The Blue Jackets need Mathieu Olivier to make better decisions

From a Blue Jackets perspective, the most concerning thing coming out of last night's smackdown at the hands of the Florida Panthers just might be Mathieu Olivier's impending availability. More so than that, they should be concerned about how he has started this season.

If you missed it, where were you? With the Blue Jackets down 3-1 midway through last night's game, they were searching for answers after giving up three straight Brady Tkachuk goals. Olivier took matters into his own hands, but the issue is that he did so in a very wrong way.

After a wall battle against Florida defenseman Uvis Balinskis, Olivier lost his composure. He followed Balinskis towards the middle of the ice and gave him the old "cup check", which is a nice way of saying he slashed him in a very sensitive area.

Lets look at all of the facts here before we persecute. I'm hesitant to even call this a play, because this isn't a hockey play.

Balinskis gives him a shove after the battle. Then, he gives him a little shoulder check. Is it late and away from the play? Absolutely. Is it unnecessary? Depends on who you ask. Is it obvious what his intent was? Absolutely. For the Panthers, it did exactly what it was intended to do. It set off the other player and caused him to do something stupid.

Olivier takes the bait and goes way farther than Balinskis or anyone else likely figured he would go. While I'm not in love with this being a 5 minute major and an ejection, I do understand why the referees made this decision. Even though there is no big windup and it doesn't look violent; it's dirty, and depending on the equipment the other player is using, it could be very dangerous.

Of course, Balinskis did exactly what he should have done. He fell to the ice and stayed there. Whether the pain was real or not (I'm sure it hurt to an extent), he drew the major penalty; even going as far as heading down the tunnel.

He didn't miss a shift, and Olivier should consider himself very lucky that he returned to the game. Had he not, we could be looking at a suspension this morning. As it stands, nothing has been announced from the NHL's Department of Player Safety. Fingers crossed here.

As I mentioned at the top, the most concerning thing here is that this isn't the first time Mathieu's poor decisions have cost his team this season. In fact, it's the third time in five games.

Bad decisions have cost the team.

On opening night against Buffalo, with the Jackets leading 3-2 and already heading to the PK, he pushed the puck into the empty net to try to goad the Sabres into a penalty. We know how this stuff works in Columbus. If it happened at the other end, it's probably fine. That's mainly because this team would probably let it slide (culture and such). No harm, no foul.

But since it's the Blue Jackets, and they're up against a team (note: not a club), the Sabres react. Olivier gets his fight, but in the process takes the unsportsmanlike penalty and leaves his team with a full 2 minute 5 on 3 penalty kill.

He got away with it in that instance. In fact, I would argue that it energized this team and helped propel them to a victory on that occasion. Whether you believe that to be luck or part of the plan, it worked.

What happened on Saturday night did the exact opposite. With the Jackets comfortably ahead 2-0, Mathieu opened the second period by dropping the gloves with Ross Johnston. I said right away on X that I wasn't a fan of the timing, and I was proven right. The Blues took the game over from that point on.

Why drop the gloves with a 2-0 lead on the road? Ignore the challenge, play your game, and let them do something stupid to take a penalty so your team can extend the lead. Did we learn nothing from the Buffalo Sabres on opening night?

Last night was over the line.

Finally, we get to what happened last night, which absolutely cost this team any chance at getting back into that Florida game. For a guy wearing a letter on his jersey to do something so selfish, is not a good sign.

I know what he was trying to do: he was trying to spark his team. But his energy was placed in the wrong direction. It was a goon move, and Mathieu has become far more than a goon for this team. He's become a vital member of the best line they have.

That line drives play against any competition, chips in some secondary scoring, and knows how to play shutdown hockey. He's a key cog in everything this team does. Without #24, that line is nowhere near as effective. And, without #24 in the lineup, this team doesn't have its protector, which they really could have used against the Panthers last night.

Of course, we expect him to drop the gloves and protect his teammates when called upon. We also expect him to bring some energy when the team is flat. But he can't do these things at the wrong times, or with a dangerous play like the did last night. His decisions have been very costly thus far.

After the game, he apologized to the team, which is great and expected from a leader. However, the only way to atone for his decisions early in this season, is to put his head down and get back to work doing the things this team needs him to do on a shift-by-shift basis.

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