Columbus Wired - Central Ohio's Premier Online Magazine

2002-2003 Columns and articles

	Columbus ends home season on sour note with 5-5 tie and a bad call. By Dave Weissman, Columbus Wired (4/4/03) The Blue Jackets ended their 2002-2003 home season with an excruciatingly painful 5-5 tie against the defending champion Detroit Red Wings. Columbus played an up and down game; up 3-0, 3-2, 4-3, 5-3, 5-4. It ended in controversy, as Columbus should have had a 6-4 win but was left holding a 5-5 tie...more story and exclusive photos
	Thrashers Again Torment Jackets, 3-2 By Steve Sirk, Columbus Wired (3/22/03) If someone were to put me on the spot and ask me to describe tonight’s Blue Jackets – Thrashers game in one double-hyphenated word, I’d choose “Aye-yie-yie.” I don’t know that someone would ask such a silly question, but suffice it to say that there was a lot of aye-yie-yie’in to be done at Nationwide Arena this evening, as the Jackets inexplicably lost to the heavy-legged Thrashers by a 3-2 score. It was a maddening game from the Sisyphean start to the bad-bounce finish. Blecch...more
	Wright Thinks Little On Way To Win by Greg Dew, Columbus Wired The Columbus Blue Jackets staked the “Original Six” Toronto Maple Leafs a 2-0 lead Thursday night before storming back on Tyler Wright’s hat trick to win the game 4-3 in the waning seconds of overtime to put a damper in the Toronto’s first ever visit to Nationwide Arena...more
	Twenty Minutes Of Bliss: Jackets Jump Wild, 5-0 By Steve Sirk, Columbus Wired (3/15/03) Tonight at Nationwide Arena, the Columbus Blue Jackets finally discovered a sure-fire way to overcome their debilitating habit of allowing the first goal: Light the lamp before the other team ever even carries the puck into the offensive zone. Buoyed by Andrew Cassels’ goal 16 seconds into the game, the Jackets made quick work of the Minnesota Wild, defeating their expansion siblings 5-0 on the strength the five first period goals...more
	Tale of two hockey cities By Greg Dew, Columbus Wired (3/11/03) It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, or so it would seem as two expansion brethren faced off in Nationwide Arena on Saturday night. The Minnesota Wild, who entered the National Hockey League three seasons ago with the Columbus Blue Jackets, are having a breakout year and closing in on their first playoff appearance. The Blue Jackets are once again battling to stay out of the basement of the Western Conference standings...more
	Death, Taxes, Avalanche: Colorado Buries Jackets 5-1 By Steve Sirk, Columbus Wired (3/13/03) Possessors of an appalling 0-10-1 all-time record against the star-studded Colorado Avalanche entering tonight’s game, the Columbus Blue Jackets were hoping that the 12th time would be the charm. However, the fired-up Avs pummeled the Jackets early en route to a 5-1 romp before 17,256 mortified fans...more
	Schedule, Stars Get the Best of the Blue Jackets By Greg Dew, Columbus Wired (3/11/03) The NHL schedule maker was not out to do the Columbus Blue Jackets any favors Tuesday night against the Dallas Stars. The Jackets, coming off of a road loss to the Carolina Hurricanes Monday night, four games in six nights overall, were treated to a rude homecoming as they lost 2-0 to the Western Conference leading Stars...more
	Flames Finally Finish Off Jackets, 3-2 By Steve Sirk, Columbus Wired (3/8/03) Third year expansion teams rarely serve as an established franchise’s bogey team, but when the Calgary Flames can’t sleep at night, it’s due to nightmares about a radioactive green insect. Columbus entered tonight’s game 7-3-0 all-time against the Flames, including an unblemished record in five Ohio matchups. But tonight, with 14th place in the Western Conference on the line, the Flames exorcised their cowtown demons, beating the Jackets 3-2 on Jarome Iginla’s goal with seven seconds to play in overtime...more
	Nash Continues Building Bridges By Greg Dew, Columbus Wired (3/6/03) The Blue Jackets tackled two clichés in less then two minutes in earning their 5-4-overtime victory over the Vancouver Canucks Thursday night at Nationwide Arena. The clichés being if at first you don’t succeed try, try again and the other being you must learn from your past mistakes...more
