Welcome to the bandwagon, climb on, there is room for everyone
This day has been 19 years in the making for Columbus Blue Jackets fans. Today is the day when the Jackets move into uncharted territory and face a second round opponent.
Columbus has sat up and taken notice of their Blue Jackets with 5,200 fans attending practice in the middle of the day on Monday.
If you are just joining us, here is how the CBJ got here:
In February the NHL and its fans celebrate a day in which your team decides its direction for the rest of the year, the Trade Deadline. The CBJ had decisions to make about the direction they wanted to go. Columbus was in the playoff hunt and had aspiration of making the Stanley Cup Playoffs for their 3rd straight season. But, they also had 2 big name players who would be free agents at the end of the season. Neither player was ready to discuss a contract extension signalling that they would take their chances in free agency. If Bob (Sergei Bobrovsky) and Bread (Panarin aka "The Bread Man") were not traded before the deadline they could walk at the end of the season and the CBJ would get nothing in return. If they traded them before the deadline (and got a huge return), they would in essence be forfeiting the playoffs this year for future hopes. As it played out, the CBJ not only kept Bob and Bread, but picked up a first line center (Matt Duchene), a top 6 winger (Ryan Dzingel, former Buckeye), a shut down defensman (McQuaid) and an insurance goalie (Kinkaid). Many sports writers likened these moves to a gambler going 'all in' on a hand in poker as the Jackets gave up high draft picks over the next few seasons.
These moves didn't guarantee success and it didn't come easy. Over the month of March the Jackets struggled to secure a playoff spot waiting until game 81 (second to last game) to clinch. And clinching the last spot meant they had a dreaded match up with the Presidents Trophy winning (team with the most wins in the regular season) and recording tying (most games won in a regular season with 62 wins) Tampa Bay Lightning. If you are the aforementioned 'bandwagon fan' then this is the part you already know. Columbus defied the hockey world and shocked us all by taking the first round series against the Lightning is a sweep, 4 games to 0. Those guys that didn't get traded at the deadline (Bob and Bread) and the ones who were added, played a huge part in moving to the second round.
Now that everyone is caught up let's talk Boston
Some of you here may recognize me by now as I am Tom T who was witting on the 'Fan Blog'. They decided to give me a shot and let me take over the CBJ blog. Here goes...
BOS is not TBL, shocking I know. Columbus isn't sneaking up on them either. You will see BOS play tight defense and hit back. They are a gritty team that also has skill. Their goalie is one who can steal a game (or series) when he is 'ON' and above average when he is 'OFF'.
Marchand, the guy Columbus will love to hate. This is just one of the reasons he is infamous:
Getting a Break v. Staying in Game Shape
The Jackets have been on-the-shelf for 8 days while the Bruins have been playing meaningful hockey that entire time. Which is better, the rest or being game sharp. Forgive me, but as a long-suffering CBJ fan, I'll gladly take the sweep over a 1st round Game 7.
Columbus may start off slow tonight, but as we saw in Game 1 against Tampa, they have the ability to find their game even after a sluggish start. BOS will be ready to close out a game if they have a three-goal lead and should certainly be better than TBL (or VGK) at it.
What it takes to get the W
1. Control the Puck. Playing puck possession hockey has been the reason for CBJ success. Keeping that up is key.
2. Limiting Turnovers. This will always be what leads to victory or sinks Columbus. In the first series they limited giveaways and capitalized on takeaways. This seems simple, like hockey 101, but is harder to execute on than to talk about.
3. Play tight in front of Bob. One-and-done was the name of the game against TBL and they need more of the same against BOS. Clean exits from the defensive zone lead to scoring chances. Sloppy exits and turnovers result in breakaways and odd-man rushes for BOS.
Taking Game 1 on the road would be HUGE for Columbus (as it was in Round 1). In this series we will see how the Jackets respond to a loss and that will be telling for the rest of the playoffs. Let's face it Columbus is going to lose a game sooner or later, lets just hope it isn't tonight.
Who takes Game 1? What player makes the biggest impact?