BLUE JACKETS NOTEBOOK Past penalties still haunt
The Blue Jackets earned their share of minor penalties last weekend in Sweden. The club's reputation for taking them, coach Scott Arniel said, might have been responsible for the rest.
Arniel said he believes some of the penalties were the result of referees knowing the Jackets' history of committing them. They were called for 16 minors in two games against the San Jose Sharks.
"There were some interesting calls that I didn't think were penalties," Arniel said. "Some of that is a carry-over from last year and in years' past. We've been a team that's been high in minor penalties. Sometimes your reputation precedes you."
A season ago, the Blue Jackets took the ninth most minor penalties in the NHL, with 4.45 per game. Entering last night's games, they ranked third.
Arniel watched video of last season's games and concluded the Jackets took too many "lazy" fouls: hooking, holding and tripping. Over the weekend, they were twice called for offensive-zone tripping penalties with the puck about 185 feet from the net of goaltender Steve Mason.
"We have to work our way back into the good books of the referees," Arniel said. "If you are constantly taking those penalties -- hook, hold, slash, whack, cross check -- referees know it, too. They see you enough. They get critiqued by their own peers. They know we take a lot of minors, and I'm sure they really are going to pay attention to it."
The Jackets allowed five goals in the two games against the Sharks, with four coming on the power play.
"We have to get into this habit of being squeaky clean, not just clean so we don't make it an issue," Arniel said.
Tickets moving
The Jackets have sold nearly 16,000 tickets for their home opener Friday against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Team officials said that number, three days out, is consistent with the totals of the past two seasons when they drew 18,159 against Minnesota last season and 17,930 against Nashville in 2008.
It's an encouraging bit of news for a franchise that, as of Sept. 13, had lost 25 percent of its season-ticket base from a year ago.
Of course, the chance to open against the defending Stanley Cup champions whose fans are willing to make the trek to Columbus certainly doesn't hurt.
Injury update
Winger R.J. Umberger missed practice yesterday but is likely to play Friday. Arniel termed it a maintenance day. Forwards Jared Boll (lower back) and Andrew Murray (knee) remain out.
Slap shots
Arniel said backup goaltender Mathieu Garon "more than likely" will play this weekend. He could see his first regular-season action Saturday at Minnesota. ... The Jackets' top minor-league affiliate, Springfield of the
American Hockey League, released goalies Daren Machesney and Dan LaCosta.
treed@dispatch.com