	Red Wings Frustrate Jackets Again, 3-2 By Steve Sirk, Columbus Wired (3/3/03) It is only fitting that on a night dominated by the spectre of Anna Kournikova, the Blue Jackets looked really good but lost. Despite outshooting the heavily-armed Red Wings, having a crack at eight power play chances, and even getting a goal from the heretofore scoreless Rostislav Klesla, the Jackets lost another frustrating game to the defending champs. A pair of Brendan Shanahan goals, including the game-winner on a third period power play, propelled Detroit to a 3-2 win before a sellout crowd at Nationwide Arena...more
	Good to be back home! By Dave Weissman, Columbus Wired (2/27/03) Ray Whitney scored the first hat trick of his twelve-year career in leading the Jackets to a 3-1 victory over the playoff desperate LA Kings. The win stopped a five-game losing streak by Columbus and extended their home record this year...more
	Blackhawks Bewilder Jackets, 7-1 By Steve Sirk, Columbus Wired (2/15/03) In their brief existence, the Columbus Blue Jackets have acquired a certain knowledge about blowout hockey games. Like all expansion teams, trial and error has taught them the surefire signs of a blowout, be it sluggish legs, a lack of fire, or simply being overmatched from a talent perspective. If any team is well-versed in the ways of the 7-1 hockey game, it is a third year club...more
	A Huge Comeback By Dave Weissman, Columbus Wired (2/05/03) This tie feels like a win. The Columbus Blue Jackets showed grit and guts by overcoming a 4-1 deficit to tie the Vancouver Canucks 4-4 with late game heroics, while extending their home point streak and increasing their season point total to 48...more
	Jackets Win Ugly, 2-1, Over Predators By Steve Sirk, Columbus Wired (1/30/03) On the strength of goals by Tyler Wright and Espen Knutsen, plus the usually superb goaltending of Marc Denis, the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the vile Nashville Predators 2-1 tonight at Nationwide Arena...more
	Blue Jackets Prove Capable Against Avalanche By Greg Dew, Columbus Wired (1/28/03) If you were to watch a toddler as they learn to walk, you will notice every step seems to be a grandiose event. They lift their leg high into the air like a giant sumo wrestler, pause for dramatic effect then slam the digit down in front to begin a small move forward. Tuesday night’s Columbus Blue Jacket game against the Colorado Avalanche was much the same as they skated to a 2-2 tie…more
	Jackets return home after two road losses overpowering the Islanders 4-1 by Dave Weissman, Columbus Wired (01/25/03) Columbus scored two power play goals in the first period and one in the third-period to lead the way to a 4-1 victory over the New York Islanders. New York, which has never beaten the Jackets, has been on a roll posting a 10-3-0-2 record in its last 15 games, including the victory in Philadelphia...more
	An Open Letter To Any Man That Thinks Proposing At A Hockey Game Is A Good Idea By Stephanie Morgan, Columbus Wired Contributing Columnist For the men that are surprised that asking your girlfriend to marry you while your proposal is shown on the JumboTron at Nationwide Arena during a Blue Jackets game, I tell you, this is a bad idea. Present a mini “Moron’s Guide To Proposing.”...more
	Jackets Swarm Early In 5-1 Win Over Chicago By Steve Sirk, Columbus Wired (1/13/03) Given the chance to eat Pixie Sticks in the comfort of their own homes, the Jackets came out buzzing again tonight, dismantling the recently invincible Chicago Blackhawks 5-1. The game was for all intents and purposes over before the Zamboni made its first official appearance, as the Jackets jumped out to a 3-0 first period lead and never looked back. The defense was solid, the forecheck was menacing, and the points came from seemingly everyone on the roster...more
	Odelein visit comes at a Crossroads for Blue Jackets By Greg Dew, Columbus Wired (11/02/02) A reminder of what happens when you do have to wait until next year arrived with the Blackhawks in the form of former Jacket, Lyle Odelein. The loss of the former captain and fan favorite may have hurt, but the fruits of the trade, the younger, more offensively talented defenseman Jaroslav Spacek is a building block the Blue Jackets may be leaning on for years to come...more
