang got first star with a goal and 3 assists. Jiri Hudler and Valtteri Filppula had a goal each as well, so I am a happy little girl right now. ♥

I'm...Just a bit numb right now.

2007-02-28T02:36:00.000-05:00

I have nothing really to say about trade day. I did my crying earlier.

My biggest distress was Ryan Smyth. ...I can't even talk about it. Steph did an amazing job here though. Appy, you made me cry. Again. T_T

I just...

God, today killed my brain.

That's all from me for now.

Oh yeah. The Jackets lost. Again. At least it wasn't a shutout. Mom changed the channel with two minutes left in the game, and they scored. Twice. ...I'm such bad luck for my boys. *sigh*

THE DAY FROM HELL. (Wherein Skye proves that she is a moron.)

2007-02-27T15:40:00.000-05:00

Aka: Trade Deadline Day.

My day started out pretty good. IE: I slept on the couch until mom left for work, and I could jump online and check what all was going on in the trading world.

And then I got this news.

Ty Conklin traded to Buffalo.

I AM SO DISTRESSED ABOUT THIS. Yes, Conks kind of sucked like horribly for us, whenever he played, but still! I had grown retardedly attached to him, and I am so distressed that he's gone.

In return, I'm hearing rumors of getting a fifth-rounder.

The Jackets also claimed goalie Boucher (his first name is escaping me, and I'm too distressed to go worry about it) off of Waivers from Chicago.

Now, let's talk about the other distressing news of the day.

The Sabres traded Marty Biron. I don't even know WHY I'm so distressed about this. Drea might have something to do with it. Actually, I think I'm so distressed because of really retarded reasons that I won't divulge here.

Now. My biggest point of distress.

The Oilers Trade Ryan Smyth

NONONONONONONONONO. GIVE HIM BACK. NOW. NOW. NOW. GIVE. HIM. BACK. I REFUSE TO ACCEPT THIS. GIVE HIM BACK. HOW?! HOW COULD THEY DO THIS?! *scream*

...I'm going to go SOB in a corner now and hate hockey for a little bit.

CBJ @ NYR: 3-2 WIN.

2007-02-25T01:06:00.000-05:00

I missed the first five minutes or so of the game, and when we turned it on, we were already down 2-0. (And I couldn't tell you who scored for the Rangers. Was Jagr one? I'm not sure, and I'm a little too lazy at the moment to go check.)

...Wow, did I have flashbacks to Thursday. It was like reliving a nightmare.

So here I am, all ready to lose. And then, what's this? An Anders Erikkson goal? You mean there is such a thing?

At this point, I'm still pretty sure we're gonna lose, 'cause...You know...It's kind of what we seem to do best, anymore. [/jaded] Not to mention we started playing our "LET'S ALL GET STUPID PENALTIES!" game again. Well, at least this obviously won't be as bad as a loss as Thursday's. Because, you know, we've actually scored in this one.

And then, what? A shorthanded goal by Jason Chimera? Really? Are you serious? It's tied? ...You're joking right? You're not? Wow! We may have a chance!

A few more penalties...Then...

Another shorthanded goal? This time by Rick Nash? Come on, this has to be a joke. Or a really good dream. Either way, it can't be real. What? It is? We're winning? ...Wow.

We managed to hold them off during the whole third period, during which, Fredrik Norrena made a wonderful showing of why he is being called Steady Freddy by Jeff Rimer and Danny Gare.

Lemme just state for the record that this totally didn't make up for Thursday's disgusting showing. Or non-showing, is more like it.

But. It did restore a little bit of my faith in humanity. Just a little however. Because we've still got a long way to go.

Final Score: 3-2
BLUE JACKETS WIN.

The trade bug has finally bitten us.

2007-02-23T19:02:00.000-05:00

Anson Carter to the Hurricanes for a 2008 fifth round draft pick.

I'm curiously...uncaring about finding out about this trade. My only thing is: why couldn't it have been a pick for this year?

EDM @ CBJ: 0-4 LOSS

2007-02-22T23:52:00.000-05:00

Voice Post from after the game.

I am disgusted. With every member of the god damn team, except Norrena, becasue it was NOT his fault. That is all.

BLUE JACKETS LOSS
0-4 SHUTOUT.

In other news:

I AM NOW THE PROUD OWNER OF A NIKOLAI ZHERDEV JERSEY. My life is complete.

I'm so pround of my mouthy little french goalie

2007-02-22T22:06:00.001-05:00

It's good to be a sabres fan tonight

...or a sens one for that matter.

