Grading the Columbus Blue Jackets Performance vs NHL’s Elite Teams

Against true Stanley Cup Contenders, the Columbus Blue Jackets haven’t performed well enough.

The 4-2 loss in Pittsburgh was the Columbus Blue Jackets sixth game against a true Stanley Cup Contender this season. These games against the league’s elite teams are excellent measuring sticks for a franchise that is a clear playoff team, but may or may not be a Stanley Cup Contender.

In my eyes there are seven true Stanley Cup contenders in the NHL. In the Western Conference the San Jose Sharks, Winnipeg Jets, and Nashville Predators are the cream of the crop. In the East it’s the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning, Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals.

You can nitpick and add some teams to that list but everyone else, including the Jackets right now, are fringe contenders. The Jackets have played six games against the team’s above and haven’t exactly passed the test with flying colors.

With a decent sample size of games, let’s grade the team’s performance in each game and their overall output against the NHL’s elite teams.

November 1st: 4-1 Win at San Jose

The annual California road trip has become less and less intimidating over the years. Both the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks have taken steps back over the years so two thirds of the trip gets easier for teams.

But the San Jose Sharks are still a daunting team and beating them in the Shark Tank is tough. They have a great goalie, the best defensive corps in the NHL, and a great forward unit that can certainly carry the Sharks to the Cup.

But the Jackets played an excellent game in the Shark tank to open their California trip and took down the Cup contenders, 4-1. 

Sergei Bobrovsky put on his best performance to date with 44 saves on 45 shots from San Jose. He allowed a Kevin Labanc goal midway through the first period and shut out the Sharks for the next 48 minutes.

Although the Jackets didn’t score on the power play, they did play well on the penalty kill and offensively took advantage of their limited opportunities at five on five. Although they only had 26 shots on goal, they had excellent high danger chances that turned into goals.

They also were able to shut the door in the final two minutes of the game despite a Riley Nash penalty that gave the Sharks a 6-4 advantage with the goalie pulled. Josh Anderson closed the door though with the shorthanded, empty net goal to seal the 4-1 win.

Although the Sharks were still trying to gel with their new addition in superstar Erik Karlsson and weren’t quite humming along at 100%, the win was impressive. It would be remembered much better if the Jackets didn’t put forth a terrible performance two nights later in Los Angeles, but it was a good win against a great team.

November 9th: 2-1 Win at Washington

The Jackets came into the Nation’s Capital with a middling record of 8-6-1. They had a so-so California Trip and although it was still early in the season, the Washington game felt like a pivotal point in the 18-19 campaign.

The Jackets and Caps had a goaltending duel that was eventually won by Sergei Bobrovsky. With his 33 saves on 34 shots, Bob had done what he couldn’t do in the playoffs, out-duel Braden Holtby and lead the Jackets to a 2-1 victory. 

Although he allowed a goal more than Bob, Holtby was excellent that night with 34 saves. Neither net-minder gave up a goal at even strength. The Jackets scored two power play goals including an Anthony Duclair goal five minutes into the third period that ended up as the game winning goal.

At that point in the season the CBJ power play was dead last in the league. Since then, they are up to 24th in the league. Not where they need to be, but an improvement from the horrific start to the season.

It was the first chance the Jackets had to exact revenge on the team that bounced them from the playoffs and went on to win the Stanley Cup. There will be three more matchups between the two teams and they should be great matchups just like this game.

November 19th: 4-2 Loss at Toronto

The previous week of action saw the CBJ play three games against Stanley Cup contenders starting north of the boarder in Toronto. The Monday night tilt against the Maple Leafs ended the Jackets point streak at seven with Toronto taking down the Jackets 4-2.

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Columbus started off great with two first period goals from the top line. Cam Atkinson extended his goal streak to five games. Second year center Pierre-Luc Dubois added his tenth of the season with less than a minute remaining in the period and the Jackets had sucked the life out of the arena.

But the talented Leafs answered with two of their own in the second including a John Tavares goal where both Scott Harrington and Zach Werenski were completely dominated on a breakout.

