It's the same old song and dance, this time with Buff up front. The Winnipeg Jets are a terrible hockey team. Get used to it.

Recap:

For the first time since the return of the Winnipeg Jets 2.0, I chose to not occupy my seat at the MTS Centre and instead let it go to waste. Sure, I tried to sell it, but who in their right mind would pay actual money to watch what the Jets put on the ice last night? My choice to stay at home turned out to be the correct one, as the Jets somehow managed to find a place below rock bottom in their 6-3 dismantling by the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Here is my recap of the game, in visual form (replace "Springfield" with "Winnipeg Jets"):

10 Thoughts:

• I had to sleep on the results of last nights game before posting this, but I don't feel much better this morning. If I still had any faith in Kevin Cheveldayoff and TNSE, it's gone now. It's so readily apparent that the Jets are begging for a change and that the fix WILL NOT come from within. The status quo is NOT acceptable going forward.
  
• How much better was the blue-line without Dustin Byfuglien? What's that you say, they were worse? Huh. Who other than everybody saw that a blueline consisting of Tobias Enstrom, Zach Bogosian, Jacob Trouba, Mark Stuart, Adam Pardy and Keaton Ellerby would be way worse without Buff? 19-year-old Trouba led the team in ice-time and also won the Green Jacket with a game-worst -3, while Stuart played the 3rd most minutes. That is a desperate cry for help if I've ever seen one.
  
• Ondrej Pavelec allowed 6 goals on 26 shots for a stunning 0.769 save percentage. That drops his sv% on the season to below the 0.900 mark (0.898) for the first time since the opening game of the season. Perhaps even worse, he looked like a pathetic punk out there, throwing pucks around in disgust after making his rare saves in what I can only assume was an attempt to show his disgust with his teammates and their play. This happened a few times. Why would anybody want to play in front of this guy? Hello, compliance buyout.
  
• The Blue Jackets played the night before at home in Columbus, Ohio. That is nearly 2000 km away, and they flew overnight to get to Winnipeg. Yet they skated circles around the Jets for the final two periods when they should have been the tired team. That's an incredible indictment of the Jets.
• Eric O'Dell scored his first career NHL goal in the first period to open the scoring, which was excellent to see. I guess the kid actually can produce at the NHL level when not saddled with useless plugs like James Wright and Eric Tangradi. Hopefully he continues to get a chance, as he didn't look out of place in 13:48 of ice-time.
• Andrew Ladd owned up to the fact that he was awful last night, which is good I guess, but again the words seem to ring hollow. He's been awful for quite some time now, along with his centerman Bryan Little. Little scored for the first time in 12 games last night, while Ladd has 2 in his last 17.  That's not going to carry the mail, especially if Evander Kane will be out for a while.
• Olympian Blake Wheeler couldn't get anything going alongside Olli Jokinen and Devin Setoguchi, as the trio combined for zilch offensively. However, Wheels was the only one of the three who didn't finish with an even plus minus as Blake ended up -2. In fact, each member of LLW did, despite the fact that they didn't play together. That thing about needing your best players to be your best players? Yeah, that didn't happen.
  
• Geez, does that trade for Gooch look worse and worse after every single game. Enjoy our 2nd-round pick this summer, Minnesota. His trade value is likely next to nil right now.
• I wonder what was running through Chevy's brain when CBC panned up to this pressbox after I believe the 4th Blue Jackets goal (screen-grab below). Probably something about patience. Seriously, Chevy,  you've got to do something. This team is an embarrassment, and you're the guy at the helm. This is your team. And it sucks. Like, completely awful. People were streaming out of your game mid-way through the third last night, probably because they were tired from all of the booing. Did you hear the boos? Do you even care? Or is this all part of your plan? If it is, your plan sucks. Tick-tock, Chevy. Time to put on your big-boy pants and make a move.

In this week's Love Hate we talk about the influence of blind hope in the world of professional sports.

Since I felt the sweet sting of a crisp autumn wind in September 1999, I have been a devoted Cleveland Browns fan.

They say the autumn wind is a Raider, but even so, I found myself falling in love with the Browns. I watched intently that first week of their inaugural return as Ty Detmer quarterbacked his band of expansion draft teammates in a game that saw them get absolutely dismantled by the Pittsburgh Steelers 43-0. On Sunday night. In primetime. From that moment, I was hooked.

My allure towards the Browns wasn't due to the jerseys they wore. It wasn't the fact that they employed the 1990 Heisman Trophy winner in Ty Detmer out of Brigham Young University. Though it should be noted that I have a strong affinity for BYU and, more importantly, Ty Detmer from his previous stint with the Philadelphia Eagles. No, it was none of those things. Rather, it was my enamourment with then-rookie Tim Couch that forever sealed my fate.

Tim Couch. That can't-miss blue chip prospect with pinpoint precision and elusive scrambling ability. Surely, it would only be a matter of time before he learned Chris Palmer's offense and led the Browns to becoming the prize of a so-so AFC North entering the new millennium.

Read more Love Hate

Be sure to catch up on TJ Maughan's previous Love Hate articles. If you want him to touch on a certain topic, email him your ideas at sbnarcticicehockey@gmail.com

Fast-forward six head coaches and twenty starting quarterbacks later and the Cleveland Browns are still exactly where I found them that fall of '99. Through all their trials and tribulations, I still stand here a Cleveland Browns fan. Cut my wrist and you will see the orange and brown cascade from my veins. I make no apologies for it. As bad as they have been, are and continue to be, they will always and forever be my team.

Am I a masochist? Maybe. Should I be institutionalized? Very probably. But in the fourteen seasons that the Cleveland Browns franchise has found new and exciting ways to rip my heart out and stomp all over it before gently placing it back into my chest cavity, there is one thing I have never lost.

Hope.

As absurd as as it ultimately be, I've never stopped believing in the Browns, even though they've given me a multitude of reasons -- including their current coaching search -- to throw in the towel. It's completely asinine to believe that one days they will finally flip the switch to becoming a relevant NFL franchise. But here I am. Loyal. Devoted. Believing.

Though their perils may never reach the same levels, the Winnipeg Jets are one of the NHL's few variations of the Cleveland Browns.

Like Captain Planet, poor coaching, poor talent and poor roster management have let their powers combine to unleash their brand of mediocre hockey on the good people of Winnipeg.

Two and a half years in, they're already onto their second head coach and are a panicked Evander Kane trade away from being an absolute travesty. But regardless what has happened to jade us over the past thirty months, be it draft picks, waiver claims or player utilization, the outlook on the future still has me optimistic.

Hey, if I can believe in the Cleveland Browns, I can believe in anything.

And that's the important thing to remember as we collectively move forward into our next chapter of rooting on the Winnipeg Jets. No matter how bad things get; no matter how enraged this franchise makes you, optimism in the future must always prevail.

It may be a misplaced quote, but Jim Valvano, former head coach of the NC State men's basketball program said it best. While fighting through the latter stages in his battle with cancer, a weakened Valvano took to the stage at the 1993 ESPY Awards to deliver one of the most powerful and impassioned messages we have ever received through sport. While the whole eleven minutes are a truly inspirational journey that everyone should indulge, there are seven simple words that have always stood out for me.

"Don't give up. Don't ever give up."

No one likes cheering for a team that's floundering. It's even more painful when you're investing finances into a franchise for which you get minimal results. But faith is the cornerstone being a fanatic. Whether it's gearing up for a run to the Stanley Cup Finals or hoping that the first lottery ball plucked is that of your organization, hope is at the core of everything.

Look no further than the recent hiring of Paul Maurice for how hope can revitalize even the most cynical, yours truly included. There is a refreshed, reinvigorated feeling that surrounds the MTS Centre at present moment. Whether that proves unfounded or not remains to be seen, but hope for a brighter future has pierced the dark and dreary folds that have weighed on everyone within this organization these past two weeks.

Hope is the crutch on which we lean to get us through the tumultuousness. When one loses it, there's truly no coming back. It's gone forever and like a candle in the rain, the flicker extinguishes. Goodbye passion. Goodbye desire. Hello Gilmore Girls, baggy sweat pants and a whole lot of apathetic Twitter commentary.

Don't let that become you. Keep your hope alive. If I can believe in the Cleveland Browns after fourteen woeful seasons, surely this isn't much to ask.

