Hossa, Fistcuffs, and Other Things

First off, in a heavy note, Marian Hossa was carted off the ice today in the Red Wings game against the St. Louis Blues. In his first game back after missing two games with a stiff neck, he lost his standing on the ice and crashed hard into the boards. A scary moment for all hockey fans. Last I have heard so far, he never lost conciousness and he has feeling in all of his extremities. So I just thought I would share that first. It's never fun to see someone go down like that.

To the Blue Jackets game, though. It was a confusing game to watch because of the frequency of the goals scored. The Blue Jackets had a 3-1 lead early in the second period, but they gave up three goals in 1:55, the fastest time in franchise history an opposing team has scored three goals. Jiri Novotny would then tie the game near the end of the period to give the Jackets a little hope going into intermission that they could pull off the victory.

A little more than ten minutes into the period, Manny Malhotra would score his tenth of the season and second of the game to give the Jackets the lead and ultimately the game. The Blue Jackets needed the two points, and they now total 70 for the season, pulling them two closer to Vancouver and again giving them space between them and the "playoff bar".

Hopefully the obsessive scoring by the Blue Jackets will be a common theme through the final 18 games of the season after scoring only three times in the 3-game Western Canadian road trip. Coming up next is optional practice at noon and then the team flies out at 7:00 p.m. for Nashville. The game against the Predators will be on Thursday, followed by a game against the Red Wings on Saturday. These are two teams against conference opponents, but more importantly, divisional opponents who know you best and are looking for points themselves. It should be exciting to see where the Blue Jackets stand in five days time.

Check back here tomorrow as I will post my thoughts on the post-trade deadline. 3:00 is the magic time and I expect some moves to be made in the NHL. We will be on the computer constantly working to keep you updated. And of course, make sure you check out the show at 1:00 p.m.

BK out!