Blue Jackets suddenly taking plenty of penalties
One of the Blue Jackets’ stark improvements this season has been their discipline. The sloppy penalties caused by being out of position defensively, and the senseless penalties born of frustration, have been sharply reduced.
But you would never know it the last two games.
The Blue Jackets overcame being short-handed eight times, a season-high, on Monday in a 5-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. But the Jackets didn’t survive Saturday, when they took
28 penalty minutes, were short-handed five times, and lost 5-3 in Buffalo. The Sabres scored two powerplay goals.
“Too many penalties,” center Brandon Dubinsky said after Monday’s win. “We’re not going to win too many games playing with fire like that. We have to focus on our discipline and get back to playing our style of game.”
The Blue Jackets mostly have balanced being one of the league’s most physical, aggressive teams without being among the most penalized. In fact, they are on pace for 727 penalty minutes this season, which would be the fewest in a full season in franchise history — by 183 minutes.
More specifically, the Blue Jackets were short-handed 279 times last season, fifth most in the NHL. This season, they’ve been down a skater 186 times, the fifth fewest times.
“We’ve been a pretty smart team,” right wing Cam Atkinson said. “I don’t know what has gone on these last two games, but it’s something we have to get back to with our game. This time of year, the mistakes and the penalties get magnified. We don’t want to develop bad habits.”
Atkinson also had a cheeky retort to why the Blue Jackets have loaded up on penalty minutes the last two games.
“Maybe (the refs) don’t like us,” he said.
The Blue Jackets killed seven of eight penalties Monday against the Flyers on Monday, but a 2-0 lead turned into a 3-2 deficit when Brayden Schenn scored a power-play goal and Travis Konecny added a goal just 33 seconds after a Flyers’ four-minute power play had ended.
“That’s kind of a double kick in the teeth,” coach John Tortorella said. “You take four minutes, you kill it off and then they score. It could deflate a team, but instead we just kept going.”
El presidente
The Blue Jackets are in third place in the Metropolitan Division but just four points away from having the best overall record in the NHL.
That’s how jam-packed the Metro is these days. First-place Washington beat West-leading Minnesota 4-2 on Tuesday and has a leaguehigh 97 points. Second-place Pittsburgh (95) and Columbus (94) didn’t play.
It seems almost inconceivable that a club which finished fourth-worst in the NHL last season would have a chance at the President’s Trophy, but that’s what the Blue Jackets are targeting.
“Washington is right there,” Dubinsky said. “We’re right in their rearview mirror. We’re going to keep pushing and try to catch those guys.”
Slap shots
There are three clubs that have never finished below the Blue Jackets in the NHL’s overall standings: Boston, the New York Rangers, and San Jose. … With rookie Zach Werenski (43 points) and 22-year-old Seth Jones (39 points), the Blue Jackets are on the cusp of having two 40-point defensemen in the same season for the first time in franchise history. … With four shots on goal Monday, Werenski (172) owns the franchise record for shots on goal by a defenseman. … The Blue Jackets were off Tuesday. They return to practice at 11 a.m. today.