Can The Blue Jackets Stop The Bleeding?

Kris Russell (Photo by Dave Gainer/The Hockey Writers)

By Rick Gethin

“We’re not doing those things in the competitve area that you need to do.” Columbus Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock after losing 4-1 to the Phoenix Coyotes.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have given up 30 goals in the last 6 games while only scoring 20 of their own. That’s no way to win hockey games, and Ken Hitchcock knows it. The team is making too many plays with the puck versus putting it on net and digging out the dirty goal. It almost seems as if they want to make the perfect pass. Well, let me tell you that if you shoot the puck, good things will happen. They are giving opposing goalies too much time to set up to stop their attempts at getting a shot through to the net. They have yet to “pepper” the netminder with shots. It’s a simple numbers game; the more shots on goal, the better your chances of one getting through.

The Blue Jackets ship seems listless; there is no wind in these sails. Rarely have they played 60 minutes of consistant hockey. When they have, it’s come in fits and spurts. They are taking penalties at very inopportune times. “I think that one of the biggest things right now is that we’re taking some penalties, kind of at the wrong times” said Marc Methot. “It’s taken us out of the games. We’re losing alot of momentum and getting tired; essentially you have the same guys always defending on the PK. Obviously that’s not the only reason, but that’s one of our main concerns right now.” He hit the proverbial nail on the head. They have identified what’s wrong; they just haven’t fixed it yet. Yes, it’s still early in the season, but they need to make these corrections now and not in January. If they wait until then, they’ll be playing “catch-up”; not a position they want to be in. Ken Hitchcock doesn’t want to be changing the play of the club half-way through the season, still trying to find a way that works. “You don’t ever want to get to the point that you have to make adjustments”, Methot said. “We’d much rather have these problems right now, right at the start of the season. We want to be at the top (of the standings), it’s a pride thing. Especially with this organization, being a newer team in the NHL, we want to get our name up there.”

Kristian Huselius has been lackluster this season even with a 5-4-9 start (Photo by Dave Gainer/The Hockey Writers)

The penalty kill has gone steadily downhill after leading the league to start the season, with 3 power play goals allowed Wednesday against the Coyotes. The Blue Jacket power play, which had been getting better, seems to have stagnated. The mood in the locker room reflects this somewhat downward spiral. “We’re not handling the adversity the way we have in the past”, opined RJ Umberger. “We’ve got to find a way to be better.”

The blame cannot be put squarely on just one segment of the team. Offense and defense, goaltending or special teams; they all have to share the blame. RJ Umberger again, “We’ve let games slip away where we’ve had the lead. It’s sometimes not about wins. We know the way we’ve played lately, that’s not good enough to get us wins. It’s about doing the right things”, he said. If the season were to end right now, we’d get destroyed in the playoffs. We’re not good enough right now.” This comes from arguably the conscience of the team. He wears his heart on his sleeve and takes every loss hard.

It’s time for the Blue Jackets to stand up and say “enough”. They know what is working and, right now, that isn’t much. The expectations are so much higher this season than last. They know it and feel it. 6 of the next 9 games are at home, where they have been good. As they hover just above .500 at 6-5, they must take the reigns and right the ship. Squeaking into the playoffs will not be good enough. They have to stop the bleeding and make a statement now. They’ve battled through adversity before; they need to find the fortitude to do it again.

Rick Gethin is the Associate Editor of The Hockey Writers and also the Columbus Blue Jackets correspondent.