It’s Time To Play the Kids
The Blue Jackets had mixed results over the weekend. On Saturday, they got thumped by the Detroit Red Wings by a 6-1 margin, in a game that probably wasn’t even that close. On Sunday, despite being heavily outshot and outplayed by the Florida Panthers, the team found a way to get it done – earning a 5-3 win. One thing that is completely evident: it’s time to play the kids.
All signs point in the direction of this team missing the playoffs. Mark Scheig over at The Hockey Writers points out that the team needs to go on a ridiculous tear to make the playoffs this season, and this seems nearly impossible for any team. Let alone one that’s suffering so heavily with injuries.
As mentioned above, the Blue Jackets have 64 games left to play this season. For them to get to 100 points now would mean securing 87 points in those 64 games. That would mean finishing the season going 40-17-7 or equivalent in those 64 games.
In Columbus right now, you have all of the formulas for a lost season. They came into the year with a young, inexperienced roster, with question marks on defense and in goal. With 8 players currently sitting on IR; they’re even younger, less experienced, and have greater question marks not only on defense and in goal; but also with their forwards.
They started out slowly even when they were healthy, so one could argue that these injuries are a blessing in disguise. It’s forcing them to keep Kent Johnson on the NHL roster. It’s forcing them to give Trey Fix-Wolansky an early season look. But as the team continues to get shelled on a nightly basis, the coaching staff seems dead set on trying to grind out the game with depth and AHL players, which does not make sense.
Let’s face it, they got worked by the Florida Panthers last night. Without Daniil Tarasov’s heroics, this is easily another 6-1 or 7-1 score … the shots (50-23) are the only indication you need to see to know that the Panthers dictated play. They were all over the Jackets, hemming them into the defensive zone for minutes at a time.
Give the young Jackets credit for hanging on. They actually did a nice job of taking away the middle of the ice and keeping a lot of those shots to the outside. But, they could not generate much of anything the other way, until a middle of the third period shift by a pieced together “kids line” of Yegor Chinakhov, Cole Sillinger, and Kent Johnson.
They were the first line to get a shift in the Panthers end in the entire period. They turned the momentum for the team, and Johnny Gaudreau scored the game winning goal off of a turnover on the very next shift.
so so so close https://t.co/kmp9Wjes8T pic.twitter.com/B4HvI50EWf
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) November 21, 2022
Kent even tried the famed lacrosse move a little later on, but his shot didn’t go in. What did it do? It pissed off the Panthers, most notably Matthew Tkachuk, who gave KJ a cross-check after the whistle. While he doesn’t get a goal here, one could argue that taking Tkachuk off his game alone was well worth the effort. He’s their leading scorer; having him sitting for 2 minutes certainly wouldn’t hurt.
While I get that it’s important to have balance in the lineup, at some point you simply have to let talent play together…
When you pull it all together, it makes no sense to not be playing these guys top-six minutes. The team is out of contention for a playoff spot. They’re riddled with injuries and are playing inconsistently, with a handful of guys on the roster who should be in the AHL. And, most importantly … the kids are actually playing really well.
Yegor Chinakhov has been nothing short of dynamic. I would argue that he’s been the team’s most dangerous offensive player outside of Johnny Gaudreau this season. He’s third on the team in scoring, in spite of the fact that it honestly feels like he’s been snake bitten. His average time on ice? 13:10, which is 22nd amongst skaters for the CBJ this season. This is inexplicable.
With Laine out of the lineup, you have an obvious replacement here. Chinakhov has the second most dangerous shot on the team – arguably one of the best releases in the NHL. At times, he might even be as lethal as Laine. But nobody knows about it because he doesn’t play. Why isn’t he playing on that top line with Gaudreau? Even with Laine in the lineup, it would make sense to try him out and spread the scoring around.
But Yegor sits at almost three and a half minutes less per game than Jack Roslovic, whose play earned him a healthy scratch. If Roslovic has been so disappointing, while Chinakhov stands out, why does Jack get so much more ice time?
Just behind Chinakhov in ice time per game? Kent Johnson, at 12:39. In spite of the low minutes and the fact that he’s only played in 15 of the team’s 18 games, Johnson is tied with Sean Kuraly for fourth on the team in scoring. But of the lineup regulars, only Mathieu Olivier (11:01) and Liam Foudy (11:09) average fewer minutes per game than Johnson.
Johnson and Gaudreau have obvious chemistry – they combined to set up Boone Jenner for easy tap in goals in back to back games last week. They’re clearly the two most skilled players on the team; a team that has struggled to find consistency in its game all season. How many players would take this pass from Johnny and fire it at the net from this angle? My guess is, probably most.
Aye Aye Cap'n 💥💥 pic.twitter.com/IWF6W2NLX3
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) November 18, 2022
While I get that it’s important to have balance in the lineup, at some point you simply have to let talent play together. Would a Gaudreau-Johnson-Chinakhov line get caved in from time to time and give up some goals? Absolutely. But every line on the team has done that consistently this season – that’s been the one thing that’s consistent with this team.
What every line hasn’t done consistently: handle the puck and score goals. Sometimes your best defense is a shift in the offensive zone, and I feel like this trio could do that. So give it a chance, Lars.
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If nothing else, the team continues to play itself out of contention, but you start developing the youngsters. Let them work out who they have chemistry with. Separate the future core from the pretenders. But continuing to roll out the same players every other shift, isn’t helping this team develop. In fact, we could argue that it’s holding them back.
It’s time to play the kids.
Next. Pump the Brakes on the Bo Horvat Trade Rumors. dark