The CBJ Defense is Showing Early Signs of Improvement

The 2022-2023 hockey season was one to forget for the Blue Jackets. Injuries and losses piled up before the 5th line had started their Black Friday shopping. The CBJ had so many weaknesses, but most especially with keeping the puck out of their own net. So far in 2023-2024, the CBJ defense has showed signs of drastic improvement.

Though early, the defense has been much improved for the CBJ this season. The additions of Ivan Provorov, Damon Severson; Jake Bean, and Zach Werenski (both returning from injury) has really benefited the CBJ. The defense now has 3 pairings that have provided the team with good defensive play and structure. The CBJ rank 19th in the NHL for goals against and 10th in the NHL on the penalty kill (85%). Those are drastic improvements over last season (31st in goals against, 25th in penalty kill at 75.1%).

Through the first 7 games, the CBJ goalies have been much better. Elvis Merzlikins is sporting a 0.903 save percentage and Spencer Martin is sporting a 0.915 save percentage. While the goaltending hasn’t been elite, it has been good. Both goalies have given the team a chance to win each night, which is all one can ask for. The play of Elvis is very encouraging. He is starting to look like an earlier version of himself. You can see that he is focused and is slowly regaining his confidence. Is he back to his rookie form? No. But he is trending in that direction. He still has a long way to go before we can claim that he is “back”.

Is the defense and goaltending perfect? No. There are still moments that leave fans wanting more. But it’s definitely better than last season, which is everything the 5th Line could have hoped for. The ceiling for this defense is higher than the 13th in the NHL for goals against. But the floor is also much lower. So, the current position has to be satisfactory to everyone who follows the CBJ. Consistency, team chemistry, and maintaining health will be vital for how good this defense can be for the rest of the season.

The 2023-2024 season has just begun and there is plenty of hockey left to play. But if the first 7 games are any indication, then this season will be a drastic improvement compared to last season. If the goaltending holds up, expect the CBJ to be competitive and play meaningful games later in the season.