What the hell is going on?

So I sat through "Zherdev fest" on Friday where the Jackets played one solid period then let the Rags beat them to every loose puck and couldn't win a battle in the corner at all.

On to Minnesota where we let the referees decide the game...and the referees and the NHL are never going to take Columbus's side in Minnesota. Between Wes Walz and goal...no goal after inconclusive evidence, we have to have a two goal lead in the last minute to get a win up there.

Then tonight. Beat the shit out of the Ducklings all over the ice for 50 minutes, then just give up and lose 3-2 at home. Home in front of about 8,000 fans...nobody showed up. You need wins, points, and fans and decide to play part of a game. The best players on the ice were rookies...Brassard, Vorachek, and Methot. The veterans gave up. We paid Commodore a huge contract to be a leader and teach the team to win tough games. Um, money well spent so far...

This is beyond annoying. This team should be pissed off after what happened in Minny, but they weren't. They don't care, and we're not even 10 games into the season. I can't wait for the rest of the season if this is how it's going to go...

WTF happened to the Jackets defense??

You can't tell me Ron Hainsey and Dick Tarnstrom were the difference between responsible defense and giving up 21 goals in the first 5 games, including 3 shorties. Team defense was the strength of the team a year ago, but it appears to be the biggest weakness of the team right now. There seems to be a lot of scrambling and losing track of people in our own zone. Too much overplaying? Overcompensating? WTF is going with these guys.

In the meantime, our goalies are looking like crap. I'm sure there are many fans looking at the boxscores and ready to hang the goalies. Some of it is warranted, but 21 goals through 5 games points to way more than goaltending.

What blows is we're finally scoring some goals, almost a goal per game better than a year ago. But, in giving up waaaaay more than a goal a game than we did a year ago, all that offense is buried underneath the shitty defense.

Hitch is known for his defense, and I'm confident he'll get it turned around, but when? How much longer do we watch Klesla and Tyutin struggle in our end? Maybe it's time to put Klesla and Hejda back together, they excelled late last season. Let Commodore and Tyutin make things happen as a pair.

The upside is Kris Russell looks to have matured nicely. The kid is playing great, not tenative at all, and is moving the puck like a 10 year veteran. But, again, overshadowed by all the gaffes his teammates are making.

Hitch has a couple days to get things moving in the right direction before the Canucks are here, followed by the league leading Rangers and a certain Russian kid I'm sure will be ready to put on a show on Friday.

And so the season is under way...

OK, I'm a bit late to the party. We were in Florida for a week, so I didn't see any of the Jackets first three games. I read all I could on my phone, but that's not the same as watching. So, my first look was last night at home vs. the Preds. Some quick thoughts...

- Holy shit, where is all this offense coming from? I like it, keep it up.

- What the...where'd our defense go? I'm sure it will get there - it's what Hitch does - but would the Fedor Tyutin from the preseason please report to the regular season?

So, we're 2-2, have played some iffy defense, and have taken down Dallas and Nashville. Not bad, but I'm greedy, I want more. Kindly take down the Preds again tonight, boys, and I'll be happier.

Speaking of last night's game, Freddy Modin was an animal last night. I know Nasher's two goals, and captain status, pretty much gave him the #1 star, but Modin was outstanding and maybe should have gotten it himself. He was a one man wrecking crew in the Preds zone last night, hope to see more of that as the season goes along.