Despite the two goals allowed in the second period, the Jackets were still playing solid. They were outshooting the Leafs and were keeping Toronto’s deadly power play off the ice. But a third period mistake by the fourth line led to a Zach Hyman goal with only 4:22 left that would be the game winner. It was a bad mistake but overall, it was a solid performance from the team and one that would have at least led to points on most nights.

If it wasn’t for Fredrik Andersen playing out of his mind and two small mistakes, the Jackets would have won easily. But against the elite in the NHL, there is almost no margin for error. Despite the loss, the Jackets played well though and earned a decent grade.

November 23rd: 4-2 Win vs Toronto

The real revenge tour 2018. After falling just three nights before in Canada, the Jackets had a chance to get back at the Leafs in Nationwide Arena.

Fueled by Thanksgiving leftovers, the Jackets came out once again and put up the first two goals of the game. The 2-0 lead was curtesy of Josh Anderson who scored both his ninth and tenth goals of the season to give the CBJ an early lead.

Former Columbus Blue Jacket Ron Hainesy would cut the lead in half late in the first period though. The lead would entirely vanish on Kasperi Kapenan’s tenth goal of the year early in the second period and the night was beginning to feel like Monday all over again.

The Jackets, backstopped by a great performance from Bob, hung around in the second period dominated by the Leafs until Artemi Panarin was called for tripping with less than five minutes left in the game.

The vaunted Leafs power play headed out on the ice for the first time all night looking to take the lead. But a Toronto turnover in the neutral zone gave Alexander Wennberg the puck and he fired a  pass to a streaking Cam Atkinson. Down the right wing, Cam was defended by one of the league’s top defensive centers in John Tavares but Cam made him look like an AHLer.

A slick toe drag put Tavares out of position and allowed Cam to snap a wrister past Fredrik Andersen. The goal extended Cam’s goal streak to six games and was his 14th, and most important, goal of the season. The game winner was one for the highlight reels that we will be watching for a while.

Markus Hannikainen added an insurance goal in the third and the Jackets had their revenge by way of a 4-2 victory. Although they won, Toronto played a better game but the shorthanded goal and stout net-minding from Bob led to a crucial two points.

November 24th: 4-2 loss at Pittsburgh

Rivalry night in Ohio. The Ohio State Buckeyes started the day off on the right foot with a huge win over that team up north but the Jackets couldn’t follow suit in Pittsburgh. The Penguins, who have started the year off very slowly, yet again defeated the Jackets on their home ice.

The Pens, fueled by a Jake Guentzel hat trick end the Jackets week on a sour note. A combination of the Jackets poor play and Penguins domination led to a performance that the men in union blue will soon want to forget about.

No one on the team played particularly well for the Jackets besides Seth Jones. The offense couldn’t generate any high danger chances and Sidney Crosby and Co. torched the Jackets all night long. Crosby assisted on all two of Guentzel’s goals.

Scott Harrington’s first goal of the season gave the Jackets an early lead in the first period but three goals in ten minutes gave the Pens the game.

Cam Atkinson was able to extend his goal streak with a tuck in the second but it wouldn’t matter in the end. The Pens pulled out a 4-2 win.

This game was a tough reminder that the Jackets still have a ways to go if they hope to be considered one of the NHL’s best teams. It’s also a sobering reminder that despite their lowly record, the Pens can turn it on any time they want and still should be considered one of the best squads in the NHL.

Overall the Jackets are 3-3 in their six matchups against Stanley Cup contenders. Five of the six matchups have come on the road which makes the .500 record a bit more respectable. They have played just average hockey all-in-all over their six true test of the season though.

The Jackets still are taking periods off in these big time games which is a luxury they just can’t afford. The Penguins, Lightning, and Leafs can, and have, got away with that sort of play but the Jackets just don’t have the talent up and down the roster to be able to get away with that.

The Jackets cumulative grade over their six test is a B- for me. They haven’t consistently competed at the level they need to in wins or losses, but they are close. The question is whether they can raise their compete level over the next four months in their matchups against Stanley Cup contenders and put themselves in that conversation with big wins.

Their next chance to do so will be December 8th when the Washington Capitals come to town for a Saturday night showdown.