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Blue Jackets notebook: Penalty kill disappointing
25th-ranked unit was expected to be strong
Sunday,
December 7, 2008 3:28 AM
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
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LOS ANGELES -- The Blue Jackets' power play has been so bad this season that nobody has noticed
their penalty killing.
Expected to be one of the best in the NHL -- and demanded to be one of the top five in the league by coach Ken Hitchcock before the season -- the Jackets went into a game last night against the Los Angeles Kings with the 25th-ranked penalty kill. "You put your most competitive players on the ice during the kill," Hitchcock said. "And nobody likes it when your most competitive players are out there and they get scored on. The disappointing part for me is we've given the other teams' power play an opportunity to dictate the game." Looking at the roster, there's no reason for it. Manny Malhotra and Michael Peca are two of the NHL's best at winning face-offs. Jason Chimera and Rick Nash have the size and speed to make them a short-handed threat. And nobody has more shutdown defensemen than the Blue Jackets. In a loss Thursday at San Jose, the Blue Jackets dominated five-on-five play -- the Sharks admitted as much after the game. But San Jose scored two power-play goals to keep them in it until they scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period. It marked the third time in four games and the eighth time this season the Blue Jackets have given up at least two power-play goals in the same game. The first step forward, Hitchcock said, is to stop taking so many penalties. The Jackets went into last night with the seventh-most minor penalties (134) in the NHL. Line of fireIt's amazing, really, that more players aren't struck and injured by flying pucks during practice. On Thursday morning, defenseman Ole-Kristian Tollefsen took a puck to the ear when goaltender Fredrik Norrena swatted it out of midair, inadvertently in Tollefsen's direction. Yesterday, Jason Chimera went down on all fours and slammed into the boards during the morning skate. "A puck went off the post and got me right in the (left) knee," Chimera said. It hurt a lot at first because I wasn't expecting it. I'm fine now." Slap shotsClay Wilson, Tollefsen and Fredrik Norrena were healthy scratches last night. Hitchcock indicated that Wilson could play against Anaheim. The Blue Jackets have scored a third-period goal in 15 straight games, the longest streak in the NHL since New Jersey during the 2005-06 season. NumbersStory toolsToday’s Top Stories |
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