	New Year’s Week In Sports: Hating Pittsburgh, Watching Football, Then Combining the Two By Steve Sirk, Columbus Wired (1/13/02) New Year’s week promised to be a doozy. Of course there would be the usual fanfare surrounding The Annual Dropping of the Ball...the drunken hotel parties, the besotted street mobs, the fumbling physical interludes between people so polluted with distilled toxins that conventional dating strata could be temporarily chucked aside, without the burden of sentience, as long as the was some gettin’ some to be got by the some-getter and some-gettee...more
	Blue Jackets Fire Head Coach Dave King, GM Doug MacLean To Assume Duties Columbus Blue Jackets Head Coach Dave King has been relieved of his coaching duties and will be replaced on an interim basis for the remainder of the 2002-03 season by club President and General Manager Doug MacLean, the Blue Jackets announced today. Associate Coach Newell Brown and Assistant Coaches Gerard Gallant and Gord Murphy will remain on the staff...more
	Deja Blues: St. Louis Routs Columbus For the Second Time This Year By Steve Sirk, Columbus Wired (12/28/02) The Columbus Blue Jackets have been a competitive bunch in season number three. Long gone are the days of the 8-0 Bruins game, the 10-2 Sharks game, or the annual 7-1 drubbing by the Kings. No, this year, the Jackets have competed night in and night out. Even if they’ve ended up on the wrong end of the score, they’ve always kept the scoreboard looking respectable. But tonight at Nationwide Arena, a sellout crowd was experiencing deja Blues all over again as St. Louis thwacked the listless Jackets by a 6-1 score...more
	Club Seats Undercover: A Nobody Hangs With the Somebodies at Nationwide Arena December 21, 2002 Columnist Steve Sirk goes undercover to witness the highs and lows of sitting in the swanky club seats at Nationwide Arena during the Blue Jackets game against the Calgary Flames...more
	Blue Jackets Rick Nash named NHL rookie of the month. The 18-year-old forward registered four goals, nine points in 15 games during the month of November...more
	Jackets Chase The Blues Away In 3-2 Win By Steve Sirk, Columbus Wired (11/20/02) When the PA booms this one-minute warning, you know it’s time to cue up some of that late-game magic. Unfortunately for the Blue Jackets this year, more often than not that magic seems to come in the form of some evil voodoo curse. But the good guys worked a little magic of their own, as the Blue Jackets got a goal with 47.7 seconds remaining to defeat the first-place St. Louis Blues...more
	Lucky Ducks Bounce Jackets 3-2 In Final Minutes By Steve Sirk, Columbus Wired (11/14/02) In a darkened Nationwide Arena, with the crowd buzzing in anticipation as time was winding down on the scoreboard clock, Columbus Blue Jackets mascot Stinger fell flat on his butt during his pre-game skate. That freakishly-green uniramian arthropod planting his abdominal exoskeleton on the ice with little time showing on the clock is a classic example of what is known as “foreshadowing.” Two-plus hours later, it was the team itself replicating the feat against the Mighty Ducks...more
	Jackets fail to capitalize on opportunity and fall to Caps By Greg Dew, Columbus Wired (11/05/02) It is November in Columbus, a dreary time of year. A chill returns to the air, clouds dominate the skies and even so called morning people have trouble getting out of bed when the sun rises. Could this phenomenon be affecting the Blue Jackets as they leave their cozy locker rooms prior to the first period?...more
	Jackets show character overcoming early deficit By Greg Dew, Columbus Wired (11/03/02) If first impressions were the only way to gauge people, or hockey teams for that matter, the 3-2 victory for the Columbus Blue Jackets last night over the Buffalo Sabres could come as quite a shock to Jackets fans...more
	Wright tops off victory with a hat trick by Greg Dew, Columbus Wired (10/27/02) The Columbus Blue Jackets faced a team in the Los Angeles Kings with superior skills and dubbed one of the elite teams in the league by head coach Dave King. But, the Jackets turned to mastering the face-offs to set the tone early for their 5-1 victory...more
