Columbus Blue Jackets: The Quarterly Review

It's too funny how timing works. I was crafting an article on the quarterly status report on the Columbus Blue Jackets and my esteemed cohort, Aaron Tom, beat me to the punch—props to you, my friend, great stuff!

I would like, however, to offer my view of how things have gone, or not gone, so far.

The record:  12-8-3.  When you look at it, on the surface, all seems well in the world.  Ed, why are you so cynical?  Ed, why can't you enjoy this great start?  Ed, why didn't you take in enough fiber, this morning?  Gotta work on that last one, but, I digress.

After all, that is, by far, the best start in their history.  However, as I’ve done in other similar articles, you have to look beyond the numbers.

In analyzing the season, I believe there are some disturbing trends, which have occurred.  Yes, the CBJ have posted a winning record; however, when they lose, they usually do so via blowout losses.  When they’ve won, they’ve generally been of the one goal variety, be it in regulation, overtime, or shootout.

Here are some statistics to support my case:

Wins:

Seven wins have been by one goal.

Three wins have been by two goals; however, two of those wins included goals which were empty net goals, when the opposing team had pulled their goaltender in an attempt to tie the score.

The remaining two victories were by identical, 4-1 scores.

Now, the losses—you might want to cover your eyes:

Yes, three of the losses came via the shootout—it’s interesting to note that Steve Mason lost all three shootouts he was involved in, and Mathieu Garon won both shootouts he was involved in, further supporting his 18-4 career shootout record. 

Now, here’s the ugly part:

The eight losses included giving up over an average of six goals per game, 6.375 to be exact.  The only game in which they didn’t give up at least five goals was against Phoenix, and had they not been so offensively-impaired, at least that evening, they certainly could have lit the lamp for several more goals. 

So it’s safe to say that right now the Blue Jackets are not a team that other NHL teams fear will be a tough team to go up against.

Additionally, I will add that of their victories, the majority of them were against teams that were in a funk.

Minnesota, the opening night opponent, is really struggling. Vancouver was a mess coming out of the gate, when the CBJ defeated them in early October. Los Angeles was in the throes of their third game in four nights, having previously played the Red Wings and Rangers, on prior evenings.

Carolina was in the midst of 10 consecutive games without a victory, Anaheim is not the team of seasons past, and Dallas is currently mired in a slump. 

Now, that is not to say there weren’t impressive victories:  defeating Calgary, Washington, and much-improved teams like Atlanta and Phoenix.  Bu, as you can see, when the CBJ lose, they do so by being blown out.

So, what does that tell us?  A few things:

•This team is not adhering to the Ken Hitchcock system of tight checking and staunch defense. This team is also not adhering to such inglorious tasks of getting pucks deep into the opponents zone and playing in a controlled—both offensive and defensive—manner.  They all too often have, to coin what Coach Hitchcock warns against, gotten into a “track meet."

•The defense is suspect.  Yes, the loss of Jan Hejda was a tough blow for the CBJ, particularly during their western road swings, AKA the tennis matches (wins or losses that involved one team scoring six goals). But Hejda was also healthy for four losses in which 27 goals were scored, an average of almost seven goals per blowout loss. 

The defense has also suffered as a result of Mike Commodore still struggling to regain his health and last season’s form—he is currently a shell of his former self.  It has also suffered due to inconsistent play by Fedor Tyutin, Kris Russell, and Rusty Klesla. Anton Stralman, while a surprise on the defensive side, is not known for being a classic stay-at-home defender. 

And let’s face it, the forwards have not been as committed to the defensive side of things as they were last season.  Need proof?  Just look at Rick Nash’s -11 +/- rating, so far, ranking him fourth in that not-so-dubious area.

•The goaltending, particularly Steve Mason, has been far below average.  Mathieu Garon, two games aside, has been pretty steady, whereas Mason, both in Goals Against Average and Save Percentage has been a far cry from the Calder Trophy rookie season.

Yes, there have been glimpses of that rookie season:  saturday’s performance against Nashville, in which he literally stood on his head to basically produce the point they received; his performance in the 4-1 victory against Dallas, although I will contend that he was challenged by less than five scoring chances; and his performance against San Jose, in which he stopped 36 of 38 shots. 

However, for every step and solid performance Mason’s made, there are also several setbacks, like the 9-1 debacle against Detroit and other disappointing performances, far too many to mention.

So, while the optimists will tell you to enjoy the fruits of this rare air of success, I will tell you that there is much work to be done, as this performance, should it continue for much longer, will not cut it in the ever-brutal Western Conference. 

Even in the Blue Jackets' division, a division in which they’ve yet to register a victory, there are no teams that are considered easy wins.  The last time I checked, Detroit is still pretty darn good, Chicago is a rising power, and Nashville has really come on.

And even though St. Louis has been a huge disappointment so far, they also struggled early last season and eventually found their groove. This season, they don’t have the slew of injuries, as was the case last season.

In part two of my quarterly assessment, I will go over the individual players performance, to date.  It will be an interesting read, that much I can tell you.