Bad Teams Playing Hockey In Late March

They're going to see the Blue Jackets on back to back nights? In different cities? They're following them home? What the bonk is a Blue Jacket?*

If you read our itinerary in advance, one or all of these questions may have popped in your mind. Completely acceptable. What you don't know is...nothing screams hockey more than an 8 year old team with zero post-season experience in the midst of a mascot identity crisis. Trust us.

We rejoin our heroes during the first intermission of tonight's Chicago Blackhawks vs Columbus Blue Jackets game. 12th Place in the West is on the line! It's another year of flirting with the cellar, but a near capacity crowd doesn't seem to mind. The CBJ's are in a scoreless streak that's now hit 100 minutes (Benetti a first hand observer for 60 of them). I asked the fan behind me "when's the last time your team actually scored a goal?" He took no time retorting "Sunday." (It was actually Saturday night, beginning of the 3rd Period against the Red Wings).

At the 4:49 mark of the second period, Joakim Lindstrom found the back of the net for a Blue Jackets power play goal. There was a Nationwide eruption with a cannon shot that could be heard all around Columbus. Benetti and I pretended to hurry to take a picture in front of the not-so-stagnant anymore scoreboard, but we knew there would likely be another 100 minutes before such an occruance happened again.
Amazingly enough, the CBJ's scored 3 more times, but my 3 stars of the game go to....

3) This Sign. I love puns that transition so seamlessly from the original word. 2) CBJ goalie Freddie Norrena. He came into the game with something to prove. The previous night, all of Nashville spent its time taunting the puck-stopper with jeers of "it's all your fault." See blog post: "Country Music, eh?" With a chip on his shoulder, Norrena stopped all 19 shots he faced. Nothing was his fault, and he posted his 2nd shutout of the year. It has now been concluded that goalies perform at their highest level the game after facing the Predators in Nashville.1) The "grounds crew," featuring 3 tall blonde girls wearing black sweatpants and the green top featured above. During every TV timeout, they came out and "swept" the ice. These scantily clad zambonies are key forces in keeping momentum on Columbus's side.

The game concluded with Benetti and I sitting on the glass. We figured out how the ritual of clapping was invented. It's a story you don't want to miss.

-LBK

*A Blue Jacket is...?

1) A bug.

2) A nickname for a "blue collar" Ohio worker.

3) A Celebration of Patriotism stemming back to the Civil War.

Answer in the comment section.