The Columbus Blue Jackets could not overcome a slow start on Saturday night. This trend came back to doom them in their 3-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild on home ice.
Yegor Chinakhov scored their only goal late in the third period to spoil Filip Gustavsson’s shutout. Outside of a couple stretches midway through the game, the Wild were the better team.
The game showed for the first time this season what some nights could look like for the Blue Jackets. With so many key players out of the lineup, head coach Dean Evason had to put a patchwork lineup together. This trend will continue for the foreseeable future while players continue their recovery.
Not Making Excuses
Despite missing players, the Blue Jackets will not make excuses. They believe there are still plenty of good players in the locker room that can go out and execute.
Defenseman Zach Werenski immediately pointed to himself when describing why Saturday night went the way it did. He knows he has to be a difference maker. He opened admitted he didn’t have it against the Wild.
“I think it starts with me trying to drive the play more,” Werenski said. “And I just wasn’t there tonight.”
Adam Fantilli pointed to the start of the game. The Wild outshot the Blue Jackets 14-4 in the first period. From the start, it appeared the Blue Jackets weren’t ready at puck drop.
“I think it was all on our start, to be honest,” Fantilli said. “The first period wasn’t great. We found a little bit in the second and third. But in the NHL, it’s too late.”
The Blue Jackets did hold a 12-6 shot advantage in the second period and only trailed 1-0 going into the third. But the Wild got an extended two-man advantage that Kirill Kaprizov scored on in five seconds to make it 2-0. Then Mats Zuccarello found a lane to make it 3-0.
Evason also looked at the start as a reason for Saturday night’s result.
“It’s on all of us,” Evason said. “If we’re not ready to play, it’s on me. It’s on the coaches. It’s on the players. There was one guy ready to go and that was our goaltender. And if he wasn’t ready, we should have been probably 6-0 after the first period.”
3 Needed Trends
The Blue Jackets have said they don’t want a game like Saturday to happen again. If they’re going to accomplish that task, there are things they must do.
In light of who’s currently available and who’s not, here are three trends the Blue Jackets must have as they navigate this difficult injury situation.
Best Players Must Lead by Example
Werenski alluded to this in his comments. He pointed the finger directly at himself for not doing enough. If they Blue Jackets want to prevent games like Saturday again, the entire team needs to point at themselves and do more.
In particular, the top line of Chinakhov, Sean Monahan and Kirill Marchenko will have to lead the way on offense. Then their young talent must step up too. Fantilli and Cole Sillinger need to lead in this area.
The Blue Jackets are going to have to take a committee approach with so many guys missing. But if each can do their part on their own lines, that’s what will benefit the team.
Defense & Goaltending
Tarasov was the Blue Jackets’ best player on Saturday night. The team was one shot away from a tie going into the third. Consistent goaltending and an improved defense is the second trend needed to overcome the injuries.
While Tarasov played well, the defense is still a question mark overall. Five games into the season, the Blue Jackets have allowed at least three goals in each game. They’ve allowed 18 goals in their five games.
The Blue Jackets played 11-7 on Saturday night with David Jiricek making his season debut. While Jiricek played fine, the unit as a whole is still a work in progress.
If the Blue Jackets want to win games, it has to start with goal prevention. That won’t be easy as their next game is Tuesday night when they host the high-powered Toronto Maple Leafs.
On Saturday night, penalties and turnovers led to the Wild goals. The Blue Jackets must limit these mistakes if they want to find success.
Must Be Hardest Working Team
The Blue Jackets have vowed to be the hardest-working team on the ice in a given night. On Saturday, that wasn’t the case. It immediately caught Evason’s attention.
“When we work our butts off for most nights, we give ourselves a chance for most nights,” Evason said about his team after five games. “Even though we lose this game, we still had an opportunity. They scored a 5-on-3 goal to make it 2-1. So we were hanging around even with a poor start. We were caught the first 20 minutes and we still gave ourselves an opportunity. Our group has to have that. But again, that no-quit mentality and that play the same way, but we need to play the same way for 60 minutes, not just 40.”
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The Blue Jackets have to find a way to consistently outwork teams. While that won’t happen every night, it has to happen on a majority of nights to give themselves a chance to win. While it doesn’t make up for who’s not in the lineup, this must become their identity as is.
If the Blue Jackets want to stay competitive in these games, these three mentioned trends must be at the center of what they do. Work hard, lead by example and goal prevention will dictate how the season will unfold.
If any of these lack, the results will show it.