Blue Power

[hoxltc]

Columbus Loses Third Straight


(Daniel Winnik celebates his second goal of the game)

DENVER (AP) – Daniel Winnik scored a pair of second period goals and Craig Anderson stopped 11 Columbus shots as the Avalanche held on for a 3-2 win at the Pepsi Center. The loss was the third straight for the Blue Jackets who only managed 13 shots on goal.

“I was hoping being on the road would get us out of the funk we're in, but it didn't happen,” said Columbus head coach Scott Arniel. “Our defense was a non-factor tonight, Steve (Mason) did a great job keeping us in the game. He didn't get much help out there that's for sure.”

The Avalanche scored first on left winger Matt Duchene's seventh tally of the season in the opening period. Duchene, camped in front of the net, picked up Adam Foote's initial shot that Mason was unable to cover at the 12:06 mark. Columbus tie the game 47 seconds later when, with the teams skating 4-on-4, Sammy Pahlsson tapped in a rebound off assists from Bryan Hoxsey and Kristian Huselius.

The second period was all Colorado as they out-shot the visitors 10-2. Winnik put his team ahead for good just over halfway in, denting the net off a give-and-go with Peter Mueller. Kevin Porter and David Jones then set up Winnik's second goal with 1:30 left in the second.

“We didn't play well, namely that second period. We had no energy and they came out and took it to us,” said Blue Jacket captain Rick Nash. “The last three games we have been playing tentatively, we need to find that fire again and start playing harder.”

Nash picked up his 200^th NHL assist on Fedor Tyutin's third period goal that cut the lead to 3-2 with seven minutes remaining.

Blue Jackets vs Avalanche
Oct 30, 2010 1 2 3 F CLB (5-5-0) 1 0 1 2 COL (3-7-1) 1 2 0 3 Three Stars Daniel Winnik - Colorado 2 goals Kyle Quincey - Colorado 1 assist Matt Duchene - Colorado 1 goal	Team Stats Comparison CLB COL Shots on Goal 13 31 Hits 6 10 Faceoffs Won-Lost 22/22 22/22 Penalty Minutes 14 10 Power Plays Converted 0 0 Power Play Opportunities 2 5 Time on Attack 6:34 5:13
Scoring Summary FIRST PERIOD COL Duchene 7 (Foote) 12:06 CLB Pahlsson 2 (Hoxsey, Huselius) 12:53 SECOND PERIOD COL Winnik 2 (Mueller, Quincey) 12:46 COL Winnik 3 (Porter, Jones) 18:30 THIRD PERIOD CLB Tyutin 2 (Nash, Vermette) 13:19
Blue Jackets - Goalies GOALIES SHOTS SAVES SV % GAA Steve Mason (L,4-5) 31 28 90% 2.54
Avalanche - Goalies GOALIES SHOTS SAVES SV % GAA C. Anderson (W,3-7) 13 11 85% 3.84

[hoxltc]

I think I'll post an update like this at the start of each month of my BAP.

NHL Standings - Updated: Nov 1, 2010
Central	W	L	OTL	PTS	HOME	ROAD	GF	GA
Detriot	6	1	2	12	4-1-1	2-0-1	28	21
St. Louis	6	3	0	12	4-1-0	2-2-0	30	27
Nashville	5	3	2	10	3-2-1	2-1-1	28	28
Columbus	5	5	0	10	3-3-0	2-2-0	20	24
Chicago	4	6	3	8	3-3-1	1-3-2	27	31

Washington is the leagues top team to this point with a 7-2-2 record, with Dallas just behind at 7-3-0.

NHL Scoring Leaders (Thru Oct. 31)

Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh 6-12-18
Marian Gaborik, NY Rangers 6-11-17
Matt Moulson, NY Islanders 8-9-17
Mike Cammalleri, Montreal 10-6-16
Ilya Kovalchuk, New Jersey 6-10-16

As far as rookies go, I (Bryan Hoxsey) have 5 points, Chicago's Bryan Bickell leads with 8 points.

[bthomp05]

5 points, not bad.

[hoxltc]

It's not been a bad start. My BAP player is playing ok, but it's guys like Nash who I'm worried about, not much production out of my first line. Mason has been soild in net, so hopefully we can improve on that record over the next few games.

[Jonesey]

The Central is a tough division.. Good luck with your guy though, I wish I had 5 points in the NHL!

[hoxltc]

Losing Streak Reaches Four In Columbus


(Travis Moen's third period goal gives Columbus
it's fourth consecutive defeat)

COLUMBUS (AP) – Montreal's Travis Moen scored nearly nine minutes into the third period to break a 2-2 tie and give the visiting Canadiens a 3-2 victory over the Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena. The loss brings Columbus' losing streak to four games.

Moen's tally was his fourth of the season and came off a tip from a shot from the point by defensmen Roman Hamrlik.

“It was just a simple shot and Moen turned it into a great goal,” said Hamrlik. “We fought back after being down early in the second period and that is what good teams do. There is no question we have struggled so far this season, but I think this was a huge road win for us as far confidence goes.”

Montreal took a 1-0 lead on Maxim Lapierre's deflection at the 16:54 mark, but Sammy Pahlsson tied the contest a minute later as he stole the puck at the blue line, move to the slot and beat Montreal goalie Carey Price into the top right corner.

“It was a hard defensive period on both sides,” said Pahlsson of the opening 20 minutes. “I took a chance on getting to clearing attempt and luckily it worked out.”

The Blue Jackets grabbed a 2-1 advantage early in the second when Nikita Filatov scored off a rebound, but the visitors knotted the score midway through the period on Brian Gionta's break-a-way goal.

“We let another one get away,” said Columbus captain Rick Nash. “The last four games, it has been a couple little lapses, but it all adds up to four losses. We'll get it turned around, but we can't wait for the other team to help us out. We have to start making our own breaks.”

Canadiens vs Blue Jackets
Nov 2, 2010 1 2 3 F MTL (5-6-1) 1 1 1 3 CLB (5-6-0) 1 1 0 2 Three Stars Travis Moen - Montreal 1 goal (GW) Roman Hamrlik - Montreal 2 assists Nikita Filatov - Columbus 1 goal	Team Stats Comparison MTL CLB Shots on Goal 22 23 Hits 22 13 Faceoffs Won-Lost 12/23 23/12 Penalty Minutes 2 2 Power Plays Converted 0 0 Power Play Opportunities 1 1 Time on Attack 6:13 6:31
Scoring Summary FIRST PERIOD MTL Lapierre (2) (Hamrlik, Halpern) 16:54 CLB Pahlsson (3) (unassisted) 17:58 SECOND PERIOD CLB Filatov (2) (Hejda) 1:50 MTL Gionta (1) (Markov) 10:30 THIRD PERIOD MTL Moen (4) (Picard, Hamrlik) 8:46
Canadiens - Goalies GOALIES SHOTS SAVES SV % GAA Price 23 21 91% 3.05
Blue Jackets - Goalies GOALIES SHOTS SAVES SV % GAA Mason 22 19 86% 2.55

[bthomp05]

Ouch, 4 games. You need to stop the bleeding.

[HeroWorship]

Struggling to start the season for the Blue Jackets, but losing to the Habs and allowing Travis Moen to score the game winner is a bad sign of things to come.