COLUMBUS, Ohio \u2014 A collection of notes, insights, ruminations and did-you-knows gathered throughout the week that was for the Columbus Blue Jackets:<\/p>\n
Item No. 1: Why? How?<\/p>\n
Before we put the Blue Jackets up on blocks and see what\u2019s going on beneath the hood, let\u2019s dispel a few theories that have begun to proliferate among segments of the angered and frustrated fan base.<\/p>\n
They don\u2019t even care!<\/p>\n
If you think this 1-6-1 tailspin since March 21 doesn\u2019t infuriate players up and down the roster, you don\u2019t understand how NHL players are wired. Oh, to be a fly on the wall for the lengthy players-only meeting after a 2-1 loss to Winnipeg on Saturday. Columbus now sits two points out of a playoff spot.<\/p>\n
If you think coach Rick Bowness and his staff didn\u2019t spend hours on Sunday \u2014 an off day for the players \u2014 searching for ways to reignite the Blue Jackets\u2019 offensively and get them back on their game, you don\u2019t understand what has made Bowness tick during his five decades in the NHL.<\/p>\n
\u201cStuff like this, it happens, and it sucks,\u201d Zach Werenski said. \u201cThere\u2019s no one who hates it more than the guys in that room.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, we were so close and we were in such a good position, and now we\u2019re on the outside looking in, but there\u2019s still time to change that, and it starts with Tuesday.\u201d<\/p>\n
They just aren\u2019t good enough!<\/p>\n
A distinct possibility, perhaps, especially with their current injury woes. Maybe the late-season temperature in the NHL is just too much for these Blue Jackets to handle. That diagnosis can be made five games from now.<\/p>\n
But how could you explain the 19-3-4 run the Blue Jackets went on right after Bowness was hired on Jan. 12? That\u2019s not a two-week burner. That\u2019s one-third of the season. It wasn\u2019t one player carrying the load, it was coming from all directions.<\/p>\n
They do care. They are good enough. So what the heck has happened to those Blue Jackets, who looked so deep and driven just two weeks ago?<\/p>\n
1. Lights too bright?<\/p>\n
Once the Blue Jackets played their way into a playoff position, the wheels fell off. You could make the case that the push to crawl up the NHL\u2019s overall standings \u2014 from 28th to as high as seventh in the span of two months \u2014 has left their tanks empty.<\/p>\n
But it feels like some players have imposter syndrome. It was easier to play with low expectations and easy to get motivated when it was Columbus against the world \u2026 but when the world is watching you and expecting big things, that can be a lot for some guys to handle.<\/p>\n
They don\u2019t play like themselves. They try to do too much at the wrong time. They stop working together and try to be difference-makers on their own. This is what Bowness means when he says players have gotten \u201cselfish\u201d in the last few games. This is what Werenski means when he says they\u2019ve become \u201cdisconnected.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think the lights are too bright or the pressure is too high (in here),\u201d Werenski said after Saturday\u2019s loss. \u201cWe have a lot of guys who have played in the playoffs. I\u2019ve been on big stages. It\u2019s on us to help the younger guys who haven\u2019t been in that position.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maybe Saturday\u2019s 2-1 loss to Winnipeg was a step in the right direction \u2014 hey, it wasn\u2019t as ugly as the 5-1 loss in Carolina on Thursday \u2014 but Blue Jackets don\u2019t have time to gradually build back their games.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve actually seen this before in Columbus.<\/p>\n
In 2016-17, the Blue Jackets\u2019 first full season under coach John Tortorella, they were cruising along into the springtime. On March 28 that season, they had the second-best record in the NHL, trailing only Washington.<\/p>\n
Once the playoffs drew near, they seemed to realize how high they\u2019d climbed and they got nervous. They lost six in a row. They completely lost their way, especially defensively. Tortorella was patient, but only to a point.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t until a win in the regular-season finale that they could breathe again, but they never got back to their high level of play. They lost a first-round series to the Pittsburgh Penguins in five games, giving the Jackets 10 losses in 12 games to end that season.<\/p>\n
