That dive is insane!  What also is insane is Allen York righ now!  Wow, is he playing well!

I apologize for being brief in this game recap -- but I'm heading to St. Louis tomorrow with 7 other Jacket Backers faithful so it will be an early mornin! 

1. The game was won in the first period when the Jackets killed of that extended 5 on 3.  In this league, you live/die by goaltending and York was a perfect example of this on that kill.  He was fantastic.  He stopped 30 of 31 shots to earn his second victory.  I have stated this many times, but where would this team be if they had just average goaltending?  

2. With the win this Jackets team has surpased the the 57 point mark.  That is significant because this version of the Jackets is no longer in danger of being the worst Jackets team in franchise history.  The question now becomes will they be the 2nd worst?  They have 4 games to beat the 62 point mark set back in 2003-2004 season.

3. Nikita Nikitin playing out of his mind right now.  He notched 2 goals and 1 helper in 24:50 of ice time which was good for the team lead.  He also had 5 shots, 1 take away, was a +1 and 2 blocks.  He now has 31 points in 50 games for the Blue Jackets.  While collectively all of Howson's deals haven't lead to many wins -- individually, moving Russsel for Nikitin looks like a very good deal for Howson.  Will be interesting to see what happens in terms of his contract in the offseason.

4. Couple of points over the past two games.  1 - I've like the Jackets job of transition of late.  Umberger's breakout pass up to Atkinson that sprung him for a mini-breakaway was a perfect example.  2 - the Jackets did an EXCELLENT job of protecting the lead in the game.  What impressed me the most were the forwards getting back to help their defense. Mark Letestu specifically comes to mind.

5. Have I mentioned yet how much I appreciate Derek Dorsett?  Love this guy but damn, he could get murdered before he actually draws a penalty.  I have NO IDEA how he can get man handled in front of the crease like he did and not draw a penalty?  Clearly it's because of his reputation in this league and amount of penalty minutes.  He keep on battling though.  

6. Are we finally starting to see what Ryan Johansen can bring to the table?  He played well in Detroit and played very well again tonight.  We are seeing some speed that just wasn't there earlier.  Perhaps the light is going off and he is finding his game at this level.  Now to see, like the rest of this team, if he can bring it when the games mean something.  In the mean time, check out this promotion of Johansen that I saw today at Giant Eagle off 23 North:

EXTRA SHOTS:
Anyone else notice how much Rick Nash has been minimized in Jackets promotions?  Johansen pic above is an example.  The bluejackets.com splash page recently has Dorsett on it.  Wasn't at the game tonight but heard the Chill reunion was fantastic!  Vinny Prospal cracked the 50 point mark in this game.  18k in the house -- the Chill deal and all you can eat packs em in!  Good to see the good guys put on a show for a big crowd! Great give go with Brass and Umberger.  Jeff Carter is out for the season with an ankle injury -- couldn't happen to a nice go (sorry Chris!).  Nice to see Gillies at least have a reaction after Boll was drilled by Gudbransen.  Nikitin was so close to hatty which got me thinkin - would that have been the Jackets first dman with one?  Off memory -- I don't think so as I believe Bryan Berard accomplished it (need to look it up!). LA won tonight which vaulted them into 3rd in the Western Conference.  Springfield, on the other hand, lost and they now sit all the way down in 13th which is 5 points out of a playoff spot.  

As mentioned, the Jackets are in St. Lous tomorrow night.  I may hate the direction but I still love this team and will be heading out bright an early to take this one in live with some fellow Jacket Backers.   I'll be tweeting out some pics so be sure to follow @lightthelamp to catch em!

-LTL