Three things I love this week

Change: You could tell by the body language in post-game comments these past two weeks that this team had become mentally exhausted and, short of selling each other up the river, had run out of answers as to what could be done to fix their current state of affairs. And while there is no one answer as to how to fix this, there is a starting point. Enter Paul Maurice. Your move, Jets' roster.

A fresh set of eyes: That's right, more Paul Maurice praise. While he has been given very little time to get his line-ups in order, Kevin Cheveldayoff said it best in yesterday's press conference. It will be good for management to have a fresh set of eyes critiquing this roster and moving the parts to where they are best suited. The hope is that Maurice can see what we've been clamouring for ad nauseum for months now with regards to the bottom six and Dustin Byfuglien's natural position.

Life on the farm: One of the best puck possession teams in the AHL, the St. John's IceCaps have seen improvements from many of their young talent of late. With a new coach taking the reigns, it might not be long before we see the likes of Carl Klingberg, J.C. Lipon or Adam Lowry for NHL trial runs. These are exciting times.

Three things I hate this week

Quick turnarounds: Oh hey, you just hired a new head coach? Awesome. And he's meeting his players tomorrow? Splendid. See you on the ice at 7:00PM for a meeting with the Phoenix Coyotes. Cool. No pressure or anything.

Change for the sake of change: Again going back to the Cheveldayoff press conference, it was hinted that along with the firing of Claude Noel, there will be more changes to come in the future. The expectation here is that none of those changes revolve around a player of Evander Kane's calibre. There has been plenty of rumours from outside markets regarding Kane's availability and we can only remain optimistic that Cheveldayoff means it when he says he doesn't want to set this team back in terms of asset management.

Goaltending play: I get that we're beating a dead horse here, but man, have Jets' goaltenders been horrendously underwhelming lately. Ondrej Pavelec has a .767 save percentage over his last five starts and Al Montoya hasn't been much better in spot duty these past few weeks. This will likely trend upwards as their play has been unfathomably low but don't expect them to morph into playoff level players going forward.

More from Arctic Ice Hockey

Follow @arcticicehockeyFollow @SBNationNHL

• Winnipeg Jets and Claude Noel part ways, Paul Maurice hired as new head coach
• Recap: The Winnipeg Jets add fuel to the tire-fire after being embarrassed 6-3 by the Columbus Blue Jackets
• Video Analysis: Winnipeg Jets Defensive Breakdowns
• In need of a reshaping, does TNSE have what it takes to fix the Winnipeg Jets?
• The emotional cost of losing is taking its toll on the Winnipeg Jets

Spoiler Alert: It actually hasn't been the offense.

Just a quick note about the way the Jackets have been playing of late, and what the future might hold. In looking at the schedule recently, I did a quick calculation to test out a theory I have. The Jackets' long-time perceived nemesis has been scoring goals, and I don't think anyone would dispute that. In the spring, they almost made the playoffs based solely on defense.

That said, if we look at a pretty big recent sample size, we see a bit of a different trend. First and foremost, if you pull up the NHL team stats right now, the Blue Jackets currently sit 13th in the league in goals per game at 2.73. This is after 45 games, which is a fair enough sample size comparison to last season's 48 games that I can note that last season's offense generated just 2.40 goals per game, good for 25th-best in the league.

So, hmm... why, with that improvement, are the Jackets sitting at one game over NHL-.500, when they ended up seven games over last season?

You guessed it; the defense. Through 45 games, they're allowing 2.84 goals per game, which is 19th in the league. Last season? 2.40 goals per game allowed, good enough for ninth in the league. NINTH!

Here's the thing that I looked at. The Jackets had a pretty lousy November (5-8-3) that followed a lack-luster October (5-6-0). That means that, on December 1, they were sitting at 10-14-3, which was pretty... ehhhhh. Since that time, however, they've played better, going 11-6-1 in their last 18 games. A big reason for that?

(Wait for it...)

Scoring.

Yep, this team's offense has been a big asset over those 18 games. How much? The Jackets have been scoring at a clip of 3.14 goals per game over that span. It's not apples-to-apples, of course, but that number would be 5th-best in the NHL overall. So, this is, as you say, GOOD.

But, the biggest issue over that span has been the defense. Over that same span, the Jackets' defense has been allowing 2.70 goals per game. That's actually better than their season average, but it's not good. HOWEVER, there's been a big caveat over those 18 games: Sergei Bobrovsky has played in just three of them. He played over half of the first game in December against Tampa Bay, and then was lost to a groin injury. The Jackets threw out a smorgasbord of Curtis McElhinney and Mike McKenna for 15+ of those 18 games, and still won 11 of them.

We saw on Friday how Bobrovsky can be a difference-maker. We noted also on Friday how the home schedule over the rest of the month is favorable (though certainly not "easy").

So, the question is this: if the Jackets can continue their improved scoring (maybe not at that over-three clip, but still improved) and find a slight savings in their goals-against with Bob back in, might we not be ready for this team to finally show us what they're capable of?

Good Lord, let's hope so.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have won seven of their last eight games on the road after losing seven straight away from the Tampa Bay Times Forum.

Where:  Nationwide Arena Columbus, OH
When: 7 p.m. EST  | Tickets: Check availability
Media:  Television: Sun Sports/RDS  | Radio: 970 AM WFLA
Opponent Coverage: Jackets Cannon

The Tampa Bay Lightning (27-14-4) continue their road trip as they face the Columbus Blue Jackets on (21-20-4) Monday night. The Lightning and Blue Jackets faced off earlier in the season, resulting in a 1-0 win for Columbus.

Road Warriors: The Bolts have been dominant on the road recently, winning seven of their last eight contests away from the Tampa Bay Times Forum.  On Saturday, Tampa Bay defeated Philadelphia 6-3, snapping the Flyers' 10 game win streak at home. The win pushed the Lightning into a tie for first place in the Atlantic Division (tied with the Boston Bruins).

TAMPA BAY- Although the Lightning have had an injury-ridden season, they sit atop near the top of the Atlantic Division (tied with top points behind the Boston Bruins). Without its top players, Tampa Bay has surged to the third best record in the Eastern Conference. Bolt's starting goalie Ben Bishop has been out of action for a week, but backup goalie Anders Lindback hasn't let the team miss a beat. Lindback was one of the games top stars on Saturday when the Lightning defeated the Flyers 6-3. It could have been his best game this season. Lindback saved 35 of the 38 shots he faced.

Bishop was on the ice in Columbus and could be taken off of the IR today, but that is not guaranteed.

Desjardins has yet to take a turn in net, so signs pointing toward Bishop coming off IR

— Erik Erlendsson (@erlendssonTBO) January 13, 2014

COLUMBUS- The Bluejackets are 7-3-0 in their last 10 contests and have won four of their last five games. After the tilt with the Bolts on Monday night, the Bluejackets will play five games in nine days. Currently, Columbus sits seven points behind the second place Washington Capitals in the Metropolitan Division.

HOT STREAK

Lightning defenseman Matt Carle is now riding a six-game point streak (eight assists). He was a plus six on Saturday with two assists in the 6-3 win over the Flyers. Alex's Killorn and his linemates (Valtteri Filppula and Teddy Purcell) have combined for a total of 38 points in the last 13 games.

INJURY REPORT

LIGHTNING - Defensemen Keith Aulie (upper body, out), goaltender Ben Bishop (wrist, day-to-day), J.T. Brown (upper body, day-to-day), defensemen Brian Lee (knee, out), defensemen Sami Salo (lower body, day-to-day), forward Steven Stamkos (broken right tibia, out). After taking a hit by the puck on his ankle, Salo had tests done but no further damage was found. He was not on the ice for the morning skate on Monday.

Blue Jackets - Forward Cody Bass (thumb, out),  forward Jared Boll (bruised left foot, out), forward Blake Comeau (left knee, out), forward Marian Gaborik (broken collarbone, out), forward Jack Skille (upper body, out)

Other Game Coverage:

• Tampa Bay Lightning official team preview
• Full coverage on SB Nation

The Jackets are riding their third three-game winning streak of the season. Can they finally push through and make it four in a row?

