Time not on side of up-and-down Blue Jackets
In shortened season, flaws are magnified
The Blue Jackets will play their 20th game, on the 40th day of the NHL season, when the Chicago Blackhawks visit Nationwide Arena on Tuesday. What a ride! Their bandwagon feels like it’s bumping down an unpaved, rut-filled road, through switchbacks, on the side of a mountain, at a cartoonish speed.
This year’s pandemic-delayed schedule is truncated and compressed. Everything is magnified. The 19 games the Jackets have played represents 34% of their 56-game schedule. It went by in a blink.
In a normal, 82-game season, 34% is game 28. It’s played in mid-december, during the holiday shopping season. Remember the holiday shopping season? The mall and such?
Remember when the Jackets were 1114-4
through 29 games on Dec. 9, 2019? The nadir of last season? The bandwagon shook then, too, like the axle was about to snap. And then the Jackets went on a two-month tear of 19-2-5.
They basically punched their playoff ticket before the season was suspended due to the coronavirus.
Those Jackets were defensive demons. They were steadfast in executing coach John Tortorella's tight-checking system. Remember when Elvis Merzlikins had five shutouts in eight games?
Those Jackets led the league in mangames lost to injury. It did not stop them. It was remarkable. The style they played requires total buy-in, personal sacrifice and a manic attention to detail, if not offense. And they were all-in.
Keep in mind: Being hard to play against is a hard way to play.
Good teams have great artists. The best teams have great artists who understand how to plumb. They do more painting during the regular season and more plumbing in the playoffs. It's easier on the knees.
Plus, it's incentivizing. When is the last time you heard a general manager say, “You know, this forward is so good at being the high man on the backcheck, he deserves to be paid like an elite player.” Agents don't even say that, and agents will say anything.
The Jackets last year were some master plumbers who plied their ultimate depth. They made the playoffs, beat the hyper-talented Toronto Maple Leafs in the qualifying round and were an overtime goal away (through five overtimes in Game 1) from getting back in the heads of the mighty Tampa Bay Lightning. But those Lightning, those celebrated artists, had learned how to use a plunger. You know who taught
them.
The Jackets last year were among the worst teams in the league in scoring and power-play efficiency. They made up for it by being one of the stingiest defensive teams in the league. They had, too, some magic about them: They had a collective will that made them a scary opponent.
The Jackets this year are in trouble. They are not a scary offensive team, which is not surprising. But nor are they a daunting defensive team, which is a problem.
Coming out of the weekend, they ranked 19th in the league in goals per game (2.84), 26th in goals-against average (3.32), their power play was awful (23rd in the league) and their penalty kill (27th) only could aspire to middling.
In this truncated and compressed season, everything is magnified.
In sum, the Jackets' bandwagon is boxed in a pack and there is little to suggest the team can make a stretch run. These Jackets have had a few impressive wins, like Thursday's 3-0 victory over Nashville, and they've had some horrifying setbacks, like Saturday's joyless, 4-2 loss to Nashville. They are maddeningly inconsistent.
Maybe the Jackets can reel in upstart Chicago, but can they hold off Dallas? It's not likely. Not with the way they're being shredded in the neutral zone. Not on the road.
If you're a Jackets fan and you're thinking they're going to get back above the puck any day now, and everything's going to be fine, well, maybe you're right. They've done it before. But is there enough time? That is the question. It's doubtful.
marace@dispatch.com