2. Big losses<\/p>\n
A year ago, defenseman Damon Severson was in the midst of a season-ending string of healthy scratches. Two seasons ago, right winger Mathieu Olivier was in and out of the Blue Jackets\u2019 lineup.<\/p>\n
But with Severson finished for the season following shoulder surgery last week, and Olivier out of the lineup with a fracture in his hand, the Blue Jackets have had to adjust more than most would realize, and they haven\u2019t adjusted well.<\/p>\n
Severson, in his third season with the Blue Jackets, was exactly what the Blue Jackets envisioned when they acquired him from the New Jersey Devils two summers ago. He was playing on the top pair, beside Werenski, when he went down on March 26 vs. Montreal.<\/p>\n
In the five games that have followed, the Blue Jackets have had massive trouble getting the puck out of their own zone, and they\u2019ve struggled mightily on the penalty kill (9 of 16, 56.3 percent).<\/p>\n
Further, Werenski has played with both Dante Fabbro and Denton Mateychuk, while second-pair defenseman Ivan Provorov has played with Mateychuk, Egor Zamula, Erik Gurbranson and Fabbro. Yeah, Bowness is trying to make it make sense back there.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeverson has played 22-23 minutes a night for us this year,\u201d Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell said. \u201cWhen you take that out of your lineup, especially a veteran player at this time of the year, you miss that. We\u2019re having a hard time making that first pass right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Olivier is known across the NHL as a fighter, but he\u2019s appreciated on many more levels in Columbus. He\u2019s become one of the Blue Jackets\u2019 best forecheckers, and certainly their most feared.<\/p>\n
The Blue Jackets\u2019 third line \u2014 with Charlie Coyle between Cole Sillinger and Olivier \u2014 has been their best line this season, and certainly their most consistent. With Olivier out, it\u2019s lost its way, especially Coyle.<\/p>\n
When that line dumped in the puck from the neutral zone, it always tried to pitch it into Olivier\u2019s right corner, making opposing defenseman decide between absorbing a hit and making a play with the puck quicker than they wanted.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s how turnovers are born, and turnovers grow up (quickly) to be scoring chances. So much of that has evaporated with Olivier out of the lineup.<\/p>\n
In a brief chat with The Athletic over the weekend, Waddell said three times that \u201cinjuries are not an excuse.\u201d<\/p>\n
But two things can be true: the Blue Jackets miss Severson and Olivier, and they have not handled their absence well.<\/p>\n
3. Werenski and Marchenko<\/p>\n
It might be unfair to call out only two players when, in fact, there\u2019s an up-and-down-the-roster slump occurring in Columbus these days. But Werenski and Kirill Marchenko have been the Blue Jackets\u2019 two biggest weapons all season, and they aren\u2019t fully firing right now.<\/p>\n
Werenski hasn\u2019t been himself since winning a gold medal with Team USA at the Olympics. He has continued to produce at a level most NHL defensemen would gladly accept \u2014 1-15-16 in 18 games \u2014 but that one goal is a problem on a goal-starved club.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think anyone\u2019s playing me differently,\u201d Werenski said. \u201cI can play better for sure, especially offensively.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know I can create (offense) in any environment at any time of the year. I think last year, when we had to win six straight to give ourselves a chance, I created enough. So I\u2019m not worried about it. It just sucks when you\u2019re going through it.\u201d<\/p>\n
It would make perfect sense if Werenski\u2019s battery had run low. He\u2019s an exceptional athlete, but there are human limitations.<\/p>\n
In the middle of last season, while his teammates went to the beach, Werenski played for the USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off. Then, last summer, he played in the IIHF World Championships. This season, he went to Italy with Team USA instead of getting a break.<\/p>\n