Tampa Bay Lightning at Columbus Blue Jackets

January 13, 2014 - 7:00pm EST
Nationwide Arena - Columbus, Ohio
Radio - WBNS 97.1 - TV - Fox Sports Ohio
Opponents Blog: Raw Charge
SBN's Lightning vs. Blue Jackets coverage

So, here it is: the Jackets are over NHL-.500 for the first time in 42 games (2-1-0). That means they're 19-19-4 over that span. Mediocrity! That having been said, as I noted this morning, from the beginning of December--incidentally, the last time we played the Lightning--the Jackets are 11-6-1. Das ist gut, ja?

The Lightning, however, have been running on all cylinders despite the loss of Steven Stamkos. It almost defies logic, but there they are, just two points behind Boston for their division lead and third in the conference. How are they doing it? Well, they've tightened up on defense in a major way. Since the last time these two teams met, a quick snapshot: going into the game on December 3, the Lightning were scoring at a 2.81 goals-per-game clip. Now? 2.82 goals-per-game. Makes sense. Defensively, however? On 12/3, they were at 2.54 goals-allowed-per-game. Now? 2.38 gapg. That's not a huge numerical improvement, but it is improvement.

These two teams have some short-term mirroring happening tonight. Both are coming off of 6-3 road wins on Saturday. Both rode insane second periods to those wins. And both have been playing well over their last 10 games, but both are struggling on special teams. So, which team blinks?

Some good news for Columbus: over their last eight games at home, including the last time these two teams met, the Jackets are 5-2-1. They're .500 on the road, which is what you ask for, basically. So, this is what they're going to need at home as the season wears on if they want to make their move.

Overall, other than Sergei Bobrovsky getting the call tonight, no major lineup changes for Columbus. Make no mistake, they haven't played especially "well" over these past three games, but they've shown flashes of being a very, VERY good team. The more and more they can get closer to a "60-minute" game, they better things will be. They have three days off after tonight, so there's no excuse for not bringing the skating and energy for 60 minutes tonight.

Projected Lineups

Columbus Blue Jackets
(21-20-4, 46 Points; 7th division, 13th conference)

Tampa Bay Lightning
(27-14-4, 58 Points; 2nd Division, 3rd Conference)

Season Series

12/03/13 - Tampa Bay 0 at Columbus 1
01/13/14 - Tampa Bay at Columbus
04/11/14 - Columbus at Tampa Bay

Head to Head Stats

The Jackets are riding their third three-game winning streak of the season. Can they finally push through and make it four in a row?

Tampa Bay Lightning at Columbus Blue Jackets

January 13, 2014 - 7:00pm EST
Nationwide Arena - Columbus, Ohio
Radio - WBNS 97.1 - TV - Fox Sports Ohio
Opponents Blog: Raw Charge
SBN's Lightning vs. Blue Jackets coverage

So, here it is: the Jackets are over NHL-.500 for the first time in 42 games (2-1-0). That means they're 19-19-4 over that span. Mediocrity! That having been said, as I noted this morning, from the beginning of December--incidentally, the last time we played the Lightning--the Jackets are 11-6-1. Das ist gut, ja?

The Lightning, however, have been running on all cylinders despite the loss of Steven Stamkos. It almost defies logic, but there they are, just two points behind Boston for their division lead and third in the conference. How are they doing it? Well, they've tightened up on defense in a major way. Since the last time these two teams met, a quick snapshot: going into the game on December 3, the Lightning were scoring at a 2.81 goals-per-game clip. Now? 2.82 goals-per-game. Makes sense. Defensively, however? On 12/3, they were at 2.54 goals-allowed-per-game. Now? 2.38 gapg. That's not a huge numerical improvement, but it is improvement.

These two teams have some short-term mirroring happening tonight. Both are coming off of 6-3 road wins on Saturday. Both rode insane second periods to those wins. And both have been playing well over their last 10 games, but both are struggling on special teams. So, which team blinks?

Some good news for Columbus: over their last eight games at home, including the last time these two teams met, the Jackets are 5-2-1. They're .500 on the road, which is what you ask for, basically. So, this is what they're going to need at home as the season wears on if they want to make their move.

Overall, other than Sergei Bobrovsky getting the call tonight, no major lineup changes for Columbus. Make no mistake, they haven't played especially "well" over these past three games, but they've shown flashes of being a very, VERY good team. The more and more they can get closer to a "60-minute" game, they better things will be. They have three days off after tonight, so there's no excuse for not bringing the skating and energy for 60 minutes tonight.

Projected Lineups

Columbus Blue Jackets
(21-20-4, 46 Points; 7th division, 13th conference)

Tampa Bay Lightning
(27-14-4, 58 Points; 2nd Division, 3rd Conference)

Season Series

12/03/13 - Tampa Bay 0 at Columbus 1
01/13/14 - Tampa Bay at Columbus
04/11/14 - Columbus at Tampa Bay

Head to Head Stats

Looking at the current standings in the Eastern Conference, there's some pretty solid reasons to believe the Jackets can start climbing the board.

Anyone looking at the Blue Jackets knows that the thirteen games leading up to the Olympic break are important. Eight of the next thirteen on home ice, four of them against division opponents, could be a good way to push the team "above the bar", particularly since they're only five points back of the Rangers and Capitals for second place in the Metro, and carry two games in hand on more than half of the teams currently above them in the standings.

Here's a few other reasons.

Slipping Diffs

I'm going to give you the Goal Differentials for the third place, wild card, and 9th/10th place teams:

-6, -8,-9, -15, -9.

Columbus? Currently a -3.

That's not only better than the Rangers, Flyers, Red Wings, Leafs, and Senators, it's actually good for third best in the Metro, and 5th best in the East overall. If this team continues the trend of scoring in bursts and keeping the opponents out of their net (particularly now that both Nathan Horton and Sergei Bobrovsky are healthy), there's a strong chance that's going to climb.

Speaking of scoring, did you know that Columbus' 126 goals for is actually better than the Flyers, Rangers, Devils, and Hurricanes? Not bad for a team that spent the last month with a goal of treading water.

In the goals against department, things aren't quite as rosy - but there are still six teams in the East at the same level (129) or lower, and four more teams that are only six goals or less above them. That's a good sign for the team keeping with the pack defensively, particularly when you consider how that's been pumped up by a few fairly dramatic collapses.

In fact, if you look at league wide stats, the Jackets are sitting at 17th overall. Not quite enough to say they're getting goaltending and defense equal to a playoff club, but not so far off the mark, either.

Oh, and of those 13 games before the Olympic break? About half are against teams with equal or worse goals allowed.

Just Win, Baby

The other thing that's in the Jackets' favor is the fact that 18 of their 21 wins have come in regulation or overtime. While the Jackets are just behind New York and Philly with 21 and 20 respectively, they're still keeping close to the pace compared to the competition for the division, and well ahead of Washington and the Islanders, who both sit at 14 ROW right now.

The more this team takes care of business without requiring a shootout, the less they have to worry about tiebreakers, because we all know how that can end.

So, they're winning the way they need to. They've been scoring just slightly less than they've been scored on, and there are reasons to think both will improve. They have games in hand that could be turned into points to push ahead of some of their competition, and a good chance of building up some momentum before the Olympic break thanks to a friendly schedule.

Any time you have human beings involved, it's impossible to say things will go exactly according to a mathematical prediction. But if the team can keep to the trends we're already seeing, and perhaps improve on them?

Great times might just be ahead.

Six power play opportunities for the Columbus Blue Jackets were enough to put two man advantage markers behind Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Anders Lindback as Columbus turned a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 regulation win over the Lightning.

Give any team enough chances with the man advantage and eventually they'll score a goal. Something about a blind squirrel, right?

Despite mustering zero scoring chances and only three shots on goal over their first four power plays, the Columbus Blue Jackets used a pair of man advantage tallies late in the third period to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 victory over the Lightning.

The first period was all Columbus as the Lightning seemed to be in a funk from the opening puck drop. The first five scoring chances of the game went to the Blue Jackets, as the Nick Foligno line in particular for the Jackets went to work early down low, forcing Anders Lindback to make a couple of nice saves early while the Bolts got their feet under them.

They also got a little bit of early luck when, on a Columbus power play, a long point shot hit Brandon Dubinsky and redirected past Lindback but off the post and harmlessly into the corner.

