Another week, another edition of the Union Junction podcast, which is your home at The Hockey Writers for everything Columbus Blue Jackets related. On this week’s show, Nicholas Arnold and Mark Scheig get into a lot of different topics surrounding the Jackets over the last week, including a star player hurt, another star struggling, one line that’s been hot, and much more. Here’s a breakdown of the topics.
Patrik Laine Hurt… Again
It’s been a tough season staying healthy for Blue Jackets’ star Patrik Laine. The Finn was taken out early in the season on an illegal hit from Calgary Flames’ Rasmus Andersson, and after missing nine games he battled back into the lineup. It’s been a tough stretch since then, including a healthy scratch, but after receiving another tough hit, he’s on the IR again and is expected to miss six weeks with a broken clavicle.
It’s fair to wonder if the Blue Jackets will ever see the Laine who scored 40 goals with the Winnipeg Jets, and even if he’ll ever play a full 82-game season – considering his injury history.
Johnny Gaudreau’s Struggles Continue
Johnny Gaudreau is another highly-paid Blue Jacket struggling in the 2023-24 season. He hit a major milestone this week, his 700th point in Dec. 16’s game against the New Jersey Devils. However, the milestone moment was completely overshadowed by a terrible turnover leading to a goal against earlier in the game that set the team on a losing trajectory.
Gaudreau has had inconsistent, underperforming campaigns in the past. With only 17 points through his first 32 games of the season, the question pondered is: Is this simply an ‘off’ season for Gaudreau?
No Lead Is Safe With The Blue Jackets
Another near meltdown for the Blue Jackets on Dec. 14, as they blew a 5-0 lead in the third period and let the Toronto Maple Leafs force overtime. While Columbus came out on top, the process of getting there is cause for concern.
Related: Blue Jackets Lack of Progress Most Concerning Part of Season
The Blue Jackets have scored the first goal of the game 18 times so far in 2023-24. While not every lead is sustainable, the team has lost 15 of those games. There are a few possible causes. One is a systems problem and players are sitting back because they don’t want to be the one that makes the big mistake. Maybe players are timid following the tear that head coach Pascal Vincent was on of dropping the hammer on players who weren’t playing up to standard. Regardless, this is something the team must address or they’ll continue to be left behind.
Blue Jackets’ Russian Line Has Been A Bright Spot
A beacon of light in a season of darkness has been the Blue Jackets’ line of young Russian players. Kirill Marchenko, Dmitri Voronkov, and Yegor Chinakhov have been a terrific trio and the best forward line over the past several weeks. It’s particularly good news following rumors of Chinakhov not being happy with his situation and Voronkov considering a return to Russia as he was feeling homesick.
The line is getting more ice time, as exhibited in Dec. 16’s game which had all three members among the top five in ice time among forwards. Marchenko led the way with 20:52, followed by Chinakhov with 19:20, and Voronkov was fifth with 17:42. They have been the team’s hot hand as of late. Looking forward, it will be interesting to see how long they can sustain the flame of this hot streak.
Other topics discussed in the show include:
- Justin Danforth’s increased ice time
- Blue Jackets’ lack of progress in 2023-24
- Mark’s one-on-one interview with Adam Fantilli
- Nicholas’ first Blue Jackets’ game this week – against the Washington Capitals on Dec. 21 (seated in section 202, row A if you want to say hi)
- Listener questions
Union Junction will be off next week for a holiday break but will be back around the start of the new year with more Blue Jackets coverage. You can find the podcast on Spotify and Apple Music. Be sure to subscribe so you never miss a new episode.