The Puck (Photo by Elisalou_Designs/Flickr)
By Rick Gethin
Six wins and four losses, 12 points. Second in the Central Division, one point behind Chicago. Ninth overall in the Western Conference. This is the State of the Union Blue 10 games into the season.
These statistics are what they are; nothing more than numbers. You have to dig a little bit deeper to find the true tale of the tape; those four losses were ugly with a capital “U”. Each of those games were lost by 6 goals, for a combined total of 24 goals against. What did Columbus do wrong to lose those games? What has gone right in their six wins?
The Good
When the Blue Jackets are playing “Hitch Hockey” all is well in their world. The scoring threats come from each of the four forward lines. The Coach has mixed up those lines to try and increase the scoring opportunities from time to time. Like a master chef, he’s never satisfied with the staus quo; he needs to tinker with it to get it “just right”.
Blue Jackets Captain, Rick Nash (Photo by Elisalou_Designs/Flickr)
Team captain Rick Nash is off to steady start, going 6-9-15 in 10 games. He’s on pace to top the 100 point plateau for the first time in his career. He scored his 200th career goal Saturday against the Anaheim Ducks. His sole focus after signing the contract extension this summer is on winning. He has blossomed under Ken Hitchcock to become an all-around, elite forward. This season his name should be in the mix for the Frank Selke Trophy, awarded to the top defensive forward. Look for him to have a career year in goals and points.
The checking line of Raffi Torres, Samuel Pahlsson and Derek Dorsett has played very well; shutting down the opposing teams top lines for the most part. This 3rd line has both energy and size. The whirling dervish known as Dorsett is playing a smarter game in his 2nd year with the team, no longer chasing the puck or players all over the ice. Throw in his gritty, agitator role and he is becoming a force on the ice.
A healthy Raffi Torres is showing why GM Scott Howson brought him into the fold; he’s 4-0-4 in 10 games. He finishes his checks, often in a punishing way. His work along the boards is exactly what Ken Hitchcock wants from this team. All four of his goals have come on the power play this season, with one of them being a game-winner. He’s a threat to score better than 25% of the time that he shoots the puck on goal.
- Right winger Jakub Voracek (Photo by Elisalou_Designs/Flickr)
Along with Rostislav Klesla and Jan Hejda, Jakub Voracek makes up the third part of the “Czech Connection”. He’s 4-4-8 through 10 games and currently has a +/- of +4. The extra weight he put on in the off-season has filled out his 6′1″ frame. His game has become more physical as he learns to skate with the added weight. He had the first multi-goal game of his career on Saturday. He’s on pace to have an 8o+ point season; although a more realistic number would be in the 50-60 point range. He finished 1 point behind Rick Nash’s freshman season point total and this year could eclipse Nash’s sophmore total of 57 points. He seems to have found chemistry with center Antoine Vermette on the 2nd line as they both crash the net with regularity. Look for him to set new highs with his goals and points totals this season.
Last years power play was abyssmal, converting at 12% (last in the league) to end the season. They have turned it around this year and are sitting in 9th place league-wide and converting at 23.7%.
The Bad
Injured defenseman Jan Hejda is sorely missed in the line-up. While putting up only 35 points in 168 games with the Blue Jackets, his worth is measured in other ways; most notably an eye-popping +/- of + 51 since joining Columbus in 2007. He is the prototypical shut-down defenseman paired with Mike Commodore.
Kristian Huselius has not found his groove in this new season. He’s 5-4-9 in 10 games but the most glaring aspect of his game lately has been the amount of turnovers he has. For a skilled forward brought in to compliment Rick Nash, he hasn’t been immpressive to this point of the season.
Still having not played a full season in the NHL, center Derick Brassard is still trying to find his game. Recently dropped to the 4th line, he needs to get his confidence back. Ken Hitchcock was quick to point out that this was not punishment, but that they (the coaching staff) might have had higher expectations of Brassard than he could handle this soon. Going up against the top checking lines night after night has taken it’s toll on him. This break from the top line should see him get his confidence back and his game in order.
The penalty kill was leading the league to start the season, but has recently dropped to 12th at 81%. While not horrific, they have shown that they can be league leaders in this category.
Goaltender Steve Mason, fresh off his Calder Trophy winning rookie season, has not looked like the well-oiled machine he needs to be. Is this his sophmore slump? It’s too early to say. He needs to control the rebounds and get his form back to what it was last year.
The Ugly
Defensive breakdowns and turnovers have absolutely hurt this club through 10 games. It’s been painful to watch and was the biggest reason for the four losses to date. While the defensive ccorps has tried to fill the gap left by the injuries to Hejda and Commodore (who just returned to the line-up), they haven’t shut-down the opposing teams; not by a long shot. This is not indicative of a Ken Hitchcock coached team. Despite starting the season 6-4, Hitchcock knows this isn’t good enough, not anymore. “It shows how far we’ve come” he said. “If we don’t win, the coach isn’t happy, the players aren’t happy, the fans aren’t happy. The expectations have come up so high here.”
There you have it folks; the State of the Union Blue. A great start at 6-4, but not the greatest play on the ice. The chemistry needs to gel now for this club to meet the expectations of the Blue Jackets faithful.
Rick Gethin is the Associate Editor of The Hockey Writers and also the Columbus Blue Jackets correspondent.
I Hope you enjoyed this post. As always, leaving a comment below is both appreciated and encouraged. Thanks!
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