The Blue Jackets have started the season off with a 6-4 record, which certainly isn't bad, but in the highly competitive Metropolitan division, there's always room to improve.
Now that we have a ten-game sample size to work with, let's take a quick look at the good and the bad for Columbus this year, and what needs to happen to secure a playoff spot in April.
The goalie tandem is working
After being in the bottom half of the league in both goals against and save percentage, goaltending was a big story for the Blue Jackets coming into this season.
With the excellent play from Jet Greaves down the stretch last year, and Elvis Merzlikins not playing up to his standard, there was definitely some curiosity as to how the goaltending rotation would play out this year, and more importantly how successful it would be.
Dean Evason has decided to deploy Greaves and Elvis in a 50/50 split, with the starter alternating each night. The resulting success has made him look like a genius, as goaltending has perhaps looked like the least of the Blue Jackets' concerns so far.
Jet Greaves has put up a .907 save percentage, which may not jump off the page, but he is 5th in the league among qualified goalies in goals saved above expected per game according to MoneyPuck, with 1.124 per game.
Elvis Merzlikins has looked equally proficient, with a .915 save percentage and 0.851 goals saved above expected per game, 9th in the league. He has also been lights out in threatening situations, putting up a 0.938 save percentage against "high-danger" chances, with only Tristan Jarry ahead of him.
The combination of maintained freshness and healthy competition has brought the goaltending room to life, and kept offseason pickup Ivan Fedotov from being needed so far after he was brought in as a safety valve if things hadn't gone as smoothly.
As a team, the Blue Jackets rank 7th in the league in save percentage, and Jet Greaves and Elvis Merzlikins will look to keep that up and make goaltending a key piece of Columbus' success this year.
The Blue Jackets aren't drawing power plays, and they don't score when they are
It should be no surprise to anyone who has watched a Blue Jackets game this year that the power play simply hasn't been working so far this year, and they aren't getting chances to fix that.
Through ten games, the Blue Jackets have only had 23 power play opportunities. The league average is 34. Columbus simply hasn't been drawing enough penalties to create opportunities for their skilled players to go to work.
But it's hard to feel bad for the top-end players when they have only scored a measly 4 goals on those 23 opportunities. Simply put, it's just not good enough.
The top power play unit consists of Zach Werenski, Kirill Marchenko, Kent Johnson, Dmitri Voronkov, and Sean Monahan. Those five players combined for 317 points last year, and that's with Sean Monahan and Kent Johnson both missing double-digit games.
It's simply inexcusable to have that much talent on a power play yet be 23rd in the league in capitalizing on those chances. Whether it's players passing up open shots to try to make cross-ice passes, players getting out of position, or not getting to the net, they need to figure it out, and quickly.
They are dominating at even strength
Although the special teams performance has left a lot to be desired from Blue Jackets fans this year, Columbus is making up for it for their play everywhere else.
They rank third in goals for at even strength with 26, and seventh in the league in goals against at even strength with 17.
This comes out to a goal differential of +9, which is the best in the NHL at 5-on-5.
The Blue Jackets have also played solid, fundamental defense and have done a good job disrupting dangerous chances from their opponents, as their 44 takeaways at even strength rank fourth in the league.
The lack of scoring on the power play has definitely left a bad taste in fans' mouths after the Blue Jackets were one of the best offensive teams in the league last year, but the success during even strength play has really helped lead them to victory.
Even though they are dominating at 5 on 5, there is still one big concern. We talk about that on the next slide.