This is a bit of a disappointment. No offense to our current 3rd pairing who did yeoman's work last series (and I understand the logic in sticking with the same lineup that swept the #1 seed) but I was hoping that one of the best benefits of the last nine days is that it increased the odds of getting key defensemen back.

Even without watching the tired skaters wobble around during the Caps Canes overtime last night (or the SJS - LVGK OT the night before) playing on the road (i.e. last line change goes to the Bruins) in the playoffs, against a team that can roll four lines, with a defensive pairing the coach doesn't trust to play more than 8 to 9 min a game strikes me as a disaster waiting to happen.

He didn't have a lot of goals this year; that is for sure. But looking back at these videos reminds me that he sure did pick a good time for timely goals that really helped his team.

When a coach can put three gritty, responsible, smart guys like Jenner, Nash & Dubinsky on the ice as a so-call "checking" or "4th" line, as a fan I feel pretty good about our depth and our chances.

You are absolutely bang on: great comment. I couldn't agree more except maybe they were just playing their game after Nick's goal in the 2nd period of game one.

Good. It sounds like there is a lot of material out there for a good coach like Torts to take advantage of. I hope the Bruins are reading the same reports. Over the last eight days, the national media have been pretty uniform in reporting that the Lightning screwed up and lost the first round, not that the CBJ rose up, played well and blew them out.

The Bruins are going to be a very tough out, but these are not the Blue Jackets of old. Torts says respect is hard to earn in the NHL. Win this round against an original six team and our boys will have just about checked that box.

Yeah, no worries; the Toronto media was saying the exact same thing about the CBJ and they are playing golf now (but only if the snow has melted in the Great White North.) 

Hopefully the Bruins listened to that [email protected] and are taking our team lightly and already looking forward to the next round. Torts said that respect is hard to earn in the NHL and he is right. Given our checkered twenty year record and the fact we didn't secure a playoff spot until the next to last day of the season the CBJ are an easy team to overlook for folks that haven't been paying attention. We all saw how well that worked for the Lightning. 

This Boston team will be a challenge to beat...the very definition of a tough out. Then again that is what everyone said about our first round draw against the Lightning. If the CBJ can continue to play like they did in the first round, things will turn out fine.

1. I don't think it's the AMOUNT of money, it's the term. Through the press and rumor mill (I know, not the most reliable source) Bob wants to draw an NHL paycheck until he is 39 or 40. There is no small market team that can afford to do that. If he holds to that goal, I don't think we can do anything but wish him luck and move on.

2. The only thing I would ask my fellow CBJ fans to keep in mind about paying what it will take to keep all the four UFAs currently on the roster is that Werenski has earned a $4M raise over his entry level contract and  management will have to "hold back" a little so we can pay up to reward both Anderson and PLD at the end of the next season. I'm sure everyone that comes to this appreciates the importance of all three "core" players to the future of our franchise. 

This is good news. I hope it means that if Toronto wins its series, NWA won't be overrun with Maple Leaf fans.

As a fan I don't want to be overly skeptical about this good news, but I do worry about the possibility of gravitating back toward the mean in the next couple of series.

You no doubt changed twenty years of bad karma when you followed through on a single promise. YOU are the MVP of the first round.

Great story and thanks for sharing. And don't worry, there is plenty of room on this bandwagon for folks from all corners of the state; people that are old fans and new and even those that don't really know the difference between a clothesline and the blue line.

The good news about knocking off the #1 seed so decisively is that Columbus is now becoming a national sports story. Goodness, even Mike and Wingo were talking about our team on their national sports talk show(which is not normally a good source for hockey news/commentary). If the boys can keep it going and beat an original six team from a big media market (Toronto or Boston) in the next round it will really boost our profile and next year there would be way more CBJ games on national media.

While we celebrate this week (and hopefully watch the Bruins and Maple Leafs beat the snot out of each other) we should also remember what Torts said: "This is only one round." It is great to get that title off our back (the only franchise to never win a playoff round) but part of the growth of this franchise is to begin to expect to not only to make the playoffs every year, but to expect to play into and even through the month of May.

Don't be too hard on Captain Jack. The day the CBJ really started to dig out of the hole Doug McClain dug was the day he arrived. He was a star and unlike Carter or Foote he didn't try force his way out of town.

There were a lot of great memories made for Columbus hockey fans this past week. My favorite however were in games three and four. Tampa pulled within a goal and ramped up the pressure for nearly a full period. Yet, the home team kept its confidence, didn't lose its cool, did not panic and stayed within the game plan. That reflects good preparation, leadership (players and coaches) and a genuine belief that they could get the job done

Nah, focus on playing the exact same way the team has for the first three games of the series. Don't let the Bolts take us out of our game or change our focus. There will be plenty of opportunity for the other stuff during a regular season game next year.

Great team effort tonight. Just win on Tuesday. The 4th win in a series is always the hardest to lock down. 

That's the great thing about this time of the hockey season: This IS the new most important game of the playoffs and season. Win and maybe we can slay the dragon; lose and Tuesday's game suddenly becomes "must win" for the CBJ, or else the momentum shifts back to Tampa when their star forward returns from suspension.

OK, but can we wait until a regular season game next year? All three of those players are too valuable to lose to a suspension, or worse a broken hand.

All true, but we are still only half way to the first series win...It is so important that everyone continue to play the same unselfish, team-focused way that got us this far.

They looked completely ready for the physical side of the game and they dished it right back.

The most important line in this chain: "Nuti wasn't hurt." We are thin enough as it is on defense right now.

Dear Karma: Point deserved to break his hand on Zach's helmet for starting that fight.

For a minute after Josh scored, I thought the Tampa captain was going to whine and complain to the officials about it. :-)

Yeah. Translation: "I've answered enough dumb questions from media people I've never met before. I want to get back to my guys and then start to break down film for the big game Friday." 

Too bad Savard couldn't be awarded an assist on this goal. This angle really shows that by driving so hard to the net he forced Stamkos right into his own goaltender.