Any opportunity to get some 5v5 offense going for the Lightning was smothered as the relentless pressure in Tampa Bay's end led to some undisciplined play by defenseman Radko Gudas. Corey Tropp got tangled up with Gudas behind the Lightning net, clearly interfering with him and making no attempt at the puck as he slammed Gudas into the boards. Gudas was noticeably agitated and took a couple of runs at Tropp resulting in a pair of consecutive minor penalties.

The Blue Jackets, mired in a special teams slump of their own, didn't try to set anything up in the offensive zone with their three straight power plays, instead opting for a lot of point-to-point passes looking to set up tips, deflections, and rebound opportunities around Lindback. The Lightning penalty killers did a good enough job of blocking shots and clearing the slot and the goalmouth to keep the game knotted at 0-0 after one despite being thoroughly outplayed by Columbus.

Ryan Johansen finally broke through for the Jackets in the 2nd period on a long shot from the center point that Lindback never saw due to traffic in front. But following the early marker, the Lightning started dominating control of the puck, making cleaner outlet passes and hemming the Jackets in their own end for long stretches. That drew a cross checking minor penalty to Brandon Dubinsky and put the Lightning on the power play with a chance to tie the game, which Alex Killorn did, tipping in a point shot from Matt Carle. Just moments later, Victor Hedman joined an end-to-end rush and finished a nice pass from Tyler Johnson to quickly turn a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead.

The Jackets managed a few clean looks towards the Lightning net in the 2nd period, but the Lightning carried the balance of play, outshooting Columbus 12-7 in the period and earning the lead they built heading into the final twenty minutes.

The Lightning continued their undisciplined play in the third, however, handing the Blue Jackets their 5th power play early in the period. Columbus, who recently got notorious Lightning killer Nathan Horton back in the lineup, didn't waste much time evening the score as Horton snapped a long wrister past a screened Lindback to make it a 16 minute hockey game.

Radko Gudas -- always active on the scoresheet, especially in the PIMs column -- evened up his ledger a bit by drawing a retaliation penalty on Nathan Horton to put the Bolts on their third power play of the night. The Lightning got set up in the offensive zone with their top unit fairly easily, but couldn't muster anything towards Bobrovsky. At one point, Martin St. Louis seemed locked in on Teddy Purcell in the slot, forcing the puck there even though the Jacket's penalty killers were all collapsing in.

The teams seemed to trade power plays for the entire third period as the refs refused to put their whistles away, even in the final few minutes of a tied game. The Lightning got one more chance with their own power play, finally getting a good look towards the net on an intentional shot pass/redirect play with Ondrej Palat, but Sergei Bobrosvky made a terrific save in close to keep the score tied. A late hooking call to Tyler Johnson sent the Jackets on their sixth man advantage of the night.

The Lightning, now keenly aware of Nathan Horton lurking on left wing, left a gap in the center of their PK formation that allowed Jack Johnson to lurk in from the center point and snap a wrist shot that Mark Letestu appeared to tip down past the outstretched glove of Anders Lindback for the game-winner. The Lightning did pull their goalie and try to even the score 6v5, but failed to really threaten Bobrovsky with the extra skater, dropping the game 3-2 in regulation after holding a 2-1 lead to start the third.

Game Notes

• Columbus went 2/6 on the power play, converting on their final two opportunities. Tampa Bay was 1/4 on their power play. All ten penalties called in the game were minor penalties; neither team had any 5v3 time, and most were of the obstruction variety. Sometimes, that's the way the game is called and the Lightning needed to adjust. They did not, and they paid the price. Jon Cooper's AHL teams have had a tendency to jump into the penalty box like there's a freaking snack bar in there; it's something we haven't seen too much since Coop came to the Lightning but it's been a real issue in the past.
• Victor Hedman skated a whopping 24:19 in this contest, including more than 3 minutes on the PP and more than 4 minutes while shorthanded. He added another even strength point (a goal) and has, lately, really looked like the type of two-way workhorse defenseman that you build a defense corps around.
• Anders Lindback finished with an .893 save percentage, but the two power play goals drag that number down significantly. Horton's goal was a very nice wrist shot through a screen and Letestu's was tipped down right in front of the net; there was little Lindback could do on either goal. His even-strength save percentage was a healthy .952 allowing just one goal on 21 even-strength shots. But, with Bishop available to back up tonight and slated to start tomorrow, his time as the starter may be up.
• Tonight's loss marked only the 2nd time this season the Lightning lost after leading to start the third period. They are now 17-2 when starting the 3rd with a lead.
• While it's easy enough to point at the special teams (and lack of discipline) as the problem tonight, perhaps more troubling was a lack of energy and execution in a listless first period. Playing a "full sixty minutes" is a cliche, sure, but it's something the Lightning clearly did not do tonight in Columbus. After the first, there simply wasn't enough 5v5 time left in the remaining 40 minutes for the Lightning to work their even strength advantage over (another) Metropolitan Division foe.

Things looked bad for the Blue Jackets as they faced the Tampa Bay Lightning, but a monster of a third period and the reappearance of their Power Play lead them to a 3-2 victory, extending the team's winning streak to four games for the first time all season.

The last time the Blue Jackets met the Lightning, we had quite an unusual affair.

The second engagement between these clubs was a bit more conventional, since we didn't have to replace a goaltender midstream (thank God), but still had some distinct momentum swings from one period to the next.

At the start of the game, the Jackets clearly had a spark in their game, looking to take control early, but Anders Lindback was on his game, meeting the challenge. The Jackets earned three power play opportunities through the period, yet both teams failed to move the needle before the end of the period.

The same spark came through early in the second period, but what appeared to be an opening goal by Brandon Dubinsky would be waived off after video review due to a kicking motion. The team kept up after the break, and Ryan Johansen would put one on the board for real when he cranked a bullet from the top of the blue line after a nice setup from Ryan Murray.

Unfortunately, that's where the good news ended for the Blue Jackets as far as the second period goes.

On the following shift after the goal, Brandon Dubinsky would be called for a crosscheck after he got into an exchange with Tyler Johnson in front of the Tampa bench.

The penalty kill attempted to keep the Lightning contained, but Matt Carle would send a shot in from the point that went off Alex Killorn and into the net past Sergei Bobrovsky.

From there, it was the Victor Hedman show, as the workhorse Swede took the puck from behind his own net and moved up ice, springing Martin St. Louis into the Columbus zone with a perfect stretch pass. St. Louis drove to the net with Tyler Johnson, and Hedman followed, racing up into the play and getting into the position to take a cross-crease pass from Johnson and beat Bob for their first lead of the night.

Tampa pushed hard to extend the lead, including a couple of close calls that required Bob to keep the Jackets in the game. Bottled up through the period, the Jackets were trailing after 40 minutes to a team with a 17-1 record when leading in the third period.

The Jackets needed someone to step up and change the game.

Good thing Nathan Horton was in the lineup tonight.

After Nick Foligno drew a tripping penalty from Jean-Phillipe Cote, the Jackets put their power play out for the fifth time. 0/4 to that point, the special teams were still just as frustrating as the power play that head coach Todd Richards had diagnosed as lifeless this morning.

All that practice finally seemed to click, though, when the cycling of the puck lead to Jack Johnson carrying the puck along the blue line and pulling the penalty kill with him, then passing to a wide open #8, who unleashed a furious top-corner shot to tie the game with his 200th NHL goal.

The Jackets were energized after tying the game, but that energy almost came back to bite them when Horton got into it in front of the Tampa bench with Radko Gudas, ending in a slashing call that put the Lightning back on the man advantage.

The penalty kill went to work, and did exactly what they needed to do. Mark Letestu was clutch, breaking loose on a shorthanded rush with Brandon Dubinsky, but Dubi's shot would trickle just wide. Despite the near miss, the PK spent a significant chunk of the penalty in the Tampa zone rather than their own, and would do it again after Fedor Tyutin was whistled for a hook just past the midway mark.

Overtime was starting to look like a distinct possibility as the clock ticked down, but the Jackets continued to work. Boone Jenner would draw another penalty when he drove to the net against Lindback, and the power play unit had an opportunity to break the tie with just over three minutes left in regulation.