Would he do it all again? Sure. But he hadn\u2019t looked like his explosive self for a couple of weeks now. He\u2019s making un-Werenski-like decisions with the puck and with his reads, and recently there have been times when he\u2019s not up in the play as he usually is.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel good,\u201d Werenski said. \u201cI feel like I have energy. That\u2019s never been an issue for me. Obviously, I\u2019ve played a lot of hockey, but I enjoy it. I love being out there and I love this time of year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marchenko, meanwhile, is going through a true playoff push for the first time in the NHL, and it\u2019s been clear that opponents are challenging him physically. He\u2019s never really seen that before, and, frankly, he hasn\u2019t handled it well.<\/p>\n
He gets pushed out of the dangerous scoring areas, and, as former coach Ken Hitchcock used to say, he gets \u201cpushed out of the game.\u201d It\u2019s like he has short-circuited. He has one goal in his last 11 games.<\/p>\n
In Saturday\u2019s game, he had a clean look from the left circle \u2014 his first clean look in a few games \u2014 and managed to whiff on a wrist shot. You don\u2019t see that at this level very often, especially from the likes of Marchenko.<\/p>\n
Again, the list of struggling Blue Jackets is lengthy. But if Marchenko and Werenski aren\u2019t thriving, neither are the Blue Jackets.<\/p>\n
Item 2: Health wanted<\/p>\n
The Blue Jackets will be without wingers Olivier and Dmitri Voronkov for the upcoming three-game road trip through Detroit (Tuesday), Buffalo (Thursday) and Montreal (Wednesday), but after that\u2026<\/p>\n
After saying last week that Olivier was out for the regular season, the Blue Jackets now hope there is an outside chance he could play in the final two home games of the season: Sunday vs. Boston and April 14 vs. Washington.<\/p>\n
Olivier has been asking to play through his hand fracture, but the club has been advised that he should wait for further healing before stepping back into the lineup. Fighting is going to be off-limits for a while, too, of course.<\/p>\n
If the Blue Jackets can rally and stay in the race, Olivier\u2019s return could be quite a boost.<\/p>\n
The news is less positive for Voronkov, who was in and out off the lineup for most of March, but could be very useful right now. There was hope that he could return before Olivier, but he\u2019s out through the end of the season.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a chance Voronkov could return if the Blue Jackets reach the postseason.<\/p>\n
As for Severson, the Blue Jackets announced last week that he had season-ending shoulder surgery, an unceremonious end to what had been his best season with the Blue Jackets.<\/p>\n
He had 8-24-32 in 71 games, along with a plus-18 rating that leads the Blue Jackets and is tied for 20th-best in the NHL among defensemen.<\/p>\n
Item 3: Snacks<\/p>\n
\u2022 Who wants that final playoff spot? You know about the Blue Jackets\u2019 1-6-1 skid. Well, Detroit is 2-6-0 in its last eight. The New York Islanders have lost four straight and just fired their coach. Ottawa won on Sunday, but that\u2019s just two wins in six for them. You\u2019d have to say it\u2019s \u2014 checks notes\u00a0\u2014 the Philadelphia Flyers? The Flyers, in what is supposed to be another rebuilding season, are 14-5-1 in their last 20 games. As of Monday morning, the Flyers are third in the Metro with 90 points, ahead of the Islanders (89) and Blue Jackets (88).<\/p>\n
\u2022 The Blue Jackets open a three-game road trip on Tuesday in Detroit, and the matchup with the Red Wings looms large. Both teams have played 77 games. Both teams have 88 points. Both teams have found rough roads at the worst time of the season. You have to be careful throwing \u201cmust-wins\u201d around, but it\u2019s getting to that point quickly. \u201cIt\u2019s gonna be awesome,\u201d said Werenski, a Detroit-area native. \u201cIt\u2019s Hockeytown, an Original 6 team, fighting for a playoff spot just like us. I\u2019m expecting a great atmosphere. I\u2019m expecting a great hockey game, and I know that with the character we have in that room, at some point, it\u2019s going to flip. It\u2019s just got to flip tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 After an off day on Sunday, Bowness held an optional skate on Monday, giving players plenty of time to catch their breath if they needed. It\u2019s only the second time since the Olympic break that the Blue Jackets have had more than one day between games. As Bowness noted, the last time the Jackets had a two-day break between games (March 15-16), they looked energized in the short term, beating Carolina (5-1), the New York Rangers (6-3) and Seattle (5-2) in a five-day span to get up and over the playoff line in the East.