The Puck Drops Here 1/3/17 #BlueJackets #CBJ

By Chris Lulovics, @CLulovics

Well here we are at the start of 2017 and the Columbus Blue Jackets are one of the hottest teams in the NHL.  Who would of thought that at the beginning of the season?  Head coach John Tortorella  (head coach of the USA team in the World Cup of Hockey) ran what players and analysts call a boot camp in order to get his players in top physical condition so come the 3rd period they aren't out of gas and can put away teams.  Well his plan is definitely working because the Blue Jackets play their best period in the 3rd.

On Saturday the Blue Jackets extended their franchise best winning streak to 15 games by winning 4-2 against the Minnesota Wild. The Wild were winners of 12 games in a row before Saturday. The Blue Jackets have outscored their opponents 62-26 during the streak. In fact they went a perfect 12-0 during the whole month of December. Leading the way has been goalie Sergei Bobrovski who seems to be back to his old self from a couple of years ago when the Jackets made the playoffs. Cam Atkinson is leading the way accounting for 16 points in the last 12 games. Nick Foligno has also returned to his old format after a disappointing season a year ago. Boone Jenner and Brandon Dubinsky while not producing on the score sheet like they would like too, have been playing a huge role with tremendous play away from the puck which helps other guys on the line to produce. And last but not least rookie defenseman 19 year old Zach Werenski. Last year at this time he was playing for the university of Michigan and then turning pro and helping the Lake Erie Monsters win the Calder Cup. Not only does Werenski hold the club record for most points by a rookie defenseman  (before the first half even ends) he is also the quarterback of the leagues best power-play. For a 19 year old to have that much responsibility shows the confidence that head coach John Tortorella has in him.

The Jackets are 2 games away from tying the NHL record.  They play Tuesday against the Edmonton Oilers and Thursday against the Washington Capitals. They can set a new record at home Saturday night against the New York Rangers. I can only imagine the crowd that will be at that game. So far this season has been amazing after experts predicted the Jackets wouldn't amount to anything. There is a lot of hockey left and anything can happen but with their mentality of one game at a time let's just live in the moment right now and enjoy the ride. If you're not on the bandwagon you can always jump on now.

The Puck Drops Here 2.4.15: #BlueJackets Mid-Season Review #CBJ

By @CLulovics

Here is the Columbus Blue Jackets mid season review along with a quick short review of the entire league. The Jackets who started the season with almost half of their roster on IR started off slow and at the bottom of the NHL standings had a really good month of December to get themselves back into the playoff picture.

Ryan Johansen, Nick Foligno, and Sergei Bobrovsky were all named to the all star game which was held in Columbus over the weekend of January 24th which saw the skills competition and then the game itself held on the 25th. Bobrovsky was injured and could not compete in the game. Nick Foligno was named captain of the home team and selected teammate Ryan Johansen with the first overall pick of the NHL fantasy draft. Team Foligno lost the game to Team Toews by a score of 17-12. Nick Foligno had a goal and an assist while Ryan Johansen had 2 goals and 2 assists and took home the MVP award. Johansen also won the breakaway skills competition on Saturday night. Nashville Predators Shea Webber won the hardest shot at 108.5 mph  (record is 108.8)

Team leaders in points are Nick Foligno and Ryan Johansen both with 45 points. Foligno has 18 goals and 27 assists while Johansen has 19 goals with 26 assists. Scott Hartnell has 10 goals 18 assists for 28 pts. James Wisniewski has 5 goals, 17 assists for 22 pts. And Jack Johnson has 5 goals and 18 assists for 23 points, also as of this writing.

Also as of this writing the Anaheim Ducks lead the league with a record of 32-12-6 for 70 points in the Western Conference. In the Eastern Conference, the Detroit Red Wings have 64 points and the New York Islanders have 65 points. The Jackets are currently 13 pts out of the last wild card spot but anything can happen and like last year thus team can go on a streak in a month and find themselves back into the playoffs.

Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals leads the league in goals with 29. Philadelphia Flyers Jakub Voracek leads the league in assists with 41 and also leads the league in points with 58. The NHL trade deadline is March 2 at 3pm.

The Blue Jackets are gonna have to stay healthy and play a complete team game from here on out if they want to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs.


As always Carry The Flag and We Are The 5th Line

Leadoff with Lee 1.15.15 #Browns #OhioState #49ers

By @cleeverizon

- Greg Roman is officially off the table for the Browns. He will serve as offensive coordinator for Rex Ryan in Buffalo.

