The Blue Jackets were shellacked by the Colorado Avalanche Thursday night, to the tune of 7-3 at Nationwide Arena; leaving them 4 points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the final wild card spot. With just 8 games left in the season, the playoff task is now extremely difficult; and it's the most important position on the ice that is letting them down.
We learned a lot about this team last night. The Avalanche rolled into town late, having played on Wednesday night in Chicago; only to be held in the windy city until Thursday morning due to heavy storms. But they are a proud organization with a recent history of success, so there were no excuses. They brought it last night, right from the opening shift.
But the Blue Jackets hung on. In fact, they more than hung on. They were right in the battle, trading blows with one of the league's most elite teams. After going down 2-1 near the end of the first period, they battled back and forced a couple of goals in the first 8 minutes of the second period; taking a 3-2 lead.
Unfortunately, on this night, we also learned that the most important position on this roster is just not good enough. It wasn't even close. The Avalanche tied the game at 12:39 of the period on a shot that an NHL goaltender should have. No sugar coating it, this is a very stoppable puck.
The real back breaker came just 1:23 later, as Elvis Merzlikins surrendered another absolute muffin. Just like that, the Jackets were down 4-3 in a game where they were standing toe to toe with the Colorado Avalanche. You could see the frustration growing at this point, and by period's end, the game was 5-3.
Time and time again, we have seen this team fight through adversity and come back late in games. Forget about that when you can't get a save. The Avalanche put the game away quickly and effectively, with Devon Toews making it a three goal lead at 4:01 of the third period on another absolute stinker. They tacked on a 7th goal at the 5:49 mark, at which point Elvis broke his stick, skated to the bench, and left the crease to Daniil Tarasov.
It's time to look past the defense. The Blue Jackets have a goaltending problem.
Someone has to point this out, so it may as well be us. From top to bottom, nearly every player on the Blue Jackets roster has stepped up and improved their game this season.
And, while it hasn't been perfect, this team has been defending better this season. Where they have not improved is in the crease. It's nowhere near good enough. Even though Elvis Merzlikins has improved his save percentage this season; he still sits 53rd in the NHL with a .891% save percentage (min. 10 games played).
On the next slide, we'll dive further into his numbers, and provide one glaring example.