Columbus Blue Jackets at Edmonton Oilers, G70 Breakdown

Columbus Blue Jackets
@ Edmonton Oilers

Wednesday, Mar 14, 2012, 8:00 PM MDT
Rexall Place

GAME THREAD

Falcons Game 62: Sideshow Antics Overshadow Good Game - The Cannon
Today, I am sorry to say that I witnessed a real life version of that kind of crazed behavior. Steve MacIntyre of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins singlehandedly earned the title "Biggest Piece of Trash to Play The Game In the Past 40 Years". The behemoth degenerate, all 6'5" of him, when he couldn't thug it up with an obviously more intelligent Falcon, decided it was his best possible career move to attack 5'10" goalie Paul Dainton. Dainton's teammates were not amused and predictably, all hell broke loose for several minutes at the MassMutual Center in Springfield. More after the jump:

Today in the "A": MacIntyre Suspended - The Cannon
Steve MacIntyre of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins was suspended by the AHL for 4 games today, based on his deplorable actions against Paul Dainton and the Springfield Falcons on Sunday afternoon at the MassMutual Center in Springfield. Despite MacIntyre's antics, the Falcons were unable to cash in on an eight minute power play, eventually dropping a 4-3 shootout decision to the Penguins. The suspension announcement from TheAHL.com:

Clockgate Returns: NHL Still Silent on Drew Doughty's Controversial GWG Vs. Jackets - The Cannon
Review of video evidence shows the clock at the Staples center "paused" on 1.8 seconds for well over 3 actual seconds, extending the final period of regulation past when it should have ended. Video review saw it. The team saw it. Fans saw it. But the game went into the record books regardless despite protests from the Blue Jackets coaches and front office.

The GM Meetings: What's In It For Us? - The Cannon
With the NHL GMs getting away from snow, rain, and what little winter weather you can find in this unseasonably warm March in Florida this week (though it appears the weather report for Boca Raton is rather overcast and rainy - tough luck!), one has to wonder what Scott Howson might bring home to offer both his team and the fans.

Game Preview 70: Fail Off: Who Wants it *Less*? - The Cannon
Playoff implications? Nope. Bragging rights? Maybe. Rivalry? Not really. Two teams out of the playoffs, 13 games to go in the season... what's the draw?

Help me believe in anything - mc79hockey.com
I had some doubts about that as an explanation for his shooting percentage. As always, I think it’s helpful to break these things down into ES/PP/PK. At 5v5 before last year, Jones had taken 97 career shots, scoring 10. Last year, he took 98 shots and scored 15. This year, he’s taken 95 shots and scored 7. Less than half as effective as he was before. He basically invented a whole narrative for himself, on the basis of a single season, that didn’t even match with his past history.

What Ice Time Tells Us - Oil Acumen
Tom Renney made some pointed comments after the Oilers' 3-2 loss to San Jose on Monday. What he didn't do is indicate exactly what players he wants more from. The one currency that a coach has is ice time, so what does the way it's being distributed tell us about the favor of the coach?

Bickering Amongst Teammates Leads To - Oilers Jambalaya
It's been reported that there was some bickering on the Oilers bench the other night. Captain Shawn Horcoff fully admitted this and it should be no surprise that this happened. Losing sucks. I'd be pissed off too.

Oilers vs. Blue Jackets – Putting on the Foil
It would appear that Eager is a scratch tonight with back spasms. Might be cause for concern, as he’s had troubles with that throughout the year. Teemu Hartikainen has been called up. I’m curious as to where they play him. Just simply in Eager’s spot? Probably, but I could see him making a decent impression higher up in the lineup. Problem is, he hasn’t arrived yet. So he might not even suit up for this one. Peckham is in for Sutton. Doobie gets the start.

G70 Blue Jackets at Oilers - Lowetide
Providing the Oilers have a genuine interest in competing for a playoff spot in 12-13, the summer should see multiple additions of NHL players. However, even if they devote all of their energy to turning this ragtag group into something useful, there’s no guarantee they’ll be able to improve more than the Ohio players.

SOMEBODY'S GOT TO WIN TONIGHT - Oil On Whyte
The Oilers come into tonight’s game as the team bearing the riches (they’re 29th overall) while the Blue Jackets trail the Oilers by eights points in the standings. There are no playoff implications. No one is going to play spoiler. The Oilers haven’t won at home in three weeks. The Blue Jackets have dealt everything from their team that isn’t Rick Nash.

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