Columbus Blue Jackets: New Defensive Pairings a Welcome Change
The Columbus Blue Jackets finally shook up their defensive pairings and split Zach Werenski and Seth Jones.
The Columbus Blue Jackets played their best game of the season on Tuesday at home against the Dallas Stars. The 4-1 win was exactly what the team needed after a so-so California Road trip.
The Dallas victory is a perfect example of how this Columbus Blue Jackets team needs to play in order to win. Solid scoring chances evenly spread throughout the game but a dominate defense and solid play from Sergei Bobrovsky.
The defense was excellent on Tuesday and it came with a surprise pair mix up. Coach John Tortorella finally split the team’s top defenseman, Seth Jones and Zach Werenski, and it paid dividends. The Jackets only allowed one power play goal to a Stars team that is third in the loaded Central Division.
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Seth Jones was paired with Ryan Murray and Zach Werenski was slotted with Dean Kukan. That left Markus Nutivaara to play alongside David Savard who surprisingly was the team’s top combo against the Stars and played the most minutes together according to FrozenPool.com.
Tonight, Jones will stay with Murray while Werenski will play with Scott Harrington who draws in for his 12th game of the year. With Jones and Z split and Nuti playing the way he is right now this team, the Jackets can roll out an above average to elite pair for sixty minutes.
It will allow Z and Jones to not have to bear the brunt of playing 25 minutes a game for an 82 game season which should keep them fresh and help avoid any more injuries.
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That is until Torts gets impatient by the second period and shakes the pairings up again and inevitably puts Z and Jones back together. Let’s see how long those pairs stick together tonight as the Jackets take on the defending Stanley Cup champions.