Paul Berthelot: Post Battle #35 vs. the Minnesota Wild Blue Jackets win 4-2 over the Minnesota Wild.

Paul Berthelot: Post Battle #35 vs. the Minnesota Wild
Blue Jackets win 4-2 over the Minnesota Wild.
- Paul Berthelot

Perfect December

Full marks to the jackets well done. The proof though will come when adversity arrives and it will it's not how you react when you win it's how you handle it when you start losing. I hope it lasts till the weekend though we shall see.

Full marks to the jackets well done. The proof though will come when adversity arrives and it will it's not how you react when you win it's how you handle it when you start losing. I hope it lasts till the weekend though we shall see.

d62,

Having the chance to play the Rangers for the record is a marvelous thought, and the rest of your post is correct too. It's amazing how good this division is right now, that after winning 15 in a row we have a 1 point lead over Pittsburgh, and 3 points over the Rangers.

The most important games of the year may well be the first two games they play after they lose one, which I hope does not happen until sometime in February. But it sure is fun to see this happen, 4 lines, 3 pairs, and 1 goalie playing great at the same time, it is a joy to watch.

Now if we can get four points this week before the Rangers game we might have a chance to have a cushion in the division.

Also you have four games in hand! Remarkable. One thing I will say I'm very happy for JD he's a class act and he deserves this I really am happy for him you guys have a good one.

Was a good job getting two points. Few thoughts I had watching the game...

-that's the best game overall i've seen from 13/17/38 in a while. I thought Dubi and Jenner really did a good job playing a physical game. If that line can continue to play like that I would bet that both of those guys will start racking in some points.

-Seth Jones chipping in offensively is a very nice thing to see lately. He's got a hell of a shot and I'd love to see him use it more.

-Ryan Murray's game has really come on the last few weeks. One of the interesting things to look at moving forward is how the team ups his minutes while not messing with pairings too much. We've seen Shaw bump Zach off in favor of Murray late in games to protect a lead and give Murray some extra minutes.

-A tangent to that last point...I have been pondering trade deadline the last few nights. I'm afraid to mess with this lineup too much and a lot will come down to any injuries we might get, but as much as I like how Markus Nutivaara has played, I can't help but think getting another veteran D man at the right price might be a good thing. As it stands, I feel like that 3rd pairing would be a little bit of a liability in the playoffs with Nutivaara and maybe even more than that...what happens if one of our top 6 gets hurt. Prout? Please god no.

Was a good job getting two points. Few thoughts I had watching the game...

-that's the best game overall i've seen from 13/17/38 in a while. I thought Dubi and Jenner really did a good job playing a physical game. If that line can continue to play like that I would bet that both of those guys will start racking in some points.

-Seth Jones chipping in offensively is a very nice thing to see lately. He's got a hell of a shot and I'd love to see him use it more.

-Ryan Murray's game has really come on the last few weeks. One of the interesting things to look at moving forward is how the team ups his minutes while not messing with pairings too much. We've seen Shaw bump Zach off in favor of Murray late in games to protect a lead and give Murray some extra minutes.

-A tangent to that last point...I have been pondering trade deadline the last few nights. I'm afraid to mess with this lineup too much and a lot will come down to any injuries we might get, but as much as I like how Markus Nutivaara has played, I can't help but think getting another veteran D man at the right price might be a good thing. As it stands, I feel like that 3rd pairing would be a little bit of a liability in the playoffs with Nutivaara and maybe even more than that...what happens if one of our top 6 gets hurt. Prout? Please god no.
- vertigo1061

Harrington is not bad , Kekaleinen should not go crazy over defensman nor acquiring anyone at the TD , this team is way ahead in where it's supposed to be.

Harrington is not bad , Kekaleinen should not go crazy over defensman nor acquiring anyone at the TD , this team is way ahead in where it's supposed to be.
- Alexzanki

I agree not going crazy, but looking forward that 6th dman is a weakness imho. It's already a problem if we're basically only playing 2 pairs the last half of the 3rd.

I agree not going crazy, but looking forward that 6th dman is a weakness imho. It's already a problem if we're basically only playing 2 pairs the last half of the 3rd.
- vertigo1061

On the other hand, it makes sense Vertigo. One, I thought that Jones/Murray would be the #1 pairing this year taking up the minutes. They had the experience of doing that last year. When crunch time comes its a good idea to have them out there.

Also Zach Werenski is still a 19 year old rookie. He is a gifted offense D-man, and an adequate defender, but it is the weakest point of his game by far. Keep him on the bench and let let him learn slowly how to play under pressure situations in the 3rd period.

There is another side benefit; both him and Markus Nutivaara are young NHL rookies. If you can find minutes to take the load off them, great! I'd rather have them fresh for the playoffs than hitting the rookie wall in March and not be very good in the playoffs.

Chicago played 2 or 3 rounds of the playoffs in 2014-2015 with only two pairs playing everything but 3-5 minutes each night and won the Cup. Seth Jones may not be Brent Seabrook yet, but we have two good pairs for the last ten minutes of a contest now. Play 'em.

I hope we can find a scorer at the trade deadline, I am convinced we need more offense during the playoffs.

Also, I do not believe Prout is as bad as everyone else seems to believe. If he was a traffic cone on the ice the CBJ would not have resigned him to a 2 year deal. He played well in the playoffs against Pittsburgh so he not a total liability, at least in my opinion.