A top line job has opened up for the Columbus Blue Jackets. At least, temporarily. Tonight, that will be filled by a surprising name: Isac Lundestrom. He's quickly earned the trust of new head coach Rick Bowness.
As the team prepares to take on the New Jersey Devils tonight, they will have to do so without top scoring forward Kirill Marchenko. He is out sick. Though, good news: he may play tomorrow. Even if he does not, it's only two games because the team will be off for the Olympic break.
However long Marchy is out, the Jackets will look to rely on a depth player who has drawn the ire of the fanbase throughout most of his first season in Columbus. I'm interested to see how it goes.
Let's face it: Isac Lundestrom is the kind of player coaches love.
The Blue Jackets signed Lundestrom to a two-year contract over the summer, paying him just $1.3 million against the cap for each season. GM Don Waddell laid out the reasoning in very simple words:
"Isac Lundstrom is a center who skates very well, is strong on the puck and plays a sound two-way game ... he will provide additional depth to our forward group, and we are very pleased to welcome him to the Blue Jackets family."Don Waddell
So far, that's exactly what he has done. While Isac has gotten a lot of criticism, it's impossible to overlook the facts in the way he plays the game. Actually, that may be why he draws criticism in the long run.
He works hard each and every shift, and is extremely reliable defensively. That's it. His style of game is the type that is made to draw ire, because it's designed to make the game boring at both ends of the ice.
He's not a big guy who is going to go out and throw hits. He doesn't block a ton of shots. And, there isn't much offense here (he only has 2 goals and 7 points on the season).
But, when he's on the ice, very little happens. Essentially, he's out there because the coaches know what they are going to get from him. They can use him against any competition and not get burned.
For these reasons, he's quickly earned the trust of an experience coach like Bowness. So much that he'll see top line minutes tonight.
It's as much about matchups.
The Blue Jackets need to win tonight in New Jersey. It's critical. So, by throwing Lundestrom into Marchenko's spot on the top line, Rick Bowness essentially makes his lineup matchup-proof.
The Devils can't throw out Nico Hischier's line to shut down one offensive line of the Blue Jackets. They will have to choose between the Fantilli line, or the Monahan line, or even the Coyle line.
Hischier is a two-way threat, so in promoting Lundestrom onto the top line, Bowness has guaranteed himself at least two reliable two-way players on each line tonight. This should help ensure that they don't spend too much time in their own end.
The Jackets may not score 5 goals tonight. But, they will be very hard to score against themselves. Bowness is trying to win a low event game in New Jersey tonight.
If you ask me, that's a smart move against a Devils team whose roster can certainly out-gun this Blue Jackets team.