Make no mistake that the Blue Jackets are focused on 1 thing and that's the Central Division. They aren't worried about the freakish start that the Avalanche have had. The growth and highly skilled Kings don't register. The Heatley Thornton Show is nice to watch but doesn't worry Head Coach Ken Hitchcock. Then we get to the East and it barely registers on the radar for the organization.

The reason for this is the natural progression of the organization. Last year was an all out, life or death fight for the playoffs. Goal accomplished.

The next step is the Central Division. From the very start of training camp, the eye has been to win the Central. Yes, I said win the Central Division. This goes against everything that has been written and said about the Central. It's either "until someone beats the Red Wings" or "the Blackhawks are the team to take the crown as their the most talented team in the Central."

I'll give you 10 reasons why the Blue Jackets will win the Central. Before you laugh, we are almost to the quarter pole of the season and the Jackets lead the Central.

10. Os-(isn't)good - Chris Osgood currently has a 2.77 goals against average, so what's the problem? Take a closer look and you will see that he has a 4.35 GAA on the road. The reason is fairly simple. Osgood is listed at 5'10" (and if he's 5'10", then I'm 7 foot and deserve an NBA contract) and relies on being an active and reactive goaltender. The Red Wing tender will be 37 this month and his skills have finally eroded to the point that he no longer can carry a game by himself. What also doesn't help is that the Wings can't go out and outscore teams anymore. This year they are averaging 2.8 goals a game versus 3.52 goals a game last year that led the NHL.

"We're obviously not scoring like we have in the past," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "I think one of the things we had to do is get our head around the fact that we've got the same sweaters (but) we can't play the same way. We've got to find a way to win."

"One of the things that's been fun about being a Red Wing the last few years is that we had the puck all the time. We've got the puck a lot (now), but we're not as dynamic offensively at all."

9. Huet is a fraud - Huet has a 2.37 goals against average but the team leads the NHL in shots against with giving up only 22.7 a game. Most likely this won't hold up all year as this is 3.4 less shots a game than the #2 ranked team in the league. So, how ofter do you hear about a goalie with a nice goals against average like Huet has and yet his save percentage is under .900 and it's worse at home where it is .888. Huet is known to be a goalie that doesn't handle the big games well and thus when the heat gets turned up in the second half, the Hawks will be in trouble.

8. Pahlsson will be a finalist for the Selke – Again, another player that GM Scott Howson has brought in that plays under the radar without much fanfare but just gets it done. Pahlsson may be playing his best hockey and that includes the year he played and helped win the Stanley Cup for the Ducks. Pahlsson is currently +4 this year with the CBJ and continues to be matched up against the other teams top scoring lines. Pahlsson has only finished a season once on the plus side of the ledger and that was back in the 02/03 season where he finished with a +10 but he only played 34 games. If Pahlsson continues his play the rest of the way, there is no doubt he will better that number and with it a Selke consideration should be in order.

7. Predators are fangless – It was no secret going into this season that the Preds would struggle to score. They have done nothing to change that thought as they are currently 29th in the NHL averaging only 2 goals a game. They are also dead last in the league on the power play at only 12.3% and to add to the pain is the penalty kill is 24th at 76.8%. Shea Weber leads the team with only 5 goals and they have several 2nd on the team with 3 goals. To give you a picture to compare with, the Blue Jackets are led by Rick Nash with 11 goals then Raffi Torres is 2nd with 8 goals. The Preds have 7 power play goals total as a team, Nash and Torres have 6 between the two of them.

6. Garon takes 15 - .667 win percentage, .920 save percentage and 2.71 goal against average. Sound like a backup to you? Mathieu Garon has been sharp in net right from training camp. If Garon gets 21 starts, he is on pace for 14 wins. I think he will get more starts than that as the season grinds on and Steve Mason will need more rest or if Mason gets into a slump. The Blue Jackets have never had a backup goalie that was much better than a beer league goalie. Now, their backup is legit and it will help this team enormously down the stretch.

5. Torres is 27 again – Torres turned 28 last month but the 27 I'm talking about is the 27 goals he put up as a member of Edmonton in the 05/06 season. Torres has not been close to putting up goal numbers like that since but Torres is fully healthy, happy and fully engaged. Due to this, he is putting up goal numbers that most thought could never happen again. 4 of his 8 goals this year have come by way of the power play as he has payed the price in front of the net to cash in on the garbage. He currently is 2nd of the team in goals but believe me, he is far more important to the team than just goals but it doesn't hurt either.

4. Blues are powerless – Blue power play is currently at 14.3% and 26th in the league. Last year they were at 20.5% for the year and 8th in the league. The Blues drive and successful entry into the playoffs was due in large part to their power play. Without it, they are an average team and an average team in the Central could be a tough spot to be in. I love the youngsters on this team and they might put it together but I think they are just like the Blue Jackets from last year without a player of the ilk of Rick Nash on it. Their close though but maybe a year or two before challenging for the Central.

3. Mason Union – Howson made a smart move and reunited Steve Mason and Dave Rook, who was Mason's goaltending coach from his London Knights days. Note to the Blue Jackets, send Dave Rook on the road with the team! Your losing $12 million a year, so is a $12,050,000 loss that much difference and the additional travel/salary cost you might have to pay to put Rook on the road. As the Blue Jackets have been home for a while now and Rook has had time to work with his pupil, you can see Mason get sharper and sharper with each game. Rook will be a key person to keep Mason sharp and steady throughout the year.

2. Hejda is the Best – Jan Hejda is the best defenseman in the Central Division. There I said it and folks it's the truth. Nicklas Lidstrom has had that moniker for a while but age might have finally caught up with Lidstrom along with a weaker surrounding cast. Hejda is a +52 the last 2 seasons plus the 8 games he has played this year where he is a +9 this season. The team this season has given up 2.25 goals when Hejda is in the lineup, when he was out with an injury they gave up 4.25! Enough said.

1. Hitch-tionary Translated – listen, when you are a very young hockey player you can't expect them to understand terms that would have English teachers pulling out their hair. Terms like weighty, rich, reckless, heavy, busy head, inversion, invitation, penetrate and hard areas. All these terms are used by Head Coach Ken Hitchcock and none can be taken at face value. Each term has deeper meaning than what a player might think and it also could have a completely different meaning all together. It's been a weighty issue for players and they have had to battle in the hard areas of their brain to let the Hitch meanings penetrate so they can play reckless. All of which is starting to happen.

The Blue Jackets are currently tied with the Blackhawks for the lead in the Central and haven't played good hockey for a consistent amount of time. There have been flashes but if this team can start clicking on a regular basis, it will be a team that will carry the flag as Central Division Champions.

Fire The Cannon!

Eric Smith
Eric.Smith@HockeyBuzz.com

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