The Columbus Blue Jackets hosted their home opener on Monday night (Oct. 13) against the New Jersey Devils. They’d ultimately end up falling to the Devils, with a final score of 3-2. Despite the loss, there were some positive takeaways from the night, and one major negative.
Special Teams Need Major Improvement
It seems like an annual discussion, but the Blue Jackets’ power play needed to take advantage of their abundance of opportunities in the first period. Entering the night, the Blue Jackets had a power play percentage of 25%, which put them eighth in the NHL. While that sounds great on paper, they had scored one goal on four attempts. Meanwhile, their penalty kill was second-worst with a 58.3% efficiency rate, ahead of just the Washington Capitals.
Miles Wood was injured by a Dougie Hamilton high-stick, which gave the Blue Jackets a four-minute man advantage, and they didn’t convert. Then, Mathieu Olivier drew a hooking penalty after being taken down by Brett Pesce. Again, the Blue Jackets didn’t convert, and the power play was cut short by Adam Fantilli taking a hooking penalty of his own. After a short spell of four-on-four hockey, the Devils almost instantly took advantage of their first power play opportunity, and Timo Meier made it 1-0 even though the Blue Jackets had been dominating play. Just like that, the season PP% was down to 14.2% and the PK% was down to an abysmal 53.8% after just 20 minutes.
The Blue Jackets’ penalty kill continued to struggle in the second period, as Dawson Mercer regained the Devils’ lead while Cole Sillinger sat in the penalty box.
Every special teams opportunity went the Devils’ way throughout the night, as the Blue Jackets finished the game 0/5 on the power play, and the Devils scored on both of their man advantages.
Marchenko and Voronkov’s Hot Starts Continue
Kirill Marchenko scored a hat trick when the Blue Jackets defeated the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night. He continued that momentum against the Devils. The Russian winger took the puck off of Jack Hughes’ stick, creating a breakaway for himself. He was able to beat Devils netminder Jake Allen, and scored what was, at the time, a crucial equalizer for Columbus.
Dmitri Voronkov chipped in his second goal of the season moments after the Devils scored an empty-net goal to extend the lead. The goal left Devils’ goaltender Jacob Markstrom, who entered the game after Allen left due to cramps, shaken up, but he remained in the game. Voronkov is on pace for a breakout season, as he has four points in three games to kick off the campaign.
Greaves Proving Evason Right
The Blue Jackets’ goaltending was a major weak spot last season and, ultimately, it can be said that goaltending cost the team a playoff spot during the 2024-25 season. Head coach Dean Evason made a shocking move deciding to start rookie goaltender Jet Greaves on opening night, and he gave him the nod once again in the home opener.
Despite a 0-2-0 record following the loss to New Jersey, Greaves has played phenomenally so far this season. Through his first two games, Greaves now boasts a .932 save percentage and 2.06 goals-against average.
Veteran goaltender Elvis Merzlikins also had a strong performance in his only outing of the season, meaning the Blue Jackets’ goaltending battle will be something to keep an eye on moving forward.
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The Blue Jackets have now fallen to a 1-2-0 record; however, that doesn’t tell the entire story. They’ve been competitive in every game this season and actually boast a positive goal differential through three games. As a result, if they continue playing like they did on Monday and clean up certain aspects of their game, they’ll likely have a very strong season.
