Wednesday night, the Columbus Blue Jackets put up one of their most dominant road wins on the season; a 5-1 thumping of the Maple Leafs in Toronto. While the Leafs carried the play in much of that game, the Jackets stuck to their structure and leaned heavily on Elvis Merzlikins to make saves on their way to a big win in Canada's hottest market.
Unfortunately, that same formula did not equate last night in Raleigh. In a game that started less than 24 hours after Wednesday night's game began, the team saw its hot start disappear; surrendering 7 goals to the Carolina Hurricanes. They came out flying and took a 2-0 lead, only to get stuck in the mud in the second, giving up 5 straight goals.
Last night's loss moves the Blue Jackets to 0-7-0 on the second half of back to back starts. In those games, they have been outscored by a combined 36-12 differential. They are, on average, losing these games 5-1. This is not good enough for a team who is trying to pick up points in the playoff race.
Certainly, the schedule makers didn't do the Jackets any favors here. All of these back to back starts have seen the team play the second game on the road. Only four of the first games have been at home. So, not only are they playing quick starts - they are having to travel overnight, sometimes from another unfamiliar locale. And, in this week's occurrence, they had to travel through customs; with starts just 23 and a half hours apart.
It's hard to paint the schedule as an excuse, but it definitely doesn't help with such a young team. The bad news: the Jackets have to do this 5 more times this season. And, all of the remaining games will see them play the second half of a back to back on the road. Some of these games are going to be vital in their playoff chase. Most notably, both games in Ottawa are on the second half of a back to back. These will be crucial.
Why are they struggling?
There could be a number of reasons they struggle in these back to back starts. The Jackets have leaned heavily on Elvis Merzlikins this season, and he's kept them in a lot of games. But he can't play every night, so we're typically seeing his backup (Daniil Tarasov or Jet Greaves) on the second half of these.
These are not easy starts for the backup. The team might not have as much jump (as was the case last night), and playing on the road is difficult because the home team can control the matchups.
The biggest reason could be the lack of veterans in the lineup. Having leaders like Boone Jenner, Sean Monahan, and Erik Gudbranson; would certainly help the Jackets better prepare for these quick turn-arounds. If nothing else, from a depth standpoint, it would make things tougher for the opposition if these guys were all healthy. From that perspective, this team really misses Yegor Chinakhov, also.
Whatever the cause; if the Blue Jackets are going to be serious playoff contenders, they'll have to find a way to pick up points in at least some of their remaining back-to-back starts.