The Win Heard Around Columbus

The win in Edmonton changed the direction of the entire season, declared Hitchcock in the post-game press conference after Sunday night's victory over the Dallas Stars. This must be true considering we have seen "the real" Blue Jackets in the past three games. Three straight wins have tallied in the Jackets favor starting with the win in Edmonton. Columbus was host to the Dallas Stars last night at Nationwide Arena, in a crucial game for the Jackets. Raffi Torres put the Jackets on the board immediately, as Brassard set him up at 8:02 in the first period. It was a physical period after that as each team ended the period with 3 minor penalties a piece. Besides the 1-0 lead at the end of the first period, the best stat to stand out was the Blue Jackets leading the Stars in shots on goal 16-6. It didn't stop there as the Jackets ended the game out shooting the Stars 41-26. Matthieu Garon played an exceptional game, stopping all 26 shots on goal and making saves that we were used to Steve Mason making this time last year. My star of the game goes to Raffi Torres, who scored 1 goal, had 2 penalty minutes, a rating of +1, and led the team with 8 shots on goal. I believe with a little more ambition from Nash and his line, the Blue Jackets could climb back into the playoff race in no time. It would be nice to see the win streak continue. The Blue Jackets have a chance to gain some ground in the next weeks of play. Tomorrow they face off against the St. Louis Blues who set just 2 points back from the Jackets. Then Thursday Columbus travels to Chicago before heading home to play Chicago again on Saturday. Another three straight wins is not out of the question---