Another man down.

2007-02-22T00:53:00.000-05:00

Paille broke his finger and is on my shitlist! God this is five games in a row that we've sustained injuries! (Though as I told Skye, Lindy's response to this one was something along the lines of "What? We're actually getting this one back in time? That's awesome!") I have nothing more to say except to offer this:

Signage.

2007-02-21T23:47:00.000-05:00

Proof that I am a moron.

...Yep. And sparklies are going to be acquired, hopefully.

OMG TOMORROW IS GAME DAY. *flails*

CBJ @ STL: 4-5 SO LOSS.

2007-02-20T23:02:00.000-05:00

So, most of this was written during the end of the second period/second intermission/throughout the third. Hi spazzy-all-over-the-place-me.

Manny after Ronnie Hainsey's goal kind of melted my heart a little. He looked back in the net, then looked at his glove like, "Wait, what? It's not in my glove? ..." And then shook his head, and I wanted to cuddle the little 5'9" goalie. And then I remembered, "Oh wait. RONNIE JUST GAVE US THE LEAD AGAIN! I HEART YOU HAINSEY!"

And Manny saying ON TV to the GM or president or something of the Blues, "I want to re-sign with the Blues!" ...That's so cute. ;-;

Ok, so I have to wank about the fucking officiating some. The non-call of the hook that sent Nikky into the boards? That Nikky laid on the ice after for so long? That caused my heart to jump into my throat? That caused bile to rise when they DIDN'T CALL IT. That led to a goal from St. Louis. Ugh, fucking officials.

Also: "Backman&Jackman: Attorneys at Law"? wtf? ...There are times I really love my announcers. Like the comment about the Chimmer Choo-Choo, Jonathan Cheechoo, and Jordan TooToo the other night against San Jose. That was just amazing. This however. Is not. And the "I can see Cleary now that the rain is gone." crack from a game against Detroit definitely goes down in my books as one of the worst plays on words ever. NOT A WORD FROM YOU, APPY, YOU DON'T COUNT IN THIS MATTER.

Oh, and how thrilled am I that I get to watch the Atlanta/Boston game on Monday night? OH SO FUCKING THRILLED. I GET TO SEE KARPPA PLAY. ...And if Boston plays Hannu, I think my brain just may fizzle and die a little. Finnish-goalie-overload and whatnot.

So I definitely just yelled at the tv when they said something about "Hope to see you there at Nationwide for the Oilers game!". I definitely just yelled "YOU WILL! ♥!" ...Well, as much as you can yell a ♥!. XD

So Mom and I went to the Ameristop to get me sweets (because hockey = sweets need to be consumed), and by the time we got back, the Blues had scored two more times. wtf, guys? Although that Backman goal was really actually kind of good. Freddy left that rebound out there, and Backman jumped on it.

THIS IS ME HATING THE FUCKING OFFICIATING MORE. We could have just tied it up. BUT NO THE REF HAS TO BLOW HIS FUCKING WHISTLE MOTHER FUCKER.

OMG RICK NASH I LOVE YOU I OWE YOU A CHILD FOR THAT FUCKING GOAL. A goal with 13 seconds left to tie it up? I FUCKING LOVE YOU.

Sergei on the blueline in OT? Apparently, this is not so odd, as he was on the blueline in Detroit sometimes, but it's still sort of boggling to me.

Ewwww, shootout. I do not likey shootouts. Especially when they involve my boys.

FUCK.

...Manny Legace, you are small and cute, but I severely dislike you right now. Give me twenty four hours.

Dear Blue Jackets,

Please stop going to shootouts against the St. Louis Blues. WE ARE HORRIBLE IN SHOOTOUTS AGAINST MANNY. LEARN THIS AND LEARN TO BEAT THEM IN REGULATION. kthxbai.

Love,
Skye

However, this is me loving on my boys, no matter the outcome. ♥ They played well tonight. omg, can't wait for Thursday. ;-;

Game Day!

2007-02-20T14:10:00.000-05:00

NHL Preview

Game Day Scorecard

So tonight, we play the Blues again. It'll be game six of the eight game series, with the Blues leading the series 3-2. Every game has been won by the visiting team.

The Jackets are saying, "Playoffs? What're those? Ohhh, those things we're not gonna make." at this point. Which is depressing, but not really surprising.
--------
In other news, the Oil are playing the Sens tonight, and Boston is playing Toronto. (Maybe Boston will start Hannu Toivonen, my favorite Finnish goalie? Probably not, but I can hope, yeah? Because the idea of him going up against Andrew Raycroft kind of makes me squee and giggle for reasons it should not. Right. Shutting up now.)

