The past two games for the Columbus Blue Jackets haven’t been ideal. They could have, and maybe should have, won both games.
It’s the day after back-to-back losses and now we’ve had time to think about what the problems have been and what should change. The Columbus Blue Jackets definitely have some things to consider, but let’s be careful about our reactions.
Monday night, the Jackets were, “A dumb hockey team,” according to John Tortorella. It wasn’t great last night either, though, it wasn’t a stupid penalty at the end causing a loss.
Reactions from last night can basically be summed up like this: The power play needs to improve/need a new PP coach, and no one wants to shoot the puck.
#CBJ@CamAtkinson13 on team's power-play struggles: "We need to just be hard on the puck, get pucks to the net and pounce on a greasy rebound, and the floodgates will open."
— Steve Gorten (@sgorten) November 8, 2017
I’m no coach, but to me, the last two games are just going to happen from time to time. If we expect the Blue Jackets never to take a dumb penalty in the third and let up a PP goal, we’re going to be so much more disappointed when it actually happens.
Don’t get me wrong though, I’m not saying we should just be ok with it. They do deserve some screaming from Torts after what happened. But at the same time, we have to understand what happens in hockey, and in sports in general.
The Columbus Blue Jackets roster from top to bottom is better than it’s ever been, let’s not forget it. They’re too good to keep losing like they have the past two games.
The best is on its way
Last night, Jody Shelley said, “The regular season is for lessons, and these last 24 hours they’ve learned two great lessons.”
The Blue Jackets record is 9-6-1. They’re third in the Metro and in eighth overall in the NHL. Are we really going to let a couple games make us think this team isn’t legit?
There are still 66 regular season games left to play. Take a breath, relax, and don’t over-analyze the past two games. To me, the only real problem is the power play.
Fortunately for the Jackets, there’s no game today or tomorrow. They have time to reflect and rest, but they’re professionals anyway so I’m sure they aren’t too down.
Next: Hartnell gets the ‘thank you’ Johansen wanted
This group will come back, and when they do, just remember that not every game is going to go exactly how we want them to.