What's the next step for the Browns in hiring a new offensive coordinator? The Browns interviewed former Bears head coach Marc Trestman yesterday (a hire/interview I don't like) and Raiders QB coach John DeFilippo will interview Friday(a hire/interview I do like).

Other candidates that have been discussed are Anthony Lynn of the New York Jets, who had the Jets finishing third in the NFL in rushing with 142.5 yards per game in 2014, Cowboys assistants Bill Callahan and Scott Linehan, Raiders senior offensive assistant Al Saunders, and former Bills head coach Chan Gailey. Gailey has been highly recruited and is expected to be hired by new Jets coach Todd Bowles. The Browns will also interview their tight end coach Brian Angelichio.

- The 49ers promoted defensive line coach Jim Tomsula as their next head coach. Jack Del Rio was hired by the Raiders to become head coach. Todd Bowles was hired as head coach of the N.Y Jets.

- The 49ers parted ways with all of their assistant coaches except running back coach Tom Rathman. So that means former Browns head coach Eric Mangini is unemployed once again.

- Oregon QB Marcus Mariota announced he will forego his senior season and enter the 2015 NFL draft.

- The future of Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones is something everyone wants to know. Reports have surfaced that Jones is seeking a extension from the NFL to decide if he wants to declare for the draft. Obviously he wants to workout in front of some scouts and agents just to gauge where he is projected to be drafted.  

- Marc Bindel, who was J.T Barrett's offensive coordinator in high school, has been quoted as saying "Obviously it's nothing official, but right now J.T. told me that he expects both of them (Jones and Braxton Miller) to be back with him". That's the best problem a coach can have, a plug and play quarterback. If I were Cardale I would declare for the draft, If he feels that he's ready. If he wants another year of college under his belt, I would transfer to a D1-AA  school and light it up there. Remember Steve McNair from Alcorn State?

- Ohio State officially hired Tim Beck who will serve as quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator. Ed Warinner was promoted from offensive line coach to co-offensive coordinator.      

- Nick Foligno of the Columbus Blue Jackets has been named team captain for All-Start weekend in Columbus. Team Foligno is going to be the home team and wear the black Reebok All-Star jersey.

The Puck Drops Here 1.7.15: Blue Jackets December 2014 Review

By @CLulovics

This is the Columbus Blue Jackets December month in review. First off my apologies for the delay in the article, as I had neck fusion surgery and am currently trying to write this in a neckbrace while using a tablet. So if there are any mistakes I apologize in advance.

After a horrendous month of November where we saw the Jackets lose many games in a row and saw countless players go down with injuries, the Jackets had a huge turnaround in December going 10-1-1 climbing from the bottom of the NHL standings to right back into the playoff picture. Along with the rise in the standings, we also saw the return of some injured players, some making their season debut with the rest just coming back from a short term injury stint.

Brandon Dubinsky who had been sidelined all season made his debut in December and his veteran leadership on the ice has shown through his puck skills and ice presence helping the younger players be in the right position.  Boone Jenner, who was on a hot streak, has been sidelined for 2 months with a bad back. But all in all, the Jackets are getting healthy and slowly returning to playing the type of hockey that got them into the playoffs last year.

Offensively the Jackets are being lead by Nick Foligno who leads the team with 35 points  (17 goals 18 assists). Ryan Johansen is right behind him with 12 goals 22 assists for 34 points. Scott Hartnell has 8 goals and 13 assists for 21 points. Jack Johnson has 3 goals and 16 assists for 19 points. And rounding out the top 5 point leaders is James Wisniewski has 3 goals and 13 assists for 16 points.

The Jackets acquired Kevin Connauton off of waivers from the Dallas Stars. They also traded defenseman Tim Erixon to the  Chicago Blackhawks for Jeremy Morin. Then just 2 days later they traded Luke Adam to the Buffalo Sabres for Jerry D'Amigo. Also acquired was Jordan Leopold from the St. Louis Blues for a 5th round draft pick.

Once again after the horrible month of November, the Jackets are right back into the playoff picture but must stay healthy and play a complete team game staying out of the penalty box to keep making the movement up the standings. If they do that then they should be enjoying the playoffs again like last year but with 3 months left in the season anything can happen. Also don't forget that the All-star game is in Columbus with a week long list of events enjoyable for the entire family. Check out the full list here.

As always Carry The Flag, March On, and "We Are The 5th Line"