Once again, the power play actually did a solid job of controlling possession and moving the puck. In quite a few games, the complaint would be that the Jackets failed to shoot, looking for the pretty pass instead, but tonight Jack Johnson would hammer a hard shot into traffic that initially appeared to have beaten Lindback cleanly, but would end up being credited to Mark Letestu after review determined that he'd deflected the puck on the way in.

Fair credit to the Lightning - they didn't pack it in, attempting to find a tying goal right to the horn, but the Jackets forced Lindback to stay in his net by keeping the puck in their zone and putting shots on net. Finally, with just over a minute left, the Lightning were able to get an extra skater on the ice, but found themselves chasing the puck deep thanks to near-misses on the empty net from Artem Anisimov and James Wisniewski, killing the clock and keeping Columbus' win streak alive.

Final Score: Jackets 3 - Lighting 2

Get the stats from ExtraSkater.com!

Standard Bearers:

• Sergei Bobrovsky - Without Bob, this game could easily have been 3-1 or worse going into the third period. When the team was on their heels, he found the saves that kept them in the game long enough for the offense to get back in gear.
• Nathan Horton - His first goal on home ice. Not a bad way to set a milestone. I agree with the perception that Horton's still getting himself up to full speed, but his presence on the power play is really starting to make a difference. I don't think it's a coincidence that the team is 5-1 since he came off the shelf.
• Ryan Murray - His setup for the Johansen goal gives him at least one point in the last five games, and the only players with more ice time tonight were Dubinsky, JJ, and Wiz. If Ryan Johansen is becoming a #1 Center, Murray is already showing signs of being a franchise defenseman.
• Jack Johnson - While the GWG was taken away from him on review, he still brought home a pair of assists. Not a bad way to spend your birthday.

Bottom of the Barrel:

• Playing with Fire - Almost every positive development for Columbus in this game was followed by a penalty. That lead to getting burned on the first Tampa goal, and nearly allowed the Lightning to pull back into the lead after the team managed to tie things up in the third period.
• Mid-game Malaise - After some pretty solid efforts over the past week, we saw the club seriously deflate in the second period. They recovered this time, but we need sixty minute efforts for sixty minute games.
• Power Fluctuations - The power play came up big in the third period, but most opponents aren't going to give you six tries to get it right. We're starting to see some positive signs, but the team needs their special teams to be more reliable.

All of that being said, with a pretty healthy crowd (for a Monday) of 14,000 on hand, the team stepped up and delivered a solid win against a very dangerous opponent. They stumbled, but they found ways to turn it around.

That's what good teams do.

USA Hockey loves Jack Johnson. Why?

One of the more notable omissions from the Team USA hockey roster was defenseman Jack Johnson of the Columbus Blue Jackets. He skated for Team USA in the last Olympics. He has participated in the World Championships, World Junior Championships, and the U-18 tournament. He came up through the US National Team Development Program. Through and through, Jack Johnson has been a staple of American hockey for a while now.

When he didn't make the team a lot of people were surprised. In the infamous Scott Burnside article he repeatedly comes back to the agonizing discussions the selection committee had about what to do with Johnson. He starts with the initial discussions:

Ryan Suter of the Minnesota Wild, Ryan McDonagh of the New York Rangers and Jack Johnson of the Columbus Blue Jackets are considered locks.

From the get-go it was assumed that Johnson would be on the roster. They initially had apprehension about what to do with Johnson because of the abundance of left shooting defensemen they were considering. Otherwise, they had no documented concerns.

In the next meeting the tide began to turn against Johnson. When they discussed locks for the roster his name was no longer mentioned. David Poile had two comments to add to the discussion as noted by Burnside:

"He never seems to be living up to his potential or to his play. I'm getting this consistently across the board," Poile says.

and

"He's not a player that's tracking correctly," Poile says.

Brian Burke and Dean Lombardi were still squarely in his corner, but the tide had begun to turn. What you begin to see is that the committee as a whole gives Johnson a significantly large amount of support, much more than you would expect given his performance in the NHL.

By the time of the next meeting Johnson appears to be all but off of the radar.

Continuing on the discussion that began on the last call, the dilemma over Jack Johnson continues. "There's something missing with Jack this year," Poile says.

"His gap is terrible right now. It's like he's got no confidence," Burke says.

"If he knew where he was on this board right now, it would kill him," Dean Lombardi adds.

Poile asks if they are being too hard on Jack Johnson, but no one rises to Johnson's rescue.

"He's having a bad year. He needs to get his s--- together," Dale Tallon says.

The group wavered a bit, but ultimately it appears that the coaching staff had some pull in the matter of what to do with Johnson.

Poile points out one potential fly in the Johnson ointment, and that's the fact the coaching staff as a whole weren't all that enthused about having him on the team given his uneven play this season.

The committee repeatedly discussed how off Jack Johnson's game was, but it appears that the final decision was made with the heavy support of the coaching staff led by Dan Bylsma of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Tyler Dellow dug into this curious bit of information in a post linked here. He made two very interesting observations about the coaching staff's role in the process.

The sort of amazing thing about the reference to the coaches there is that Todd Richards, who coaches, uh, Columbus, is part of the coaching group. We’re sort of playing telephone here but it’s kind of surprising to see "the coaches" cited as a source of concern about Johnson when one of them coaches him.

Johnson's coach, Todd Richards, is on the Team USA coaching staff. His player is brought up in a negative light in one of the more transparent articles you will see published, but the information is generically attributed to "the coaching staff". The money part of his post is as follows:

I was struck by the coincidence of Johnson’s games against the Pens and his falling down the Team USA depth chart two days later so I took a look. It turns out that he was on the ice for four goals against in those games with a goalie in the net, along with an empty netter.

Johnson got shredded by the Penguins right before he slid off of the Team USA depth chart. Bylsma had a front row seat. Richards had a front row seat all season. It would be quite the coincidence for these two events to not be related.

The most confounding part of the entire Jack Johnson saga is that none of this should have mattered. Puck Daddy's Ryan Lambert summed it up on Twitter:

PD article entitled "Why Jack Johnson was snubbed by Team USA." i dont understand why it doesnt just say "he sucks"

— ryan lambert (@twolinepass) January 2, 2014

The point isn't that Johnson got snubbed. The point isn't that Team USA agonized over whether or not to put a borderline player on the roster for several months. The point is that it never should have gotten to that point because Johnson isn't that good of a player.

Prior to the trade deadline in March I published this post on Defending Big D. There is little reason to go through the post point by point again, but the main idea is that Johnson is not a very good player. He has been living off of his high draft status for most of his career, and now we can see that his Olympic hopes hinged on both that promise and the type of person he is.

From the Burnside article:

It's not that Johnson is considered "Captain America," but the group knows the compete level they'll get from him, and it's clear there is some difficulty in letting go of a player about whom so much was both thought and assumed from the outset.

I came across this article from a few weeks back by Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch. For starters, the title is "Jack Johnson a plus despite his minus". The entire article is about plus minus so we need to take it with a grain of salt, but the tone of Johnson's quotes is telling.

That stat is going to take a dip for everybody if you're losing more game than winning. I don't put a ton of merit into it. If the coaches keep putting me out against the other team's top lines, I must be doing something right.

He comes across as a very unassuming guy. USA Hockey loves him for the type of competitor he is, the fact that they view him as a low-maintenance player, and that they know they will get everything they have from him. Unfortunately all that he has to give isn't as much as some believe.

Team USA made the right decision in leaving him off of the roster. Now, they could have done a better job of replacing him on the roster by naming Dustin Byfuglien or Keith Yandle, but the fact that they decided to leave Johnson at home is a positive development.

The Evansville IceMen, Columbus' ECHL affiliate, have traded former Blue Jackets goaltender Allen York in an effort to stabilize the team's netminding situation.

The Allen York Era is officially over in Evansville, as the Blue Jackets' ECHL affiliate has traded the former Columbus goaltender to the South Carolina Stingrays in exchange for cash considerations.

The trade was announced on Tuesday, just four days before South Carolina's only visit to Evansville (18-9-7) this season. The Eastern Conference leading Stingrays (25-9-3) needed immediate help in net after both of their goaltenders earned AHL promotions in the span of a week.

Now atop South Carolina's depth chart, York will likely get the nod against the IceMen on Saturday in front of a huge crowd at the Ford Center on Evansville's annual "Pack the House Night." Well over 8000 fans will witness York's return as a member of the opposition, with a complete sell-out of 9400-plus possible if the game draws a strong walk-up crowd - which is not at all unusual for Saturday home games.

