It also helped that they were playing the Ducks, who have been playing like an expansion team that just happened to have a couple of superstars. By beating the Ducks, the Jackets kept the Ducks in the cellar of the Western Conference. The last eight or nine games, we really haven't had a bad one,'' Blue Jackets coach Dave King said. It was nice, at the end of a road trip, to get some reward for our play. For anyone who saw the game, Knutsen's contribution can't be understated.
Expansion teams are about wingers skating their wings and defensemen holding their positions.
Knutsen was about eye-popping hockey talents. He was the best player on the ice, and the ice included Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne. There was a time when it was thought that Knutsen might center those two Duckies. Knutsen went back to Europe, dominated the Swedish league for a spell, signed with the Blue Jackets. Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles, Knutsen scored the Blue Jackets goal in a 3-1 loss to the Kings.