Columbus Blue Jackets: Two Defensemen on the Power Play?

The Columbus Blue Jackets power play has been a major struggling point to this point of the season. Although the Blue Jackets have a top offensive corps in the league on paper, the man advantage has turned into a disadvantage.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have an elite level of offensive fire power, however to this point in the season they have had the worst power play in the league; and it isn’t even close. The 8.8% success rate is 4 percentage points lower than the next worst team, the Buffalo Sabres.

Columbus Blue Jackets

While it is difficult to solve a power play issue with one quick change, the Columbus Blue Jackets abundance of offensive defensemen could have a good effect in this scenario. If they were to unite Seth Jones and Zach Werenski on the top power play unit, it is possible that success could follow; as it has in even strength play the entire season.

The difficulty with a switch like this however, would certainly be the second pairing which would take a hit offensively on the blue line. The second pairing would likely consist of Jack Johnson and potentially Markus Nutivaara, as David Savard has had a lackluster season himself.

The next big issue would be sustainability, with the uncertainty of the NHL; even if these changes work temporarily they may not last for the rest of the season. Ryan Murray could potentially play his way into a spot on a power play unit, however his change in style of play has been significant compared to previous years in terms of offensive production.

Fixing a league worst power play will take much more than a single change, and the Columbus Blue Jackets coaching staff is certainly trying to address this issue as soon as possible. Would switching to two defenders solve all the problems? Likely not, however it can’t hurt to give it a try.