The Sabres are playing the Flyers on Versus, and I was going to watch that game until I remembered that there was a Jackets game tonight. Oh well. Sigh.

Also, Rick Nash has a website now. This mildly frightens me. I don't know if it's the terrifying header picture, or what. But I'm mildly frightened.

So I think that's it for me for now. There may be an attempted live!blog from me (aka I keep a running tab in a Word document, then post it when I get online.)

GO JACKETS.

Uh...False alarm?

2007-02-19T23:12:00.000-05:00

...So apparently, I will still be able to be around.

...Sorry for the false alarm. *head desk*

Oh yeah.

2007-02-19T12:49:00.000-05:00

Oh, and before I go:

A Zherdev goal against Montreal? OMG YES PLEASE KTHXBAI.

...Yep, that's it from me for a while, I'm thinking. There will probably be a voice post on LJ after the game on Thursday, so if you want to know what I thought of the game/if I had fun/all that fun stuff, head over to Hockey Is Life (my LJ) on Thursday night/early Friday morning, and it'll be there.

A bit of a hiatus from me, I'm afraid.

2007-02-19T12:47:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that I'm gonna be on a bit of a hiatus. I got caught on the internet when I wasn't supposed to be (I know. I know.). The hours that followed weren't fun at all. I came back home yesterday at about 2 PM after having left the night before, and Mom and I sort-of-kind-of talked it out. IE: We both apologized, we established that I could start working up my level of trust with her again, the fact that we ARE still going to the game was established (she had threatened to sell our tickets, and then later said we weren't going at all) and it would probably be a while until I could work up the trust for the computer again.

So. This is me letting you all know. She thinks she deleted the way I get on the net, but she didn't, but I'm not gonna push it, because if I'm caught again, I'm pretty sure I'll be kicked out for good. I hope to be able to talk to you all again soon. I'm gonna miss you! T_T

So, this is Skye, signing out for a while. I hope to be back soon. T_T ♥'s for everyone!

Wake up call.

2007-02-18T12:28:00.000-05:00

This works better than an alarm clock it seems ;-; I'm glad I got to see him play now even if I did poke fun of him a little at that game~ He did actually show up to that one.

Wishes for hockey today (besides the Sabres not sustaining anymore injuries oh they can do it I'm sure) pretty much revolve around the Pens winning with a side note of hoping Sidvechkin is special enough to provoke a lot of hurt ~~from Mario~~ :D

It's so good I had to write something.

2007-02-17T20:52:00.000-05:00

Hockey is seriously an uplifter right now just when I thought I might have to lament a really pathetic loss.

I have not heard or seen Buffalo this riled up in quite some time and with good reason. Setting the scene it is 3-2 Boston. Buffalo recently scored on on a two man advantage with five foreward in a fashion I feel like I should be upset to see anyone but the Oilers do! Buffalo is still on the power play with less than a minute left in the period when little Briere is set up for a gorgeous clear shot. Thomas however made a save that was as ridiculous as one made by us in the last Boston game. Right off the fat end of the stick. It was kind of surreal but rather dissapointing too.

However play continued to the end of the period and the teams started to head out but because there was no stopping after that save they only just started reviewing it then. Replays show that the puck was clearly over the line when it was deflected. Cue Danny slowly meandering over to the refs who are on the phone and waiting like a little kid who's just been promised a boat load of candy. I can't get through this without saying it was all kinds of adorable. I think before the call was even made Lindy had the whole team back out on the bench to support Briere. After the fact it must have taken Boston at least five minutes to do the same. The refs were getting pissed and purportedly threatened a delay of game. I mean I'm sure no would want to have to come back after being informed that their game had in fact been tied up when they thought they were safe but seriously? Just get it over with! It's not like it was end of game which would really suck. But you could see how upset they were in the short replay that ensued playing so halfhearted. Still I'm happy to see how interesting this game is shaping up to be.

As a slight downer Kotalik is now out for the rest of this game and that could have serious repercussions if he ends up going the way of so many other Sabres, being a strong player for us and potential trade fodder. The less we can use other people the more trading Marty will be a possibility and I don't think I could stand for that this season. Stafford also took a nasty fall and I think you could hear my swearing throughout the western half of the state because he only just started again (after getting a goal in the first too! The kid's a tank) and that's not only bad for Buffalo but Rochester too! While I'm happy that Rochester has so many good players for Buffalo to rely on when they need them it's stuff like this that really hurt Rochester in their own endeavours for the Calder cup. Of course I'd like to see both teams do as well as possible.

