Not good, but better.
That kind of sums up the 2022-23 Columbus Blue Jackets two months into the season.
If you're also a frequenter of Blue Jackets postgames with Brian Giesenschlag and Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre on Bally Sports Ohio, you've heard head coach Brad Larsen and players in more recent days talk about their team in a more encouraging light.
"Great effort, I've got zero issue with our play tonight," Larsen said following Monday's loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.
"Lot of good things from our group," Boone Jenner said following Monday's loss. "You can see it in our play and all over the ice. In our (defensive) zone and getting out and getting our forecheck. Again tonight, I thought it was a good effort."
"I think we've done a good job eliminating our turnovers after that Detroit (Red Wings) game and our goaltending has been outstanding. We're playing better than what we have in the past," Johnny Gaudreau said following the loss to the New York Islanders on Nov. 25.
They're not wrong. The results might not always translate into the optimum result—wins—but the Blue Jackets have played undeniably better than their initial October swoon out of the gate.
After an 0-3-0 start, 3-7-0 October, and 3-9-0 mark following their trip to Finland in early November, the sirens were going off all around the fanbase. Some were clamoring for Larsen's job. Patrik Laine said he wished the team never made the trip back to his home country after being outscored by an 11-4 margin by the Colorado Avalanche in Finland. It felt like DEFCON red for the union blue and goal red Blue Jackets.
#CBJ Patrik Laine after losing both #NHLGlobalSeries games to #GoAvsGo:
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) November 5, 2022
It sucks. Im kind of wishing that this trip had never happened after this. I feel like it was just a waste of time for us. It sucks. Thats all Ive got to say.
Of course, the optimism heading into the season was through the roof after the club scored the deal of the off-season with Gaudreau's signing. After finishing slightly above expectations last season, and while playoffs might have been a lofty goal this season, no one was expecting quite the type of start the team endured out of the gate. We did write about their early-season test before the games got underway in October.
For the month of November, the Blue Jackets finished 4-5-2, which includes the two neutral site losses against the defending champion Avalanche in Tampere, and a season-long six-game-turned-seven-game homestand after last weekend's game against the Nashville Predators was postponed.
During the month, they mounted impressive victories over the slumping Philadelphia Flyers, Montreal Canadiens, and Florida Panthers. They lost hard-fought games to the Islanders in overtime, another at home that came up short of earning a point, the Canadiens in regulation, and the Golden Knights in a shootout. They were blown out by the Detroit Red Wings which showed how bad things can still get for the team, making the next night's victory over Florida all the more surprising. Especially considering the Panthers outshot Columbus 50-23 in the Nov. 20 contest.
Throughout November, the team made some considerable strides, all while losing player after player to injury, including losing Laine twice this season to separate injuries, Zach Werenski for the season, and Nick Blankenburg for an extended period of time, further crippling the blue line with Adam Boqvist and Jake Bean also on the shelf.
Things have certainly been a mixed bag but there's been some good to go with that bad.
One silver lining has been the addition of Marcus Bjork who has played admirably on the blue line in a pinch. Offensive chemistry has flourished between Gaudreau and Jenner. Joonas Korpisalo and Daniil Tarasov have played well enough in the net on most nights while Elvis Merzlikins dealt with early-season struggles and a lower-body injury.
With Thursday's news that Merzlikins—along with Laine—has been activated off injured reserve ahead of Friday's game against the Winnipeg Jets, and Tarasov being sent back to Cleveland, we'll see how this transpires for the Jackets in goal moving forward.
After two woeful franchise-firsts for the team on the power play, the units have actually turned a corner.
Two #CBJ franchise records set already this season:
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) October 29, 2022
- most games at start of season without a power play goal (8+)
- most power play opportunities without scoring at the start of the season (0 for 21).
From zero percent in October to a top-five power play for the month of November (29.6%, 8-for-27), they still had the second-fewest power play opportunities per game (2.45) in the month of any team which really makes converting that much more of a premium. Overall, they're 30th on the man-advantage (15.4%) with some pretty good teams just ahead of them like the Pittsburgh Penguins, Carolina Hurricanes, and Panthers in their sights.
The penalty kill could be better, checking in at 16th (79.0%) on the season, but it hasn't dipped much since its 81.3% mark in October. In November they were 79.4%.
In October, the Blue Jackets scored 2.60 goals per game (28th) and gave up a league-worst 4.40 goals per game. In November, their offense improved to 18th (3.09) while their goals allowed improved to 27th (3.82). Overall, they are 24th in goals per game (2.86) and 31st in goals given up (4.10).
Perhaps this team with a fully healthy roster through this point is in the thick of the wild-card chase. Maybe once they get some guys back, they mount one of its furious comebacks as they've done throughout their history in recent seasons like when they finished the 2014-15 season on a 15-1-1 run, and in 2019-20 when they went on a 19-2-5 run following an 11-14-4 start.
And maybe, despite the injuries, which have completely changed the shape of the season, the roster is still too flawed to represent any semblance of a contender.
When the Jackets added Gaudreau, they added to an offense that scored a franchise-high 258 goals last season, but had a 2.71 xGF/60 per Evolving-Hockey which was 26th in the league (all situations), and did little to address their defense. While Larsen takes heat for the initial bad start, he's forced to dress the players with whom he has to work with. Based on whom Jarmo Kekalainen acquires before—and during—the season and who's healthy now.
The conversations and criticisms Larsen has faced are valid. Notably with how he deploys his players in specific game situations while simultaneously trying to develop young talent.
Barring another mid-season miracle rally, the team just isn't good enough to seriously contend. In part because of the early-season hole dug in October, the injuries plaguing the team now, and mainly the fact that the roster needs more talent and production at center, in goal, and on the blue line.
Added a new chart to the projected standings page https://t.co/imgpqkgZYX pic.twitter.com/XjS7DDofOC
— dom (@domluszczyszyn) November 29, 2022
Even though legendary Hall of Fame head coach Bill Parcells has a point when he said, "you are what your record says you are," the Blue Jackets are probably slightly better than their record indicates.
We covered the inconsistencies at center, the improved goaltender play—notably between Korpisalo and Tarasov—and the surprises on the blue line, which are all combinations that helped lead this team to a 4-3-2 November mark. Better than 3-7-0, and right around the type of .500 hockey we saw last season from this group, minus a lot of key regulars from a season ago.