The response to York's name in the starting lineup will likely be mixed at best, as the trade announcement was generally met with positive fan reactions online.

So how did it get to this point? Just what the heck happened?

York was drafted by the Blue Jackets in 2007. After 3 seasons at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the Alberta native turned pro and signed a 2-year entry level contract with Columbus.

As a rookie in 2011-12, he split time between AHL Springfield and ECHL Chicago, but also made quite a splash during an 11-appearance stint with the Blue Jackets. Manning the pipes for a putrid Columbus team that finished dead-last in the entire NHL, York compiled a 3-2-0 record with a very respectable 2.30 GAA and .919 Save Percentage.

But in his second pro season, York struggled to stay healthy and never returned to Columbus. He primarily played for Springfield, but also spent a 5-game rehab stint in Evansville. It was then that IceMen fans fell in love with him, as York again played well for a last-place team. Evansville ultimately finished the season in the ECHL's Eastern Conference cellar, but the IceMen were 3-1-1 with York in net. Throw out his first start when he was still shaking off injury rust (a 6-1 loss at Cincinnati), and York had an outstanding 1.87 GAA and .944 Save Percentage.

When York's entry level deal expired after the 2012-13 season, the Blue Jackets decided to allow him to become a free agent. He was briefly in training camp with the Nashville Predators, but was not offered a contract by any NHL or AHL teams.

That's when new IceMen Head Coach Jeff Pyle inked York to an ECHL contract, keeping the goalie "in the family" with the Blue Jackets organization. Excited fans assumed that, given his promising NHL experience and his previous success with a bad IceMen team, York would clearly be the #1 goaltender for a rebuilt Evansville squad with legitimate championship aspirations.

Little did the fans know that the day York signed his contract would be the biggest highlight of his 2013-14 season with the IceMen.

Second-year pro Mike Clemente, under AHL contract with Springfield and on assignment to Evansville, out-performed York in training camp and earned the right to start the season opener. Clemente promptly made 25 saves en route to a 2-0 shutout victory over Kalamazoo.

York then got a brief shot with AHL Charlotte as an injury replacement. In York's weekend-long absence, Clemente posted two more impressive victories and was honored as the ECHL's Goaltender of the Week.

After York returned from Charlotte, he finally made his season debut for the IceMen in the team's fourth game. It wasn't pretty. York surrendered 7 goals on 29 shots in an ugly loss to Cincinnati, and many fans officially changed their allegiance to "Team Clemente."

The next day, York was off to the AHL again as an injury fill-in for the Texas Stars. Just over a month later, he returned to Evansville and won a pair of home games despite giving up 8 goals on 54 total shots against last-place Toledo.

The AHL then came calling once more, as Rockford had a vacancy in net due to injuries sustained by NHL parent club Chicago. After two weeks in Rockford, York then travelled to Switzerland to represent Team Canada in the annual Spengler Cup tournament.

Meanwhile, the IceMen were plugging along without Clemente as well, as he had been summoned to Springfield to replace Mike McKenna - who had been recalled by the Blue Jackets due to Sergei Bobrovsky's groin injury.

With York and Clemente both out of the picture, Evansville turned to rookie Garrett Bartus, who had been the team's third goaltender in training camp. Bartus started 10 straight games for the injury-depleted IceMen, compiling a 4-3-3 record and earning his first career shutout in a 6-0 blanking of Gwinnett on New Year's Eve. Quickly, "Team Bartus" also out-grew "Team York" among Evansville fans.

After the conclusion of the Spengler Cup tournament, York returned to the IceMen and started 3 straight games against teams on the outside looking in at the playoffs. His best game of the season came first, a 2-1 overtime victory at in-state rival Fort Wayne. But he then lost back-to-back games at Greenville, allowing 9 goals to a team that was 18th in the 22-team ECHL in scoring.

A few days later, York was traded to South Carolina for cash. And just like that, his time in Evansville (and the Blue Jackets organization) was over.

Thanks to 3 AHL stints and the Spengler Cup appearance, York had been with the IceMen for just 27 of 87 calendar days this season. In his 6 scattered starts, he gave up 3 or more goals 5 times. On the day of the trade, his 4.12/.863 stat line with the IceMen paled in comparison to Clemente's 2.60/.904 and Bartus' 3.13/.906.

But the trade was not made solely due to York's performance. One could certainly argue that his play would have likely improved if he had remained with the IceMen for an extended period of time, allowing him to get into a rhythm and learn his teammates' tendencies. Perhaps that's true, but now we'll never know.

When asked why he dealt York, Pyle was concise: "We had 3 goalies and Bartus gives us stability, because he will be here."

Indeed, while York's on-ice performance was certainly not up to snuff, his presence on the radar of seemingly every AHL team with goaltending needs was the biggest problem. While York could certainly still have the highest ceiling of the three netminders Pyle had at his disposal, the veteran coach opted to go for stability.

That having been said, if York's status as an AHL yo-yo cracked open the door, his shaky-at-best performance in an Evansville uniform greased the proverbial hinges. Credit Bartus for forcing Pyle's hand by seizing the opportunity and knocking the door down, playing well enough to earn a full-time job.

So now the IceMen will move forward with AHL-contracted Clemente and unheralded U-Conn product Bartus, the Illinois kid whose out-of-nowhere performance made a guy with recent NHL experience expendable. And IceMen fans must hope that one of the two can lead the team to the promised land.

AFFILIATE PLAYER NOTES:

• Columbus prospect Thomas Larkin returned to the IceMen last week after spending a month in Springfield. The rookie defenseman had 2 assists in his first game back with Evansville.

• Springfield-contracted defenseman Joe Lavin recently returned to the active roster after missing 16 games due to a sports hernia that required surgery.

• Springfield-contracted rookie forward Peter Sakaris has been heating up after a slow start, with 7 goals and 3 assists in his last 12 games. Sakaris scored both the game-tying goal and game-winning goal just 23 seconds apart in Tuesday's 4-3 victory over Gwinnett.

• Springfield-contracted rookie forward Jeremy Langlois leads the IceMen with 13 goals and is tied for the team scoring lead with 30 points, despite having played in just 25 of Evansville's 34 games. He has been held off of the scoresheet in back-to-back games just once all season. Langlois is just one point behind the ECHL's rookie scoring leader, Fort Wayne's Scott Fleming - and Fleming has played 10 more games than Langlois.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

IceMen Maniac is Michael Shockley, a.k.a. "Shocker" to IceMen fans
Michael provides JacketsCannon.com with monthly IceMen updates
He is also the Webmaster and Senior Writer for IceMenManiacs.com

Daily Washington Capitals news and notes: Previews of tonight's battle with 'lumbus, leftover thoughts from Wednesday's loss and more.

Your savory breakfast links:

• Previews of tonight's bout with the Blue Jackets from Vogs, NHL.com, AP, the Blue Jackets and Peerless, and be sure to check out our SB Nation pals over at The Cannon for the other side of tonight's matchup.
  • If it's a gameday, that means it's time for the eternal question: who's in net for the Caps? [CSNW]
• Your Capitals Minute for today. [Capitals Voice]
• Exploring the many, many issues around the team as they continue to slump:
  • The Capitals are such a weird, strange, bizarre team this year, particularly when it comes to their play in the third period. [NBCW]
  • It's not the taking the lead part of hockey that stymies the Caps; it's holding it for more than 90 seconds. [WashTimes]
  • The lack of defensive depth, the inability to hold leads, mismatched forward lines... all part of the fun that is the 2013-14 Washington Capitals. [WaPo]
  • Despite some mental "issues", Adam Oates isn't about to practice amateur psychology on his team. Good, because pretending to be a doctor is the job of fans on the internet. [CSNW]
  • No, seriously - would the real Washington Capitals please stand up? [Talk the Red]
• That whole three-headed goalie thing is still lurking. [Caps Outsider]
• It's probably time for that Connor Carrick/John Erskine pairing to go the way of the dodo. Good thing the Caps have other options to turn to like... um..... [Talk the Red]
• Interesting stuff on the team's improved Corsi over the last nine games and Mike Green's shooting percentage in this week's Capitals StatTalk. [Capitals Voice]
• A few leftover notes from Wednesday's loss... the gift that just keeps on giving. [WaPo, WashTimes, CSNW, WNST, Pensburgh, Pensblog] 
  • One more look at Alex Ovechkin's 'stick, unbelievable' goal. Pretty puntastic, that. [Puck Daddy]
  • Losing to the Pens stinks so much that it makes some pretty unappealing things look awesome in comparison. True story. [Capitals Hill]
• Where does Nicklas Backstrom fall on a list of the League's top 10 centers? [ESPN ($)]
• Pack the sunblock, Michal Neuvirth? [ESPN]
• Russia's been taking a lot of heat lately (for many good reasons) but Ovechkin is staying diplomatic about it - and is focused on winning the gold. [AP]