So now Boston seems to be agitated about that call and it's showing~ Maybe another scruff or two is in order.

And as if the game wasn't good enough already. MARTY ON MIC TONIGHT! Oh it's better than Christmas!

Edit: Peters shoulder injury too? Fucking hell.

SJS @ CBJ: 3-0 SHUTOUT WIN.

2007-02-16T21:33:00.000-05:00

omg, what do I say? FLAIL.

The boys seemed to start off kind of cold, giving up a lot of turnovers and the like. But then, they exploded.

And what can I say about Norrena's play tonight? omg, he was amazing. That's the only way to describe it. Steady Freddy indeed. First star was well deserved and earned.

Gilbert and Sergei with goals? omg yes please. And a Nikky assist. ♥

Nikky started to pass more after the first period, so I was proud of him for that.

And Rick, going after that guy, and the guy just curling up and covering his head? Priceless. Not as good as the turtle fight, but damn close.

And Footer laughing with the guy he was holding onto was cute and I don't know why.

...Oh God, guys, please play like you did tonight next Thursday. Please.

*so much love to her boys*

Goals for Modin, Brule, and Fedorov.
NO GOALS FOR SAN JOSE.

Final Score: 3-0
BLUE JACKETS WIN.

Prepare for a flailing, spaztastic post.

2007-02-16T16:11:00.000-05:00

I AM GOING TO MY FIRST HOCKEY GAME ON THURSDAY. THE OILERS VERSUS THE JACKETS. *FLAIL*

...Is it Thursday yet?

In other news, the Flyers traded Foppa to the Preds. God, anywhere but there. ANYWHERE but there. Ugh.

...I'M GONNA SEE MY BOYS.

What was that I said about injuries?

2007-02-16T08:07:00.000-05:00

I do believe Buffalo's count is now six or something. Oh the game yesterday was fun enough though I thought both teams seemed a little sluggish but at the same time they both played well too if that makes sense. The skating and players were clean but what happened to scoring goals or at least shots on goal? I was surprised to see the later was as high as it was at the end of the game. There were a few good Roli saves that even happened down in my end that I was happy for though and I swear half the time I was watching him instead of the guys playing at the other end of the ice. And seeing him and Jussi play in succession during warm up really makes their difference in goal style obvious as if it already wasn't before but it's enough to prove a point. Also Hemmer during the anthems? Really adorable because he would not stop fidgeting! Like drifting back and forth between the bench and the line of players. It was great getting to see them once and I only wish I could see them again... but I have a feeling attempting to go anywhere next week would be a world of not intelligent after the trouble I had this week. That and I'm sure tickets to a Detroit game are about as easy to come by as those to Toronto at the begining of the season. But alas it would be really nice.

But all this is not what I came here to talk about! Because there is a crisis at hand. Yesterday Jiri Novotny went down right near us and purportedly injured his ankle though I haven't seen a specific time frame for how long he's expected to be out. I've also seen reports that Maxim is out for six weeks too though I can't for the life of me figure out when that one happened with him. He actually showed up for the game yesterday and then he has to go out like this! Connolly was also slated to start again but he relapsed so we really are suffering play off syndrome with forewards instead of defense now though it might as well be reminded that defense is still suffering too! I would like to be the first to salute Mr. Stafford and co as they ship out on the USSBuffaslug sooner or later.

Randomly... has anyone else noticed that when looking up players on yahoo they are stuck about a decade or two in the past? Czechoslovakia? Really?

This is a long time coming.

2007-02-15T12:37:00.000-05:00

So over the past week I had a lot to say but due to the fact that certain other organizations known as school are trying to rape me I have been hard pressed to actually sit down and try to write anything intelligent and now it's pretty much way after the fact on anything I might have said so here have so tasteful bullets (but not tasty god I'm hungry and lacking rice crispies -_-)

The Pens are on a roll (or they were last time I was a part of this good earth) and have since over taken the cheese-eaters (see: French) and are now seated nicely at fourth in the conference. While it would be nice to say that put them in a good position for the play-offs they are only separated from the other teams by mere fractions of points. Still I'm happy for them because if they are forced out by their parents to find work in greener plains (actually I think Kansas is pretty brown right?) it'd be nice to say fuck you with a good cup run before that happens. Taking top of the division next? I can dream and lately dreams have been coming true!

