3 takeaways from the first 2 Blue Jackets preseason games

It's hard to believe, but we are now halfway through the preseason. Last night, the Blue Jackets played their second of four exhibition games, losing a 5-1 game against an NHL-heavy Buffalo Sabres roster. That came one day after beating the Detroit Red Wings 1-0 via shootout.

The Jackets have not had much in the way of NHL talent in their lineup for either of these games. Last night in Buffalo, there were only four guys dressed that I think we can reasonably expect to see on the opening night roster-and only one of them (Dmitri Voronkov) is likely to play in the top half of the lineup.

With the Cleveland Monsters set to open up training camp today, I would expect to see a larger swath of roster cuts made very soon. Maybe even this morning. The Jackets have just 5 days to become roster compliant for the regular season, with their first game coming up next Thursday.

Even though we saw mostly AHL lineups through their first two preseason games, there are still a lot of things we can learn. Lets run through some of them.

Defense wins games.

In their first game on Monday night, the Blue Jackets held the Detroit Red Wings scoreless. Through all 60 minutes of regulation, 5 minutes of overtime, and 3 shootout attempts, the Jackets surrendered no goals against.

That remains the easiest way to win a hockey game. Or at least, the most "controllable" way to win a hockey game. As Rick Bowness pointed out last week, you can't always score when you want. But, you can control how you play defense.

This obviously remains a huge focus for this team as they enter the new season. Every player in the lineup is going to have to defend well if they want to play, and Monday's result is a prime example of that reasoning.

Scoring may come at a premium again this year.

On the flip side, how about that offense? Or should I say, lack of offense? Through two games, the Blue Jackets have managed just one goal-and it was a garbage time tally from prospect Corson Ceulemans late in last night's loss in Buffalo.

It's worth noting that he's a defenseman. This would continue a trend that has been far too prevalent over the last few seasons: this team needs more offense out of their forwards.

Of course, it's tough to expect much offense from a roster full of guys who are probably going to spend their entire year playing at a lower level. But, it's a little bit discouraging that they couldn't stumble their way into a greasy goal in one of their two first games.

This is going to be something to watch for in the last two preseason games, as more NHL regulars get into the lineup. Finding offense could be the difference between a playoff spot, or another year watching from the outside.

There is a role for Carson Soucy here.

We'll finish off with this one. He's had just one game so far, but I'm pretty impressed with Carson Soucy's game. He is exactly what the Blue Jackets need to add to their third defense pairing: big, steady, reliable.

And, there is one key ingredient that this team could certainly use more of on its back end: a little snarl. How long has it been since we've seen a CBJ defenseman do this?

We hope Olen Zellweger is okay. But, man, we need more of that from this team's blue line. Hopefully the Blue Jackets can find the space to sign Carson for this season, he would be a nice depth piece.

The Jackets are back in action Thursday night at Nationwide, hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins. Then, they will finish up their preseason in Detroit on Saturday, before final roster decisions are due Sunday. We'll try to keep up with the news as it comes in rapid succession.

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