Columbus Blue Jackets: 3 Things We Want to See vs Detroit
Three things we want to see out of the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight against the Detroit Red Wings.
The Columbus Blue Jackets look to put together their first three game win streak of the season tonight with the Detroit Red Wings in town. It will be the second meeting between the two teams in the month of October.
The Jackets beat the Red Wings in the season opener in Detroit on October 4th in overtime. The 3-2 win was capped by an Artemi Panarin overtime goal, just like the Jackets last outing against the Buffalo Sabres.
The Red Wings are coming into tonight’s game after racking up their second win of the season over the Dallas Stars on Saturday. Detroit looks to string together two wins in a row for the first time this year.
The Jackets are looking to keep up in the competitive Metropolitan Division with another win before heading out to California for three games. The road trip is always a challenge so the Jackets need to bank some points tonight before they head out west.
If you see the Jackets do these three things tonight, there is a great chance that they come out with two points tonight.
Score a Power Play Goal
Raise your hand if you’ve heard this before. The Columbus Blue Jackets power play is, yet again, in the bottom tier of the NHL. The Jackets have scored one power play goal in their last six games. They are only scoring on 15% of their power play opportunities this season, good for 22nd in the entire NHL.
It’s a great sign for the Jackets 5v5 that they are scoring 3.6 goals per game, the 3rd highest in the league, but are getting absolutely nothing from their special teams. Sooner or later though the terrible power play will cost them games.
Against the elite teams in this league, scoring on the man advantage is necessary. Those prime opportunities can’t be passed up. As the Jackets head out to play three good teams in California, getting the power play rolling against Detroit would be nice to see. Building the momentum as the Jackets get ready for their road trip would not only help them win tonight, but turn a three game winning streak into a four or five game winning streak.
The Jackets scored a power play goal against the Red Wings on opening night. That was their first goal of the entire season. Getting another tuck on the man advantage is a big key to tonight’s game for the CBJ.
Defense Comes to Play
The Jackets really are lucky that 5v5 scoring has been great because the defense just isn’t getting it done. Columbus is just getting scored on way to much to be considered a serious contender. The Jackets haven’t given up less than four goals in their last five games. Their 3.8 goals against per game is the fifth worst in the NHL.
More from Union and Blue
- Blaming Columbus Blue Jacket Players for Babcock Fallout is Unfair
- The Mike Babcock Experiment in Columbus Has Failed
- Blue Jacket Prospects Win Traverse City Tournament: Who Stood Out?
- Mike Babcock Resigns as CBJ Head Coach: Reaction
- New Claims Bring Higher Level of Concern to Babcock Situation
The Jackets need to find some defense tonight agains the third lowest scoring team in the NHL. Detroit is only scoring 2.3 goals per game including the two they put up against the Jackets on October 4th.
There is no secret switch the Jackets can flip to get the defense rolling. They have had some terrible turnovers that turned into easy goals and they have broken down structurally several times. Additionally, the Jackets penalty kill is the sixth worst in the league leading to some more scoring.
Seth Jones is still getting acclimated as he returns from his knee injury and the more time he spends with Zach Weresnki at game speed, the better the top pair will be defensively. The same is true for the Jackets new third pair, David Savard and Scott Harrington.
The goaltending needs to take a step up as well. Both Sergei Bobrovsky and Joonas Korpisalo haven’t played as well as either of them can in net. Both need to take a step (or a few) forward tonight against one of the leagues worst offense.
A repeat performance of the opening night defensive showing where the Jackets only allowed two goals will lead to a win for the Jackets tonight.
Keeping the Top Line Rolling
I wrote earlier in the week about how the Columbus Blue Jackets top line is great, just not an elite top line in the NHL yet. The team doesn’t need a top five line in the league to win, they just need this Artemi Panarin – Pierre-Luc Dubois – Cam Atkinson line to keep on rolling.
That combination has accumulated 15 points in the last three games for the Jackets including nine combined points in the team’s 5-4 overtime win against the Sabres. In the first matchup against the Red Wings, this line opened the scoring with a PLD goal, and finished the game with a Panarin OT winner.
This line has been consistent all year long and has to continue that level of play. The three lines behind them have been on and off again all year. The top line though has brought it every game and needs to keep it up and then hope two of the three lines behind them can show up and contribute as well.
The Jackets rely on the top line a bit too much right now but it’s still early on and injuries have caused some shakeups farther down in the lineup. The lines are beginning to settle but until Brandon Dubinsky returns, the top line is going to need to continue to dominate.
Next. Top 5 Performing Prospects. dark
The Jackets need to score a power play goal tonight and get the defense rolling. Their top line will look to drive play and carry the team yet again as inconsistent play from the second, third, and fourth lines continue. If the Jackets execute these three keys to the game, they will come away with two points and head to California feeling good.