[Scene set: it’s Friday night]
I’m walking back from Nationwide Arena to my place in the Short North, and people are high-fiving the Columbus police officers operating traffic signals. Cars are honking on their way out of the building. Folks are shouting “C-B-J!” to each other all the way up Neil Ave. Oh, and then Yan Gomes singled home Austin Jackson in the bottom of the 13th to give the Indians an improbable 2-0 ALDS lead.
It was a good sports night.
[Scene set: it’s Saturday night]
A friend texts me: “Dude, the Jackets look like shit.”
Another chimes in: “Should’ve played Bob. Brutal.”
This is the beautiful dichotomy of sports in this town. The Blue Jackets are unfairly hamstrung because they play so many games and it’s not like the football team up the street; one loss to Oklahoma and everyone’s being questioned. One win over Michigan and Urban Meyer should run for president, and Jim Harbaugh is letting Wolverine Nation down.
Hockey’s weird like that. You get 82 attempts at two points over a six-month stretch and there are going to be some great nights and some really ugly ones. The trick here is to keep the ceiling intact; I know many of you have seen the Blue Jackets stink up the place for more than a decade and I get it. But good grief, we’re two games into the season and there are many fingers being pointed at the young backup goaltender.
I’ve got news for you: that ain’t gonna help you get through the season.
The Blue Jackets will be fine. Korpisalo will be fine. Let’s not map the parade route after they tear apart a listless Islanders team and let’s not run for the hills after they lose to a pretty good team on the road.
Take a breath or five. Maybe have a beer or two. It helps.
TEMPORARY OUTBURST
It seems like we go through this every year: there’s an outburst of goal-scoring early in the NHL season and then teams figure it out, check the living daylights out of their opponents and cover the neutral zone in molasses.
Don’t worry, my friends, it’s coming.
For now, though, let’s agree to enjoy the Toronto Maple Leafs (if you have NHL.tv, they are appointment viewing) dropping seven and eight goals in consecutive games and making a top-flight goalie like Henrik Lundqvist appear ordinary. Let’s agree to not watch the Red Wings and Senators somehow play to a scoreless regulation draw, and at the same time, appreciate how hard it is to score goals in the NHL — as the Blue Jackets will tell you after Saturday’s game.
One day you’ve got it figured out, and the next, you’re changing up lines in the second period of the second game. Funny game, isn’t it?
Also, it’s hard not to be impressed with the Vegas Golden Knights, who have had a difficult week along with the residents of their city.
The NHL tried to make it a bit easier for this expansion franchise to be competitive in its inaugural season, and though it’s too early to judge, they have some pieces that can keep them going until the trade deadline decisions roll around.
James Deadline Neal’s already got three goals, two of them game-winners. Marc-Andre Fleury has been insanely good and their defense has held up against a talented Dallas Stars team and a young Arizona Coyotes group that boasts several promising prospects. Makes you feel good for Gerard Gallant, a classy dude who got royally screwed in Florida, as he leads the Golden Knights through their first-ever season.
TRAILERRRRR
“The trailer I’ve heard so much about.” — Kylo Ren
Finally, six months after we got our first look at The Last Jedi, we’re about to see a full-length trailer tonight during ESPN’s Monday Night Football broadcast. Why do anything else with your day when you know this is coming? As much as I know this trailer isn’t going to answer questions for me, I’m still dying to see new footage, the voices of the new film, and start to get a feel for what this movie is going to be like.
I hope we get some quality General Leia time in this trailer.
YOU SHOULD BE READING:
- Josh Anderson could be back in the lineup tomorrow.
- Four important things we learned from opening weekend.
- It's OK if the Blue Jackets are 1-1-0 through two games.
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