Another Union Junction from The Hockey Writers’ Mark Scheig and me – Nicholas Arnold. In 47 minutes, we covered a myriad of topics, including a tough stretch for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Despite a record of above .500 briefly at the start of the month, the team has plummeted in the standings with six straight losses in November.
After a shocking discovery about Mark and the Hawk Tuah girl, we did a brief recap of the first 15 games. We went over a little about who has stood out, good and bad, for the Blue Jackets. We discussed the pickup of defenseman Dante Fabbro off waivers, the latest in the David Jiricek saga, and we talked goaltending. Then we close with your listener questions, including: Is it time for a Blue Jackets Tankathon in 2024-25?
Blue Jackets’ Defense or Goaltending: Which is the Problem?
A tough question to answer over the last several seasons has been the Blue Jackets’ leaky defense and goaltending. It’s been questioned ad nauseum. Is the team’s remarkable goals against stat due to a lack of a structured defensive system, or is it a personnel issue – be it on defense or between the pipes? That’s a question we explored and decided that both are likely to blame.
While we don’t quite have the sample size to determine if head coach Dean Evason’s new system is making enough of a dent in the team’s overall defensive play, the returns are not favorable in terms of goaltending. Of the goalies who have played at least five games in the NHL this season, Elvis Merzlikins‘ .896 save percentage (SV%) ranks 36th, and Daniil Tarasov’s .865 SV% ranks 50th. It’s certainly not the start that Columbus was hoping for from their netminders.
Related: Blue Jackets’ Claim of Dante Fabbro Will Force Roster Decisions
Personnel-wise, the team hasn’t necessarily set themselves up for complete success. Their defenders aren’t particularly well renowned for defensive responsibility, nor are their goaltenders believed to be the second coming of Dominik Hasek. I’ll have a piece coming out on this just around the corner, so stay tuned for more on this.
Blue Jackets’ Top Players Coming Back to Earth
Early on, we saw an explosion of offense from the Blue Jackets. Yegor Chinakhov led the way with an impressive seven points in five games. We also saw brief breakouts in production from Kent Johnson, who has been injured of late, and Sean Monahan. Enforcer Mathieu Olivier has almost hit his career-high in goals through less than a quarter of the season.
Pick a name on the Blue Jackets roster, and they were likely off to a great start. Adam Fantilli, Justin Danforth, James van Riemsdyk, the list goes on. They were all hot to open the season but have cooled since the calendar turned to November. Since Nov. 1, Cole Sillinger has zero points in six games and is tied with Danforth for a team-worst minus-9 rating.
The team’s production from their top players has dropped off a cliff – aside from Kirill Marchenko, who has been their most consistent player this season. These are the team’s top four scorers since Nov. 1.
- Kirill Marchenko – 6 games played (GP), 2 goals (G), 2 assists (A)
- Sean Kuraly – 6 GP, 2 G, 1 A
- Zach Aston-Reese – 5 GP, 1 G, 2 A
- Kevin Labanc – 4 GP, 1 G, 2 A
Nothing against Kuraly, Aston-Reese, or Labanc, but the latter two weren’t even on the Blue Jackets during training camp, and that’s because they were either placed on waivers or still an unsigned free agent still hoping for a team to take a chance on them. For the Blue Jackets’ current core players to be outscored by those players for almost a tenth of the season… Woof.
Other Topics Explored in this Podcast
- Is Boone Jenner’s absence as captain affecting this recent skid?
- The Blue Jackets depth players’ production
- David Jiricek’s descent down the depth chart
- Dean Evason’s first 15 games as head coach
- Cayden Lindstom’s injury rehab process
- Blue Jackets’ prospects and their start to the season
The Columbus Blue Jackets continue this month with back-to-back games at home against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Nov. 15 and on the road against the Montreal Canadiens on Nov. 16. For the Blue Jackets to be playing meaningful games late in the season, they’ll have to get some points in the standings through those games. Union Junction will be back with another episode next Thursday.
