Through their first 8 games of the season, the Columbus Blue Jackets own a perfectly mid record. They are 4-4-0, with 8 points; which has them in a four-way tie for last place in the Eastern Conference.
To be fair, they have played fewer games than the other three teams they are tied with. But, it's not a stretch to say that this isn't the start we all envisioned for the Jackets this season, even considering their tough gauntlet of opponents.
Outside of the last two games, where they've surrendered a combined 9 goals against the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins; their defense has been pretty solid.
In fact, heading into that game against the Capitals on Friday night; the Jackets had surrendered the fewest number of even strength goals in the entire NHL.
Before those two high scoring games, the Jackets had only allowed 15 goals in 6 games (2.5 per game). So, as long as the defense and goaltending can get back onto that track, they are doing fine in those categories.
Their metrics in the defensive zone have actually been improving, as our Mike Stump pointed out on X. We just have to have short memories and erase this last weekend, when the games got out of hand.
Where the team has struggled, surprisingly, has been on the offensive side of the puck. After they finish as one of the highest scoring teams in the league last season, we did not see this coming.
As of this morning, the Blue Jackets sit 20th in the NHL in average goals scored. This does not track with the way the team has played. They have been particularly strong at 5 on 5, carrying a lot of the pace in most of their games.
They sit 4th in the league in shots on goal (averaging 32.9). The only teams with more are the Carolina Hurricanes (34.1), Colorado Avalanche (33.8) and Anaheim Ducks (33.4).
The Hurricanes have the third highest goals scored average, while the Ducks (5th) and Avalanche (13th) also sit in the upper half of the league. They are getting rewarded for their efforts more regularly than the Blue Jackets.
So, why has this team's offense sputtered out of the gate? It's not difficult to see, and it's probably only a couple of simple adjustments away from being very, very good.
Greasy goals are on sale: two for the price of one.
The answer is clear and simple: they aren't getting to the net. At least, not with the frequency that they got to the net last season.
The Blue Jackets had the 7th-best offense in the league last year, because they made it difficult for the opposing team's goaltender. They aren't doing that enough so far this year.
Worse, on a handful of occasions where they've gotten to the net, they have seen goals called back. Multiple times due to goaltender interference. One kicked in, and another that was, uh...illegally directed in off of Dmitri Voronkov's chest (still confused about that one).
It's a fine line that they need to learn how to walk: getting to the front of the net and causing disruption, but not enough to draw a penalty or have a goal get waived off.
The result early this season, has been a very average record, despite some pretty solid overall play. In fact, the Jackets are hanging right in there with some of the league's most advanced teams from an xGF/xGA perspective:
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) October 26, 2025
Another area where the lack of a net-front presence really stands out is on the power-play. They have just 3 power-play goals through 8 games, with one coming off of a rush play.
The other two? One was a Kirill Marchenko one-timer in the second game of the season, in Minnesota. Notice where Boone Jenner is here? The other was a faceoff play where Boone went right to the net and scored off of his skate.
It's not difficult to run an effective power-play in the NHL. Of course, it requires skill, hard work, and puck retrievals. But, unless you have an elite shooter who is almost automatic like Alex Ovechkin or, dare I say Patrik Laine: you have to get bodies in front of the net.
Goaltenders in this league are too good, and they are going to stop any perimeter shots that they can see. The next step in the evolution of the Blue Jackets, is getting back to the basics that won for them last year.
Bodies to the net. Pucks to the point, and shots through traffic. Deflections, rebounds, whatever it takes to score the greasy goal. That's it. That's really all they need to do to get their offensive game going again.
If they can keep defending well, continue to get strong goaltending, and find this offensive game: then the sky is the limit for this team. Hopefully, they can put it all together soon.