For those of you who follow Fire That Cannon regularly, you may remember that on March the 8th, I posted a blog, stating the Blue Jackets will win 29 games. This was based on a mathematical calculation only. Sadly it is not based on the real world of injuries, trades, back to backs, opponents or anything else that distorts a mathematical analysis then it is applied to the real world. The real world is what makes hockey the game it is. It is a game of sweat, it is a game of speed, instantaneous decisions. And it is very much a game of emotion, where 1 one second inattention can lead to an opposition goal. . But, surprisingly,
the calculation seems to be holding true. At 28 wins with 1 game to go, I will not be upset it the calculation turns out to be off by 1 win. If you did not see the article, the scarey part is that the prediction was fairly close after 25 games.
To make even this modest amount of wins, the Blue Jackets have had to play some very good hockey in the past few games, but it is just amazing how close the prediction is turning out. Like all statistics, if you go long enough, they will be pretty close. for example if you flip a coin and it comes up heads 10 times in a row, your mind tells you that it is very likely to come up tails the next flip. But in reality, the odds are still 50-50 on heads and tails on each flip. But in a long enough period of time, the results still will be 50% heads and 50% tails.
Tonite the Jackets play the N Y Islanders. The Isles are in last place in their division and well out of the play off picture. Talks surround the Islanders of rebuilding, who will stay etc. The Blue Jackets on the other hand are playing their last home game. We have not heard the phrase “the fans deserve it” much this year. But I am sure that as a home game, the Jackets have more to play for than a visiting team. Of course, the Jackets have their own “who will be here next year thing” going on.
It is looking like Rick Nash will not be playing due to injury. There is a lot being written that Rick will be traded and this would have been his last game as a Columbus Blue Jacket. If so, so be it. Rick has played over 500 games as a Jacket, one more is just a spot in the fans minds. Or maybe he will be back, who knows.
We want the cup