More from Japers' Rink

Follow @JapersRinkFollow @SBNationNHL

• The Noon Number: Close But No Cigar
• Thursday Caps Clips: Pointless in Pittsburgh
• Capitals vs. Penguins Recap: Little Mistakes Cost Big as the Caps Fall 4-3
• Mike Green and Dmitry Orlov: A Potent Pair

A look at Washington's success against Columbus

1,874 - Number of days since the Caps last lost in Columbus, dating back to November 29, 2008. (Sidenote: the Caps' blueline that night consisted of Karl Alzner playing in his third NHL game, Shaone Morrisonn, Milan Jurcina, Tyler Sloan, Bryan Helmer and Sami Lepisto.)

Washington has won five-straight games overall against the Blue Jackets (two in-a-row in Ohio's capital city) and will look to push that to six on the road tonight.

More from Japers' Rink

Follow @JapersRinkFollow @SBNationNHL

• Friday Caps Clips: Capitals @ Blue Jackets Game Day
• The Noon Number: Close But No Cigar
• Thursday Caps Clips: Pointless in Pittsburgh
• Capitals vs. Penguins Recap: Little Mistakes Cost Big as the Caps Fall 4-3

The Jackets go for their fifth consecutive win as the Capitals make their first visit to Nationwide this season.

Washington Capitals at Columbus Blue Jackets

January 17, 2014 - 7:00 pm EST
Nationwide Arena - Columbus, Ohio
Radio - WBNS 97.1 - TV - Fox Sports Ohio
Opponent's Blog: Japers' Rink
SBN's Capitals vs Blue Jackets Coverage

Since last we saw these Caps, it's been roughly two months. And now, we play them twice in two weeks, and then we're done. Crazy, right? In that time, including their last meeting, the Jackets are 16-10-4, good for 36 points in 30 games. The Caps are 13-9-7, good for 33 points in 29 games. In other words, in many ways, these teams are pretty similar. Just four points separate the two teams, and the Jackets have that ever-wonderful game-in-hand.

So, this one's moderately important, ya know?

Here's the difference, though: the Jackets have won five of their last six, and eight of 11; the Caps have won just three times in their last 12 (3-4-5), and are fighting with a three-headed goalie monster that isn't really successful while also dealing with trade requests from their players.

In other words, the time is now for the Jackets to capitalize.

Yep, I made that pun.

In all seriousness, the last three games have felt like the Jackets of last spring, most especially the third period heroics--on the Power Play no less--of Monday night and the Sergei Bobrovsky heroics last Friday night. It will be a bit tougher tonight, as it looks like Fedor Tyutin won't play due to illness.

For Columbus, they've been scoring much better of late, and the Caps just haven't been able to keep people off the scoresheet. The biggest difference between these two clubs is on the Power Play. As we remember from games-past, the Caps' PP is deadly lethal and can completely change a game. The Jackets? Not so much. It is imperative that the Jackets stay out of the box tonight if they want to continue their winning ways.

Projected Lineups

Columbus Blue Jackets
(22-20-4, 48 Points; 6th division, 12th conference)

Washington Capitals
(22-17-8, 52 Points; 4th Division, 8th Conference)

Season Series

10/19/13 - Columbus 1 at Washington 4
11/12/13 - Columbus 3 at Washington 4 (OT)
01/17/14 - Washington at Columbus
01/30/14 - Washington at Columbus

Head to Head Stats

Washington		Columbus
2.81 (10)	GPG	2.74 (13)
2.87 (20)	GAPG	2.83 (19)
24.7% (1)	PP%	17.8% (19)
80.8% (17)	PK%	79.5% (23)
Alex Ovechkin, 34	G leader	Ryan Johansen, 17
Niklas Backstrom, 37	A leader	James Wisniewski, 23
Alex Ovechkin / Niklas Backstrom, 48	Pts leader	Ryan Johansen, 34
Tom Wilson, 92	PIM leader	Brandon Dubinsky, 78
8-9-4	Road/Home	11-9-2
1/15 @ Pittsburgh, L 4-3	Last Game	1/13 vs. Tampa Bay, W 3-2
3-3-4	Last 10	7-3-0

The Jackets go for their fifth consecutive win as the Capitals make their first visit to Nationwide this season.

Washington Capitals at Columbus Blue Jackets

January 17, 2014 - 7:00 pm EST
Nationwide Arena - Columbus, Ohio
Radio - WBNS 97.1 - TV - Fox Sports Ohio
Opponent's Blog: Japers' Rink
SBN's Capitals vs Blue Jackets Coverage

Since last we saw these Caps, it's been roughly two months. And now, we play them twice in two weeks, and then we're done. Crazy, right? In that time, including their last meeting, the Jackets are 16-10-4, good for 36 points in 30 games. The Caps are 13-9-7, good for 33 points in 29 games. In other words, in many ways, these teams are pretty similar. Just four points separate the two teams, and the Jackets have that ever-wonderful game-in-hand.

So, this one's moderately important, ya know?

Here's the difference, though: the Jackets have won five of their last six, and eight of 11; the Caps have won just three times in their last 12 (3-4-5), and are fighting with a three-headed goalie monster that isn't really successful while also dealing with trade requests from their players.

In other words, the time is now for the Jackets to capitalize.

Yep, I made that pun.

In all seriousness, the last three games have felt like the Jackets of last spring, most especially the third period heroics--on the Power Play no less--of Monday night and the Sergei Bobrovsky heroics last Friday night. It will be a bit tougher tonight, as it looks like Fedor Tyutin won't play due to illness.

For Columbus, they've been scoring much better of late, and the Caps just haven't been able to keep people off the scoresheet. The biggest difference between these two clubs is on the Power Play. As we remember from games-past, the Caps' PP is deadly lethal and can completely change a game. The Jackets? Not so much. It is imperative that the Jackets stay out of the box tonight if they want to continue their winning ways.

Projected Lineups

Columbus Blue Jackets
(22-20-4, 48 Points; 6th division, 12th conference)

Washington Capitals
(22-17-8, 52 Points; 4th Division, 8th Conference)

Season Series

10/19/13 - Columbus 1 at Washington 4
11/12/13 - Columbus 3 at Washington 4 (OT)
01/17/14 - Washington at Columbus
01/30/14 - Washington at Columbus

Head to Head Stats

Washington		Columbus
2.81 (10)	GPG	2.74 (13)
2.87 (20)	GAPG	2.83 (19)
24.7% (1)	PP%	17.8% (19)
80.8% (17)	PK%	79.5% (23)
Alex Ovechkin, 34	G leader	Ryan Johansen, 17
Niklas Backstrom, 37	A leader	James Wisniewski, 23
Alex Ovechkin / Niklas Backstrom, 48	Pts leader	Ryan Johansen, 34
Tom Wilson, 92	PIM leader	Brandon Dubinsky, 78
8-9-4	Road/Home	11-9-2
1/15 @ Pittsburgh, L 4-3	Last Game	1/13 vs. Tampa Bay, W 3-2
3-3-4	Last 10	7-3-0

Washington looks to get back in the win column following three losses in a row

Tonight's probable netminders:

Keep up with the latest Caps-related Tweets right here:

Tweets from @JapersRink/tweet-tweeters

Look for updates in this story stream throughout the evening, including tonight's lines, new open threads for each period, and more.

And of course... have at it, people.

The Jackets overcame a sloppy first period en route to a dominating victory over the visiting Capitals.

