An October to forget.
After an exciting off-season that included landing Johnny Gaudreau, the top free agent on the market, expectations were high for the Blue Jackets heading into 2022-23.
"We expect to make the playoffs every year," general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said at pre-training camp media availability. "That's a goal that we always have here."
Heading into November, making the playoffs looks like a pipe dream. This team looks closer to playing its way into the Conor Bedard sweepstakes than one of the 16 teams that have the chance to win the Stanley Cup starting in the Spring.
For starters, they are 0/25 on the power play, which set a new franchise record for the worst start to a season on the man advantage. They are the only team in the NHL that hasn't scored a power-play goal.
There it is, folks. Without a power play goal on their second opportunity of the night, the #CBJ are now 0-22 on the season on the man-advantage. That breaks the record for the worst start to the power play in club history.
— CBJ Stats (@BlueJacketStats) October 29, 2022
The short-handed goal was an extra gut punch.
The Jackets are tied for the 10th-best penalty kill in the league, which may be one of the few bright spots this season. Unfortunately, if your power play doesn't score, your penalty kill has to be perfect, and it hasn't been.
The team's even-strength play hasn't been great, either. According to naturalstattrick.com, they've posted the third-worst five-on-five expected goals against and the ninth-worst five-on-five xGF% in the NHL. Couple that with an abysmal power play and you're not going to get many Ws.
They also don't have a player that is averaging a point per game. Gaudreau is the team's leading scorer with eight points in 10 games. Patrik Laine missed six games with an elbow sprain and hasn't been at his best since returning, failing to register a point in three games. It's not an excuse for Laine, but, understandably, he may just need to play more before he's at his best.
The defense hasn't been any better than it was last year, either. Of the 161 defensemen in the NHL that have played at least 100 minutes at five-on-five, Zach Werenski, Andrew Peeke, Vladislav Gavrikov, Jake Bean, and Erik Gudbranson rank 66th, 84th, 142nd, 144th, and 157th, respectively, in scoring chance percentage (SCF%). When you look at those five defensemen in terms of xGF%, Werenski ranks 51st, Peeke 63rd, Gavrikov 138th, Bean 153rd, and Gudbranson 158th.
Yes, the defense has been dreadful, but it's not like the goaltending has helped either. Elvis Merzlikins has -9.2 goals saved above expected, which is the worst in the league by 2.7, per moneypuck.com. Daniil Tarasov slots in at 19th-worst with -1.9 goals saved above expected. In fairness to them, the defense hasn't helped them out, but they've allowed too many goals that NHL goalies can't allow.
Smooth Swiss King pic.twitter.com/QCyWp9GI77
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) October 30, 2022
So now what? The team is in Finland to take on the defending-champion Colorado Avalanche in a pair of games on Nov. 4-5. They beat Colorado in both meetings last year, but who knows what will happen this time around. Maybe the trip overseas was exactly what this team needed and they'll come back and go on a winning streak. Maybe not, though, and if the first 10 games are any indication, this is the beginning of a long season in Columbus.
If you're a fan of this team and still expect them to make the playoffs, the season may be even longer for you. My advice would be to lower your expectations and try to focus on the positives of what has been a nightmare-ish start.
The games in Finland on Friday and Saturday both begin at 2 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on NHL Network, Bally Sports Ohio, and 97.1 FM on Friday and 105.7 FM on Saturday.