Trade rumours in Buffalo. The majority of what I've heard that seem to have any weight are for Kotalik and Biron. The former would make me sad but he's just in the right place for some good trade leverage so he could be used in a lot of smart ways without losing too much sadly. And anyone who's actually reading this knows how I feel about Marty and his freakishly ice blue eyes and his neverending strings of hilarity. However the bigger issue of this trade is not who wants him or where he'd go but whether or not Darcy is gonna let him go. On one hand he's too expensive as a back up and there's no doubt in my mind that after this season he will go even if free agency weren't happening but for now he's provided good issurance and for a goalie that isn't starting he is damn good when he does get on the ice even after so much time. The whole team knows that and the whole team knows that he's saved their ass from falling a few steps on the ladder more than a few times. Miller has even stated he knows it's okay to let Lindy know when he's not feeling right enough to play because they have someone else who is just as good to rely on. The whole team benefits from knowing that while their defense may be in shoddy shape and sometimes they forget how to shoot the puck at least their goal situation will always be in top form and that's a confidence that can go a long way in a deep cup run. For now I think he stays. When he leaves I'll be sad but I will follow him where ever he goes because how can you not after almost ten great years of quality benchside talk. As another plus I think instead of shopping around for a back up the sabres also have a pretty good shot with Dennis down in the Amerks and I'll be glad to see him wearing blue and gold.

Short bullet but St. Louis has also been doing fairly well for themselves and I'm quite happy for them though there was a scare during the Wings game were Legace got kneed in the head and ended up pulling himself from the game but he's back in the game now thankfully. Steph did real good recap at NPI (God that was like a week ago -_-) but it's safe to say that we stand far away and on opposite sides of the fence over the outcome. They also came out on top of the Jackets and Skye was telling me about how no one from their defense saw it fit to cover Guerin. You'd think a guy who scores a hat trick on San Jose might be someone you should watch for but maybe that's just me.

On the topic of injuries the Sabres just can't seem to get enough of them! It's like the play-offs all over again (though hopefully like Lindy says, they're getting them out of the way now) But I swear Spacek seriously can't step out onto the ice for more than two minutes without breaking something else and Gaustad! Back in the Sens game during collision, he caught Heatleys skate with his leg. Though the initial diagnosis said it wasn't serious a follow up revealed that tendons had been severed in his leg and that he would likely be out for the rest of the season unless the Sabres make deep into the play offs. And he's really really lucky. Here's hoping for the best for the guy because while he may not have been one to put major points up he was a strong presense and good at making plays for the team and I'm sure they're feeling the loss.

The Blue Jackets sent ickle Ty back down to Syracuse. Oh! I would live little more than an hour away from that fair (dump) of a city. I can't wait! Expect AHL spam from time to time! (Yes noting that was worth a bullet)

So that's all I can come up with for today but it is important to note that in an hour I will be heading out to the fair (dump) of a city of Buffalo (for the record I reside in Rochester and actually enjoy the city itself... just not the living here instead of Toronto... but at least I can actually stand a chance to see a hockey game here!). It is there that I will catch their one and only game against the Edmonton Oilers. The inner turmoil of who to cheer for is far to great but I'm sure a cry go GOILERSLUGS might happen once or twice. Now to go locate that jersey.

STL @ CBJ: 2-4 LOSS

2007-02-14T23:04:00.000-05:00

Ok, first of all, that empty netter shouldn't have happened. Whoever passed that puck STRAIGHT TO THE ST. LOUIS PLAYER NEEDS TO BE SMACKED. HI THANKS FOR LOSING THE GAME FOR US. -_-

Second, the guys seemed to be lacking a lot in the energy department tonight. They weren't playing urgently. Nikky, however, was playing very nicely, and I'm not just saying that because I ♥ him. Sergei was playing rather well tonight as well. They both had several shots on goal, and I know that both of them had at least one go off the pipes each. *sigh*

Speaking of Nikky, that shot of him on the bench, smiling, laughing, and talking to Malhotra? Adorable. I'd like more shots of him like that, kthxbai.

Rick's opening goal against Manny was so pretty. That was a beautiful goal. He played that perfectly, and Vybes just gave Rick an amazing pass.

Normally, I would be unbelievably pissed about the unallowed goal for the Jackets, but this time, they actually made the right call. You couldn't see where the puck was. It was under Manny's pad, but you couldn't tell if it was over the line or not, so this time, they actually made the right call.

Svits' goal was equally as pretty as Rick's.

Hainsey being all pissed and grumpy at the end was mildly amusing.