As the NHL prepares for the Olympic shutdown, it's a bit strange that the Jackets had four days off, last playing on Monday night. Heading into tonight's game, the good guys were riding a four-game winning streak, looking to make it five in a row against division-rival Washington.

It's January, so that means we can keep a keen eye on the standings without being told it's "too soon". Prior to tonight's matchup, the Jackets (6th in the Metro) were just four points back of the Caps (4th in the Metro), and just five points back of the idle Flyers and Rangers, who are second and third in the division, respectively.

The Jackets were down a top-four defenseman to start the game, as Fedor Tyutin was out due to illness. Combine that with the sluggish start to the game on behalf of the home team, and this one sure looked like a streak-beater for the first while.

In what should come as no surprise given the long layoff, the Jackets came out flat, disorganized, and couldn't match the speed of the Capitals. One of the top priorities when facing the Caps this year is to avoid the sin bin- and right when things were looking completely messy, Corey Tropp took a charging penalty. Luckily for the Jackets rookie Tom Wilson retaliated, putting the teams four-on-four.

Just seconds after the subsequent faceoff, Cam Atkinson drew a penalty as he made a strong push toward the opposition net. While four-on-three, Columbus coach Todd Richards deployed the quartet of Ryan Johansen and Nathan Horton up front, and Controlled-Effing-Chaos on the points.

With Horton setting the screen, James Wisniewski, comprising half of Controlled Chaos along with Jack Johnson, was fed a perfect one-time pass. The one-timer had eyes, and blasted its way past Washington starter Philipp Grubauer for Wisniewski's first powerplay goal of the season.

Funny eh, given the strong offensive season that Wiz is having, that it took this long to get his first powerplay marker. A PP specialist, he is not. A true offensive blueliner, he most certainly is.

1-0 Jackets: Wisniewski - Johnson, Johansen

It's a true indication of a good hockey team when a squad can play like shit and still go into the first intermission with the lead. The Jackets did just that, thanks to the Wiz goal, and a late snipe by Cam Atkinson. In the final minute of the period, Brandon Dubinsky, the anchor of his line with the Atkinverts flanking him, threw a shot on-net. Grubauer failed to smother it, and sticks were hacking at the loose puck with reckless abandon, with Atkinson's finding positive contact with the rubber, depositing it into the Washington net.

2-0 Jackets: Atkinson - Calvert, Dubinsky

The late goal, as is almost always the case, gave the team a huge boost, and that carried over through the intermission, and into the second period.

Under two minutes in to the middlle frame, the home team avoided the worst lead in hockey by going up by three goals, off the stick of Ryan Johansen. R.J. Umberger, who in this writer's mind has gone from total buyout candidate to core veteran thanks to his play this year, entered the zone with possession. He waited, and waited, until the right moment. That moment was when the trailer, in this case Johansen, entered the zone. Umberger fed him with a perfect pass, which the breakout star translated into a wicked wrister, beating and chasing Grubauer from the game.

3-0 Jackets: Johansen - Umberger

Midway through the period the Caps managed to beat Columbus starter Sergei Bobrovsky to cut the lead to two goals. It was a prototypical greaser. John Carlson lobbed the puck toward the Columbus net from the point, where it seemed to be redirected, rendering it unsaveable on behalf of The Bob.

3-1 Jackets: Carlson - Erat, Brouwer

That's right, Erat earned the primary assist. The guy can't stay in the Washington lineup, but he makes a cameo against the Jackets and is STILL a Jacket-killer. I really hope he gets dealt into a good situation, he's a talented player who needs the right team. There's been talk of Phoenix having interest, but if I'm the LA Kings or Ottawa Senators, I go after him.

With 3:57 left in the second, Booooone Jenner was whistled for goaltender interference, and we all held our collective breath as the league's second-best powerplay went to work. At one point while on the kill, one Alexander Ovechkin found himself alone in front of the net with the puck on his stick. Goal, right? Negative. His Sochi teammate Comrade Bobrovsky used his standard-issue trapper to deny the NHL's goal-scoring leader. A too-much-man penalty put the Jackets down two men, but the penalty killers came up huge to maintain the two-goal lead. Near the end of the period, while still down, hard work by Umberger drew a penalty.

The Jackets started the third period on the powerplay. I don't have any numbers to back this up, but I have always found that partial powerplays to start a period seem kind of ineffective.

No matter, because on this night the Jackets took advantage of this powerplay to full effect. The red-hot super-utlityman Mark Letestu took a feed from Horton, wiring the puck past Braden Holtby to put his team up by three.

4-1 Jackets: Letestu - Horton, Johnson

Later in the period, Ovechkin took a careless cross-checking penalty. The Caps were able to kill the man advantage, but just as the penalty expired, Atkinson received the puck just outside of the hashmarks, turned, and fired the puck into the net for his second goal of the game.

5-1 Jackets: Atkinson - Murray, Nikitin

The Jackets locked it down for the rest of regulation. The four lines were rotated to end the game, with Tropp standing out in the final few minutes. He was bringing energy, physical play, and he showed us all again what kind of hands he possesses.

FINAL SCORE: 5-1 Jackets

STANDARD BEARERS

1) Cam Atkinson spent some time on the fourth line recently. Since then, he's been on fire and has moved up with Dubinsky and Calvert. Two goals on this night, and we have our CamJam back.

2) Jack Johnson is still contributing since his Olympic snub. Just effing try to argue with me. I'm ready, stat geeks. Corsi and Fenwick are tools, not the final determining factor of a player's contributions.

3) Looks like Ryan Johansen is in full beast mode on a permanent basis.

4) Bob was there to let the guys in front of him get away with playing sloppy in the opening frame.

BOTTOM OF THE BARREL

1) I really don't like this section after a big win, but I have one player who didn't look strong- Dalton Prout. He's been bounced around this week, but he was turning the puck over and making poor decisions with the puck, especially early in the game. I think he needs an extended stay in Springfield to regain his confidence.

ADVANCED STATS FOR THE GAME: EXTRA SKATER

The Jackets look to make it six straight wins tomorrow night when they face the Sabres.

Daily Washington Capitals news and notes: Recaps of last night's loss to the Blue Jackets, what to do with Mikhail Grabovski and more.

Your savory breakfast links:

• Recaps and other assorted musings on last night's ridiculousness from us, Vogs, Monumental video (Oates, Ovechkin, Wilson, Laich, Carlson, Holtby), NHL.com, AP, SportsXchange, WaPo, CSNW, F Street Faithful, DSP, RMNB, and from the Columbus contingent, the Blue Jackets, Columbus Dispatch, The Union Blue and The Cannon. 
  • That guy in the #70 jersey might have looked familiar as he came in to relieve Philipp Grubauer in the second period - that was Braden Holtby, and he was very good. [CSNW, RMNB]
  • Not so good was Tom Wilson, who took an unnecessary and undisciplined penalty in the first that negated a Caps' power play and led to the Blue Jackets' first goal. [WaPo]
  • Usually Wilson is the 19-year-old dropping the gloves for the Caps... last night it was Connor Carrick. Wait, Connor Carrick?? [CSNW, HockeyFights.com]
  • Adam Oates says his team's lackluster performance is all mental. Great, can we have them all committed? [CSNW]
• News and notes from yesterday's pregame practice:
  • In general. [Monumental video (Oates)]
  • It may not have gone the way he wanted it to, but Brooks Laich skated in his 600th career NHL game last night. Congrats, sir. [Monumental video, CSNW]
  • Meanwhile the Caps were heading into last night's game confident in how they'd been playing despite the three-game losing streak. Probably not so much after that fourth loss, though. [WaPo]
• Should the Capitals re-sign Mikhail Grabovski? (Yes.) [WaPo]
• Should the Capitals trade Mikhail Grabovski? (No.) [CSNW]
• The NHL continues to show a commitment to equality with their partnership with You Can Play - a partnership highlighted in TSN's "ReOrientation" series (which you can, and should, check out here). [Sporting News]
• Finally, happy 61st birthday to Pete Laframboise.

More from Japers' Rink

Follow @JapersRinkFollow @SBNationNHL

• Capitals vs Blue Jackets Recap: Faulty Friday
• Capitals-Blue Jackets: Complete Coverage
• The Noon Number: No Jackets Required
• Friday Caps Clips: Capitals @ Blue Jackets Game Day
• The Noon Number: Close But No Cigar