Columbus 3 : 2 Nashville
Columbus 2 : 6 Detroit

Game Ten: Joy in Jacketville

NAS game recap: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/recap

Game Nine: No! Not Detriot!! Anything but Detroit!!!

DET game recap: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/recap

A game like game ten is why I miss Columbus so much. I can hear the roar of Nationwide as Foote slipped the last shot of the game passed Vokoun to win one for the Jackets against the previously unbeaten Predators de Nashville. I know what it feels like to be up in the rafters pounding the back wall -- hoping that your team (your young silly stupid team) can pull one out. Game Ten is the first time in 2005 that we finally did.

Record: 3 - 7 (6 points)
Home Record: 2 - 3
Road Record: 1 - 4

Columbus 0 : 6 Detroit
Columbus 4 : 1 San Jose

Games Seven and Eight: You win some, and lose some

DET game recap: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/recap

SJ game recap:http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/recap

I watched the Jackets get blanked by Detroit at Guido's Lounge in Mt. Adams (Cincinnati), while the World Series started and Illinois was getting trounced by Penn State. From across the bar towards a small tv in the corner I could only see flashes of red and white striped hockey players out hustle the blue players. Only Adam Foote sticking up for himself and his team in the last two minutes remained in my brain the day after. We've got another shot at these guys tonight , so maybe we'll play one like we're professionals.

I missed the SJ game entirely. Typical.

Record: 2 - 6 (4 points) last place in the league
Home Record: 1 - 2
Road Record: 1 - 4

Out

Fritsche (49) (right ankle: pending MRI)
sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/hockey/bluejackets.frit.ap

Nash (61) (sprained ankle)

Brule (17) (fractured sternum)

Klesla (97) (stress fracture in leg)

Los Angeles 3 : 1 Columbus
Anaheim 4 : 3 Columbus
San Jose 4 : 1 Columbus

Games Four, Five and Six: The Road Trip from Hell
(Or, how I learned to stop worrying and lose in California)

LA Game Recap: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/recap?gid=2005101608

ANA Game Recap: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/recap?gid=2005101425
SJ Game Recap: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/recap?gid=2005101218

It wasn't until the third period of the Los Angeles game that the Jackets started hitting. Before that they were mostly knocking each other off the puck. I've decided that Suchy (21) is probably the most useless of all our new useless players, Balastik included. We've just always been very poor defensively, and now Adam Foote, notwithstanding, we seem to continue to be very poor giving up 11 goals in three games. Rusty "Overrated" Klesla is still out with an injury, and until Nash gets back from his lingering sprained right ankle you get the feeling that the organization has its built in excuse, well, built in. So, if we're going to do anything this year, we need to pick up points on our upcoming homestand.

Record: 1 - 5 (2 pts) last place in the league
Home Record: 0 - 1
Road Record: 1 - 4

Chicago 2 : 3 Columbus

Sunday October 9, 2005 -- Game Three
I was in Chicago watching my girlfriend's mother run the Chicago Marathon but I missed this game on local television because we were out on the town. (And when we came back to the hotel I got out-voted when the Bengals game was on and had to watch NFL.)

Anyway, Jason Chimera (25) who we had just acquired from Phoenix scored the game's opening goal followed by tallies from Brian Berard (4) and a game winning goal by Jody Shelley (45) (No, I do not believe that Jody Shelley scored our game winning goal either.)

Game recap:http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/recap?gid=2005100904

Record: 1 - 2 (2 pts)
Home Record: 0 - 1
Road Record: 1 - 1

Columbus 1 : 3 Calgary

Well we lost our home opener. I wasn't there to see it though.

Game recap: http://www.nhl.com/scores/recaps/22_2_recap.html

Record: 0 - 2
Home Record: 0 - 1
Away Record: 0 - 1

Washington 3 : 2 Columbus

Wednesday October 5, 2005 Opening Night

The new-look Jackets came up just short, in an old-look Jackets sort of way, against the new-look Capitals and their young (multiple) goal scorer Ovechkin, on the first night of the new-look National Hockey League. Rick Nash left the game in the second period with "soreness" in his ankle, which had been sprained earlier keeping Nash sidelined during the preseason. Without Nash the Jackets looked like a club without its finisher in front of net, and if it wasn't for the individual skill of Dan Fritsche who did well to put two across the line, we may have been held scoreless.

Still, it was 2-1 CBJ in the 2nd when the Jackets picked up eight minutes in penalties in just under forty seconds. Balastik, Letowski and Foote (who inadvertently drew blood when his stick, which was aiming for the airborne puck contacted the nearest Capital: 4:00 minutes.) The Caps tied the game just after the two-man advantage had ended, shortening Foote's penalty box stay to 2:00 minutes more. Just shortly after the Caps made it 3-2 and staved off the Jackets the rest of the way including a penalty kill in the last 1:30 of the game.

Gil-bert Bru-le played tough in his Jackets debut. LeClaire got the start ahead of Denis. Rimer was a notable disappointment in the play by play booth (give me back my old team!). And it was nice to see Foote finally skate around in the Red White and Blue and small bit of Electric Green.

Game recap:http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/recap?gid=2005100523

David Vyborny watch: I have decided to make a special note on each performance by my favorite and least favorite Blue Jacket going into the season just to see how this plays out. Vyborny is my boy. Tonight, Vyborny took a crucial penalty in the 2nd which killed our PP and led to a slew of CBJ infractions. He also had trouble holding on to the puck and finding space to skate in. Furthermore, he'll need to improve on his poor performance tonight quarterbacking the power play in Nash's absence.

Luke Richardson watch: LR is usually old, slow, ineffective, and my least favorite Blue Jacket, but tonight he had a sweet assist on Fritche's second goal and didn't make any forehead-slapping plays that I can remember. I hope that this is a good omen for the coming season.

Record: 0 - 1
Home Record: 0 - 0
Away Record: 0 - 1