Scorers mired in slumps
After assisting on Zach Werenski’s overtime goal Tuesday in Montreal, Cam Atkinson was apologetic.
The Blue Jackets’ leader in points the past two seasons said he had been letting himself and the team down with his play, so “it’s definitely nice to be on the good side for once and contribute to a winning goal.”
Atkinson had gone just four games without a point. Captain Nick Foligno? His point drought is now 10 games. Alexander Wennberg? Now injured, he’s still sitting on one goal. As coach John Tortorella noted, it’s not just one Jackets player struggling offensively, “It’s four or five.”
Atkinson (four goals), Artemi Panarin (three), Foligno (three), Brandon Dubinsky (two) and Wennberg (one) have combined for just 13 of the team’s 55 goals this season.
Including Werenski’s winner in overtime, the Jackets have five goals the past four games.
“It’s magnified 10 times worse when you’re on a losing streak and not finding ways to win, so it’s really great to see and promising that other guys have stepped up in that regard — No. 1 being Bob,” Foligno said of goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. “But we’ve got to find a way to get going to give those guys some (goal) support.”
Tortorella said he has challenged his struggling scorers “in a number of different ways.” The key is not to cut corners, Dubinsky said.
“Don’t try to score too much. I know that sounds kind of crazy. But once you start cheating offensively, then it really falls apart,” Dubinsky said. “Work harder defensively. Get the puck back and give yourself an opportunity. … And eventually when it breaks, and it will, things get better.”
Tortorella echoed those sentiments, noting that when offensively skilled players are struggling they often “start cheating, and not so much consciously.” They forget about the other parts of the game besides trying to score.
“If you’re not scoring, make sure you’re doing the right things away from the puck,” Tortorella said.
Foligno recalled Dany Heatley, Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza going through scoring slumps at the same time while he was playing for Ottawa.
“It affects your team because that’s a big base of scoring,” Foligno said. “And they log a lot of minutes. That’s another thing, too. Your guys that are not producing are taking up a lot of minutes.”
Which is why Foligno, like Atkinson, blames himself and emphasizes the urgency of ending his slump. Still, he remains optimistic.
“That’s part of my job on this team, to be a scoring forward that produces offensively. You get disappointed in the fact that it hasn’t happened, but you can’t get down because it’s not going to help,” Foligno said.
“It’s just finding a way to work out of it and continue to bring what you bring on a consistent basis. Last game, I had so many chances. So I know that I’m in the right spots and doing the right things. Law of averages say if you’re a good enough player, those will start going in.”