CBJ 'Manager' Ken HitchcockSure, your Columbus Blue Jackets are still 13th out of 15 teams in the Western Conference and 8 points out of the final playoff spot, but things have been looking up since Paul Bearer, er, Ken Hitchcock took over back on November 23. Last night, the CBJ pulled off their most improbable victory ever by scoring three goals in the last 2 minutes to beat the best team in the league 4-3 in their house. The Ducks tried to even it in the final minute but CBJ goalie Fredrik Norrena stopped a Teemu Selanne penalty shot with 20 seconds left to preserve the comeback.
The Jackets are 11-8-2 under Hitchcock after starting the season 5-13-2. The resurgence includes a 7-6-1 mark against teams over .500 while they were just 1-9 against teams with winning records prior to Hitch taking over the underachieving squad . It will be interesting to see if they can keep the momentum in San Jose tonight as they finish up the 3 game road trip against Cali teams before coming back home to face St. Louis on Tuesday.
