Last night, as the Blue Jackets were embarrassed by the Anaheim Ducks 6-0, I noticed two things. One, Steve Mason's up and down struggles are not all his fault and two, the trade rumors looming around the Blue Jackets locker are, in fact, a distraction.
Steve Mason stopped 20 of 24 shots in Anaheim last night and was pulled with 13 minutes left in the third period. Mason has continued to struggle on the Jackets road trip, but he should not be given all of the blame.
The Blue Jackets defense looked horrendous last night and could not help Mason at all. Mason faced constant pressure from the Ducks throughout the entire game and Anaheim was able to pass the puck around with ease. It looked as if the Ducks were on the ice by themselves because the Jackets defense put zero pressure on them.
As to the controversy with Mike Commodore, head coach Scott Arniel has stated that Commodore is not in his top six for defensemen. Last night's game showed me that Commodore's skill is not the issue because the top six on the ice looked awful.
I know that Commodore has struggled and his plus/minus rating ...
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Article written by Patrick Drottar
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