Interested in giving hockey a whirl? If so you don't want to miss this:
The Chiller is participating in this effort by hosting a free hockey clinic for beginners ages 6 and up at Chiller North from 11am-Noon on Saturday, January 30.
This clinic is for first time participants only and will give them the opportunity for basic skating and hockey instruction with our professional coaches. Skates, helmets and sticks will be provided.
Interested participants will need to register below. Space is limited and registration is first-come-first-served.
Click this link to register now!
Thanks Paul for the reminder on this one.
Check this one out sent in from Ryan via an ESPN.com chat:
jacketsbearsbucks: What happened to the Jackets? They started off the season right where they left off. Then ... something happened. I really like the Hitch, but something happened to get in their heads, and I can't help but wonder that it's the coaching. This team should have loads of young talent for years to come. And letting Filatov get away ... grrr! Is it true the Hitch can't coach young talent?
My take: No, it is not true. I'm pretty sure there were young players on the team last season when the Jackets surprised everyone in hockey and clinched their first playoff berth in franchise history. The man didn't get stupid overnight. First of all, I think this team overachieved last season, making this season's expectations a dangerous target.
Secondly, and I hate to single out one player in a team sport, but goalie Steve Mason is redefining "sophomore slump." His .889 save percentage is 46th out of 47 NHL goalies and his 3.33 goals-against average is 45th. Listen, I love the kid and he's only 21, but he's clearly the biggest reason for the problems this season. You can't win a game without goaltending. And backup Mathieu Garon is just that, a backup. I think Mason will be fine next season and have the kind of bounce-back campaign Carey Price is having this season in Montreal. Until there's any sign of a turnaround in net, it doesn't matter what the coach does. You can't win in this league without a puck stopper.
I know it's ESPN but they've got a great point about the goaltending and the stats back that up.
Scott Howson via the NHL Live radio show said yesterday that 5 on 5 has been the Jackets problem all season long. That stats also back this one up as the Jackets have given up the most 5 on 5 goals in the league (116) and have scored 21st most (85).
Of course the question that is now asked is if the Jackets were getting the goaltending would they have given up so many even strength goals?
Chicken before egg? Goals against before goals scored?
As you can see no gamebox today (too busy bitching about goal-gate).
Not a whole lot to say about tonight.
Boston is beatable at home owning just a 13-9-3 record. However like every team the Jackets seem to face of late they will be a motivated bunch coming out of the gate as they've lost 2 in a row and 3 straight on home ice.
Rest assured that this Bruins team will want to get back on track on home ice and are viewing this as a must win. I don't see a team as fragile as the Jackets having enough fight in them to prevent it but you never know.
The Jackets will have to sustain the first 10 min onslaught and hope Mason can stop more than a dodgeball.
I just hope Hitch plays the hell out of the kids so their evaluation and development can continue through the final 30 games of this season.
As it stands now the Jackets are 10 points away from the playoffs and 12 points away from the #1 pick.
The R Bar will be giving away a couple of lower bowl tickets tonight and their kitchen is completely open. Check out the full menu here!
GO JACKETS!
-LTL