	Lightning Strikes Back To Tie Jackets 2-2 By Steve Sirk, Columbus Wired (10/23/02) Fast starts aren’t always what they’re cracked up to be. Consider Wile E. Coyote in his quixotic pursuit of the roadrunner. Tonight at Nationwide Arena, it was the Columbus Blue Jackets that strapped on the ACME Rocket-Propelled Skates, zoomed off to a fast two-goal start…..and then zoomed right on over the cliff. (Long whistling sound)….(poof!) Tampa 2, Columbus 2. The Lightning remain undefeated with another comeback. Beep! Beep!...more
	Jackets Special Teams Fluster Florida In 4-1 Win By Steve Sirk, Columbus Wired (10/19/02) The Blue Jackets continue to be a team that lives or dies by its special teams. After suffering a brutally horrific death in St. Louis on Thursday, the Jackets’ reanimated special teams were living large with a pair of power play goals and a perfect night of penalty kills in a 4-1 win over the Panthers...more
	Blue Jackets Put Up A Fight, But Lose To Phoenix 4-1 By Greg Dew, Columbus Wired For the first period of last night’s game versus the Phoenix Coyotes, it seemed as if the Blue Jackets had changed their slogan from “Ignite the Night” to “Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Bee”. Make that “Sting Like a Blue Jacket.” It is a shame it wasn’t a boxing match actually as the Jackets would have rather won than fall 4-2...more
	Blackhawks Downed 2-1 In Jackets Home Opener by Steve Sirk, Columbus Wired The Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 2-1 tonight at Nationwide Arena on the strength of Marc Denis’ goaltending, the two-way play of Mike Sillinger, and special teams that were indeed special when they needed to be. Oh, and the Nash kid gave the sellout crowd of 18,136 a thing or two to cheer about along the way...more
	Jackets Again Empowered In Rout Of Rangers by Steve Sirk, Columbus Wired For the second straight home game in the 2002 preseason, the local citizenry was abuzz over the prospect of free grub thanks to another game-opening onslaught from the suddenly lethal Jackets power play. First period power play goals by Mike Sillinger and Grant Marshall, along with a monster game from Rick Nash, paved the way for the Jackets’ 4-1 cakewalk past the New York Rangers...more
	Let Me Entertain You: The Blue Jackets Ignite The Crowd By Stephanie Morgan, Columbus Wired Contributing Columnist It goes without saying that Opening Night is always something special for hockey fans. It is a night of unparalleled optimisms for the home fans, it is a night that guarantees at least one or two team firsts, and it is a night where everyone is ready to have a great time watching their game. October 10th proved no different for our own Blue Jackets. Between the first home-opener win, our scrub-faced rookie Rick Nash’s first goal and the chance to say “we’re tied for first place in the Western Conference!,” there was plenty of payoff for the opening night attitude...more
	Message to NHL Fans - Enjoy the Game By Greg Dew, Columbus Wired Columnist With the dawn of another NHL season upon us, it is time to take a look at what changes will be mean for our Blue Jackets and the league in general. The league is trumpeting two ideas aimed to improve the game for the fans...more
	Columbus Downed by Detroit 09/25/02 The Blue Jackets went into tonight’s game 2-1-0-0 in its first three preseason games. What once held hope of a preseason victory against the defending Stanley Cup Champions quickly turned into a tale of lost momentum and missed chances...more
	2002-2003 Pre-Season Opener at Nationwide. Columbus is downed by Nashville in their pre-season opener at Nationwide Arena. Rookie Rick Nash nets second goal of his NHL career...more
	The man behind the brawl Columbus Wired goes toe-to-toe with Blue Jacket tough-guy Jody Shelley. He is a very intelligent hockey player with two years of college under his belt. He studies his opponents and listen openly to advice from established veterans. Learn more about Blue Jacket forward Jody Shelley...more

Highlights from the 2002-2003 season.