Speaking of mildly amusing; the huge dog-pile fight with Manny Legace standing in net, staring at the dog pile like, "...You're all morons." was amazing. XD He's so little...*flails* ...I like the 5'9"ers, leeme alone.

All in all, I'm not really all that upset about the game. It wasn't a win, by any means, but it wasn't a bad game. ~~...And Manny got the win...~~

So I just figured out why they didn't win. I wasn't wearing my Rick bracelets. ~~...Yes, I believe that the bracelets bring the team luck, leave me alone.~~ ...

...Sigh.

Game Day!

2007-02-14T12:12:00.000-05:00

I’m pressed for time today, so I’ll just throw up the NHL Preview, and some basic facts.

NHL Preview

St. Louis is visiting Columbus tonight for their fifth meeting of the season. The series so far is tied, with both teams having won twice. The away team has won all four meetings so far in the series this season, and both of the St. Louis wins have been in shootouts.

The Jackets haven’t been doing all that well lately (…Ahaha, understatement of the year much?), and are quickly losing ground in the standings. A win would do their confidence some good at this point, I believe.
---------
In other news, the Wings are playing Dallas tonight. Let's hope that their performance is a hell of a lot better than it was the other night in the game-that-we-will-all-pretend-didn't-happen.

*has apparently given up and just admits she's a Red Wings fan...* Sigh. I'm such a bad Ohio girl. ~~At least I don't root for Pittsburgh. My daddy would never forgive me.~~

Welcome to the post where Skye rants and raves.

2007-02-13T19:31:00.000-05:00

...Wherein Skye fumes, rants, raves, and curses. Intelligent posting? What's that?

Zherdev kicked off ice during practice

In fairness, Zherdev hasn’t been the only goat on the Blue Jackets recently, but he’s the easiest and most obvious target.

No, REALLY? I mean, you only blame him for how bad the team is doing at LEAST once a week. *twitch*

Ok, I admit. I am very partial to Nikolai Zherdev. I can't help it. I don't even know why I like him so much. (...Being cute helps, but that's not the reason I like him.) The first Blue Jackets game I watched was the first game he was back from Russia this season, and he just tore up the ice, and I fell in love right then.

So words cannot express how much I HATE how they constantly pin the Jackets' failing on HIM. ONE PLAYER DOES NOT A TEAM MAKE. Nikky is NOT the only player that is not performing on the damn team. There are other players on the fucking team who are playing as badly, OR WORSE, than Nikky has been, and Nikky's had a fucking excuse! He's been SICK FOR A GOD DAMN MONTH, and didn't tell anyone! He's still not totally healthy!

And THEN, there's the rumor that I heard that Maclean may be looking to trade Nikky to Pittsburgh. After he SAID HE WOULDN'T TRADE HIM. If Doug Maclean trades Nikolai Zherdev after being quoted as saying he would not trade him, Doug Maclean will be on my shitlist until the day he dies. I'm pretty sure if that happens, 'hate' will not accurate describe how I will feel about that man.

Urrrrrrrgggggh.

...This has been Skye, being completely and totally partial, and recognizing this fact. Feel free to ignore this post. *sighs*

Head? Meet my desk. I think you two will be GREAT friends.

CHI @ CBJ: 4-5 LOSS

2007-02-11T23:45:00.000-05:00

Don't really have much to say on this one, as I didn't get to see the game, because NBC hates me.

Dear Columbus,

Hi. This is Skye speaking. You know that phrase...Oh what was it...Oh yeah! Be consistent? Let's try to do that more. kthxbai.

Love,
Skye.

Goals for Chicago were Sharp, Smolinski, Havlat, Lapointe, and Bondra.
Goals for Columbus were Hainsey, Carter, Svitov, and Vyborny.

Final score: 4-5
Columbus loss.

I am sort of torn...

2007-02-09T19:20:00.000-05:00

Blue Jackets Activate Leclaire Off IR; Assign Conklin, Konopka to Syracuse (AHL)

I'm happy that Leclaire is gonna be playing again, but I'll miss seeing Conks...

I'm not so unhappy about Konopka getting sent down, because that means that Nikky is gonna be playing more, and that's always a good thing.

S'all from me for now.

He's like, Ricci ugly.

2007-02-09T03:14:00.000-05:00

"Brind'Amour is beefing."

You know, Carolina Hurricane announcers, I don't even know what that means (supposedly you think it is a synonym for "arguing with the ref"), but I am 99% certain I do not want to think about Brind'Amour doing it. Feel free to discuss.

I talked about real hockey here, tonight.