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The optional skate did not reveal what Bowness is thinking with his forward lines on Tuesday in Detroit, but he\u2019s planning \u201cradical\u201d changes, he said. \u201cWe changed all the lines up,\u201d Bowness said. \u201cAll of them. Totally different look. We\u2019ve got to score some goals. We have to create more offense. We\u2019re not doing enough of it right now. We\u2019re going on the road. I don\u2019t get the last line change. So the lines we\u2019ve put together for tomorrow, right now they\u2019re balanced. It doesn\u2019t mean that 10 minutes into the game I can go back and change them, but we\u2019re going to give them a different look early and see if it can give us some momentum.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 The Blue Jackets generated just 10 shots on goal in Thursday\u2019s loss in Carolina, then backed that up with a 16-shot performance on Saturday against Winnipeg. The 26 shots on goal in a two-game stretch is a franchise-record low for Columbus, and it\u2019s not even really close. The previous mark was 31 shots on goal in a two-game stretch, and it\u2019s happened twice, both in the early days of the organization. When you\u2019re beating the not-so-great records of your expansionist forefathers, that\u2019s a problem. The first time it happened was Oct. 14-15, 2000, the fourth and fifth games in franchise history.<\/p>\n
\u2022 AHL Cleveland has clinched a playoff spot for the third straight season. They\u2019ve righted the ship with two straight wins after a rough patch, and the Monsters host Rochester on Monday with a chance to make it three straight. AHL Cleveland remains without top center Luca Del Bel Belluz, who is with the Blue Jackets. The Monsters added forward Owen Griffin and defenseman Charlie Elick, both Columbus draft picks, but neither has yet debuted in the AHL. The focus, Waddell said, is locking down their third-place spot in the AHL\u2019s North Division to avoid a play-in round of the playoffs. \u201cWe told them to prepare for a week to 10 days of practice with a team that\u2019s in a playoff stretch right now,\u201d Waddell said. \u201cIt\u2019s all a learning experience just for them to be there right now, whether they go into the lineup or not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 FanDuel Sports Network has informed the Blue Jackets that their network will be up and running for the remainder of the regular season and the first round of the playoffs, which local broadcast crews always handle. This has been a concern for much of the season, but it\u2019s good to know they\u2019ll make it to the finish line, especially for FanDuel\u2019s crew of broadcasters and on-air talent. How Blue Jackets fans will watch local coverage next season remains a mystery, but there\u2019s a strong likelihood that something new is on the horizon.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The Blue Jackets have had talks with a handful of NCAA free agents, but so far haven\u2019t found a mutual fit. But keep an eye on University of Michigan forward Josh Eernisse, a junior who has 10-8-18 in 37 games for the Wolverines this season. Count Columbus among several clubs interested in Eernisse. Along with T.J. Hughes and others, Eernisse will likely sign pro contracts after the Frozen Four. Michigan plays Denver on Thursday in a national semifinal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"COLUMBUS, Ohio \u2014 A collection of notes, insights, ruminations and did-you-knows gathered throughout the week that was for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":544156,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5108],"tags":[3644,5180,897,230,5179,5,4],"class_list":{"0":"post-544155","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-columbus-blue-jackets","8":"tag-blue-jackets","9":"tag-bluejackets","10":"tag-columbus","11":"tag-columbus-blue-jackets","12":"tag-columbusbluejackets","13":"tag-hockey","14":"tag-nhl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116359162150538491","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=544155"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544155\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/544156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=544155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=544155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=544155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}