Pre-game notes: Blue Jackets vs. Oilers

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There’s one thing the Edmonton Oilers do not lack, and that’s confidence. From spending limited time around them, it’s not a cockiness or blatant swagger that defines them, but rather a belief in their style of play and never thinking they’re out of a hockey game.

But through the course of an 82-game schedule, there are highs and lows that come to pass. After starting 8-2-2 this year, the Oilers have fallen down to 13th in the Western Conference and open a brief two-game roadie tonight at Nationwide Arena. Despite dropping below .500 and being crushed by injuries to their star players (Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Ryan Whitney among others), there’s still hope of climbing back into the playoff picture.

UPDATE: 6:40 p.m. — Oilers LW Taylor Hall appeared to suffer an injury during warm-ups. He was holding his head and it could have been a stray puck or a skate cut, according to Sportsnet’s Gene Principe. Hope he’s ok.

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Colton Gillies: “They never gave me a chance.”

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I had a chance to catch up with Colton Gillies, also known as the newest Blue Jacket after today’s practice at Nationwide Arena. He’s a nice guy with a good personality, and I’ll be looking forward to covering him as his Blue Jackets career takes flight.

One funny video of Gillies from his Houston Aeros days (which I joked with him about) before we get started: he’s promoting the team’s Facebook page and it’s pretty funny. “I remember they gave me like, seven things to say, and I could only remember one.”

Read more for his full quotes. He spoke about needing a change, why things didn’t work out for him in Minnesota, his hockey idol and more.

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Post-game: Sharks 2, Blue Jackets 1

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said this morning that the Sharks are becoming one of the NHL’s most versatile teams: they can out-score you, out-goalie you and out-check you. Tonight, they played another “first-blink-wins” game with the Blue Jackets, and got the upperhand in a 2-1 win at Nationwide Arena.

For as much as the Blue Jackets put the Sharks on the power play in this game, you’d think the final score would be a bit more lopsided. But you could see the elements of Todd Richards’ penalty-killing philosophy at work tonight — wanting the Blue Jackets to be the initiators on the kill and make the opposition do things they don’t want to do. The Sharks were guilty of several giveaways on the power play, and Ryan Russell was right in the middle of just about everything while shorthanded.

Patrick Marleau’s 17th goal of the season was the product of misfortune for the Blue Jackets rather than a budding sequence for the Sharks. The Blue Jackets, after getting a gorgeous game-tying goal from Rick Nash, came with a tremendous push in the final 10 minutes and nearly squeaked another goal by Thomas Greiss. Derek Dorsett and Nash came within inches of finding the net, but Greiss made a pair of 10-bell stops.

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Blue Jackets claim Colton Gillies (and there’s a game today)

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Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson announced just after the noon hour that he has claimed LW Colton Gillies off waivers from the Minnesota Wild. A former first-round pick at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft held in Columbus, Gillies has struggled to establish himself in the NHL but the Blue Jackets want to provide him an opportunity to do so.

I spoke with a pro scout today who likes Gillies’ skating ability, his size and power-forward potential. The philosophy and attitude I’ve always taken toward these situations is: if you like the player, make the claim. For the Blue Jackets, it’s a low-risk move that could turn out to be a good one. Look at the Montreal Canadiens and Wild a few years back: they swapped young, under-performing high draft picks (Guillaume Latendresse and Benoit Pouliot) because each needed a fresh start. Latendresse went on to be a 25-goal scorer for the Wild in his first year, and Pouliot was a valuable role player for the Boston Bruins in their Stanley Cup run last summer.

These waiver claims have a history of invigorating players and bringing out the best in them. In Columbus, it doesn’t hurt that a former Wild coach (Todd Richards) will be coaching Gillies yet again.

Read more for Howson’s thoughts on the move.

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Projected lineup: Blue Jackets

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Here is tonight’s projected Blue Jackets lineup vs. the Phoenix Coyotes.

FORWARDS
L1: Prospal-Brassard-Nash
L2: Johansen-Vermette-Kubalik
L3: Russell-Pahlsson-Dorsett
L4: Byers-MacKenzie-Boll

DEFENSE
D1: Tyutin-Nikitin
D2: Methot-Johnson
D3: Moore-Savard

GOALTENDER
Sanford

– The Coyotes didn’t skate (see previous blog), but my guess is they start Jason LaBarbera against the Blue Jackets tonight. And why not? He’s 4-3-0 with a 1.35 GAA And .955 save percentage in eight career games vs. Columbus.

Familiar faces

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Unfortunately, the Phoenix Coyotes did not skate this morning (nor did they come to the rink) so I didn’t get a chance to talk to the quartet of former Blue Jackets on their roster.

What an assembly it is: Rostislav Klesla, Ray Whitney, Raffi Torres and Gilbert Brule – the latter two being traded for one another during the summer of 2008. As you all know, Klesla was the Blue Jackets’ first draft pick at fourth overall in the 2000 Entry Draft and was a good teammate, representative and human being during his 10 years in Columbus. Brule was the club’s first-round pick in 2005, Whitney was one of the best offensive players this franchise has ever seen and Torres had a huge impact in the 2008-09 playoff run.

Those men each provided memories for all of us who follow and support the team, but like with most things in life, there was a time to move on. Klesla will be honored with a pre-game video tribute tonight at Nationwide Arena.

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Post-game: Blackhawks 5, Blue Jackets 2

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And I thought Patrick Sharp was a thorn in the Blue Jackets’ side these days.

Apparently, that honor can now be bestowed upon Viktor Stalberg, the Toronto Maple Leafs castoff who has found a home in Chicago. The Swedish winger notched a hat trick tonight against Columbus and lead the Blackhawks to a 5-2 victory at United Center. It was the first win in four games (and first in 2012) for the Blackhawks, who have struggled to score goals of late.

On the flip side, Todd Richards dropped his debut behind the Blue Jackets bench and he’s not the first Columbus coach to do so. The last to win in his Jackets coaching debut was Claude Noel in February of 2009, a 2-1 win over the Dallas Stars at Nationwide Arena.

The Blue Jackets got goals tonight from Antoine Vermette and R.J. Umberger and both men played a sturdy game. Captain Rick Nash was active, as well, firing a season-high eight shots on goal and accounting for nearly 25 percent of Columbus’ shot output.

From here, it’s back home to Columbus tonight and a four-game homestand that awaits. Richards and staff will have some time to review the tweaks he wants to make and get settled back on the homefront. The Phoenix Coyotes are the next opponent on the schedule – a Friday night contest followed up another home tilt Saturday vs. the San Jose Sharks.

Here are some notes, stats and more from tonight’s game:

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