The Columbus Blue Jackets are sliding in the standings. They've lost five games in a row, and have won just one of their last eight games. The offense has almost completely dried up for a team that has been flying high this season. What is going on?
It's the worst possible time of the year for a team to go stone cold. On March 1st, the Jackets won their Stadium Series game at Ohio Stadium by a 5-3 margin. In the eight games since then, they've scored just 13 goals - and 7 of those came in their lone win.
In the 7 other games, they have scored a combined 6 goals. They've been shut out 4 times in that span, and scored just one goal in their most recent four-game home stretch over the last week. This is especially surprising, considering how this team has played at Nationwide this season. I have a few thoughts on why they're struggling.
Did they curse the cannon?
This may seem like a wild thought, but is it possible that the organization put some kind of strange hex on their own cannon? The Jackets moved the cannon to a new venue for the first time, and they made use of it at the Shoe, firing it four times after goals. That may sound odd, since they scored 5 goals; but after one of them there was some kind of malfunction and it never went off.
If you're superstitious like myself, that's a bad omen. Maybe the cannon was trying to tell us something? Maybe it hates the cold? More likely, this is just crazy talk. There are other reasons that make more sense, anyway.
Key injuries might have finally caught up to them.
The injury bug is another possibility here, whether we want to admit it or not. The Jackets were missing key pieces all season long, including captain Boone Jenner, scoring winger Yegor Chinakhov; amongst others. But, have they been missing two guys more than we realize?
Their top line center, Sean Monahan, hasn't played since January 7th. He was scoring at a point-per-game pace until his injury. Cole Sillinger has turned into a very good matchup center for Dean Evason, but he was injured just before the outdoor game. That's two of their top three centers sitting on IR.
Their injuries have forced Jenner and Justin Danforth into top-9 roles down the middle. I don't think I'm being dramatic when I say that those two aren't exactly going to help your offense get better. Both are super reliable two-way guys, but neither of them are driving play in the offensive zone like Monahan. And, without Sillinger, both are being leaned on more heavily for defensive matchups. The injury situation could definitely be part of their struggles. But, there's one other thing too.
Young players in difficult games.
The reality of their struggles: the offense for the Blue Jackets has been carried by guys who have never been in these situations before. Over the last several seasons, this team has been well out of the race by this point, which means that these late season games have been meaningless.
Opposing teams haven't looked at the Jackets as a challenge until pretty recently. So, the open space that Kirill Marchenko, Adam Fantilli, Kent Johnson, and even Zach Werenski were seeing earlier this year, has all disappeared.
These games are being played like playoff games, which means they are tighter checking now, and the skill guys don't have the extra half second to make a play. They are being forced to think and react quicker, which is leading to growing pains. And, ultimately, less offense.
This may sting right now, but it's something they are going to have to go through to find that next level. It was bound to happen at some point, whether it was now or in a first round playoff series. Unfortunately, they weren't able to create enough separation from the pack while they were hot, so their offense drying up is costing them a chance at a run.
It's not all bad, though.
Silver linings here: while they aren't scoring goals, they have been playing much tighter hockey all around. Their coverage has been noticeably better, and they have been right there in a lot of these games. The growing pains may hurt, but in the long run, I do think this team will be better after having gone through it.
We all wanted meaningful hockey in March and April. This year, we're getting it, and our team is learning what it's going to take to win these games.