To say the Columbus Blue Jackets have struggled to start the 2022-23 NHL regular season would be an understatement.
The club is one of just seven pointless teams in the NHL. Through three games, they've failed to score more than two goals in a game and have been unable to allow fewer than four. They've lost by three goals in each game.
Some of these struggles have been a misfortune. Who could have imagined that Patrik Laine, minutes after scoring the team's first goal of the season, would be injured and would be out of the lineup for 3-4 weeks? Or that starting netminder Elvis Merzlikins would be held out of the first two games due to an illness? Even by Blue Jackets standards, that's bad luck.
On the other hand, many struggles have been just that - struggles.
Here are three areas where the club has been unable to play to even an average standard, and some thoughts on potential fixes:
Defensive Woes Persist
Let's get the excuse out of the way right away - Carolina, Tampa Bay, and St. Louis are three of the top teams in the NHL. All three come in waves offensively.
But the results through three games are troubling. The article written after the first game could have basically been copied and pasted for the last two, as well. The cliff notes are the club has been sloppy on breakouts, easy to play against in transition, and concedes way too many shots and high-danger chances against.
Per NaturalStatTrick, the club is bottom five in the league in scoring chances against per 60 minutes, high-danger chances against/60, and goals against/60. On an individual basis, it's hard to know where to point blame: all six defenders that have played have bumbled, though some more than others.
Just the 37 minutes as you see. But unpleasant ones so far for Columbus. pic.twitter.com/klbIvYJJAE
— Micah Blake McCurdy (@IneffectiveMath) October 15, 2022
Erik Gudbranson has tallied a 24.55% CF% (shot share) at 5v5. Jake Bean (34.83%), Andrew Peeke (40.19%), Zach Werenski (41.13%), and Vladislav Gavrikov (41.28%) are also getting caved in. Adam Boqvist is nearly at breakeven, but when the highest shot-share defenseman on the team is at 48.10%, it's hard to be optimistic.
The coaching staff acknowledged a new system would be implemented this year. I'd like to see other defensemen, namely Nick Blankenburg (immediately), but also others like David Jiricek, Jake Christiansen, and even Gavin Bayreuther (in the near future) should at least get a shot. Are they the solution? Probably not. Is the current setup working out? Definitely not.
Poor Goaltending
Hard not to feel for Daniil Tarasov, who was thrust into game action on opening day without much of a warning. In a perfect world, Tarasov would be playing games in the AHL for another year, not against the NHL's elite. He actually performed admirably against the Hurricanes, conceding only one regrettable goal. Against Tampa, he wasn't as sharp, and the Lightning exposed him. In his only game of the season, Merzlikins was inadequate against the Blues.
Per Hockey-Reference, the Blue Jackets netminders have conceded 12 goals, whereas their expected goals-against should be closer to 9. Obviously, small sample size. On an individual basis, the two goalies rank 40th and 50th out of 54 qualifying goalies in goals saved above average.
For a team with bad defense, there isn't much margin for error for goalies. So far, the goalies have not been able to save (pun intended) the defense. The hope is that Tarasov can continue to develop and become a solid NHL-level goalie. Unlike with the defensemen, there isn't much hope for a quick fix here.
Lack Of A Scoring Threat
I like Justin Danforth, so this isn't intended to be disparaging. But the fact that Danforth was on the club's top power-play unit on a 5-on-3 against the Lightning says everything you would need to know about the state of the team.
Yes, Johnny Gaudreau is a legitimate goal-scorer. He scored 40 goals last year. But he's a playmaker first. Jakub Voracek had just six goals last year. Kent Johnson profiles similarly to Gaudreau in terms of being a pass-first puck transporter.
So who is the shooting threat in Laine's absence? Yegor Chinakhov? Is that the list?
To me, the obvious resolution is to call up Kirill Marchenko from AHL Cleveland. He should have been with the club from Day 1, and that he has tallied three goals and an assist in just two games with the Monsters is just additional evidence that he's more than ready for the NHL. Take Mathieu Olivier out of the lineup and see what Marchenko can do with an opportunity.
The Blue Jackets have a long list of fixes that need to be addressed. Luckily for them (or not, I suppose), they have a long time horizon to fix them. The club has a long break between their Saturday loss and Tuesday night's affair against the Vancouver Canucks, who, by the way, is 0-2-0, to tackle some of these issues. Let's see if they are able to right the ship.
