John Tortorella probably looked at his calendar and couldn't wait for 4 p.m. on February 24.
That was the team’s first official and allowable practice coming off its NHL-mandated bye week, a new rule instituted this season in conjunction with the NHLPA; in exchange for moving to a 3-on-3 format in the NHL All-Star Game, the players’ union asked for the league to give each team a week off during the season.
No practices, no film, nothing. Get out of town and we’ll see you in a week.
It seemed like a good idea in theory, but what’s happened has caused the commissioner and the league’s board of governors to re-examine the concept. As of last week, NHL teams were 8-14-4 in their first game back from the bye week and many of them looked awful in the process.
So it was natural for Tortorella to be concerned about how the Blue Jackets, who had been playing well all season but could ill afford a slip-up at a crucial point in the schedule, would handle their week off.
In hindsight, it appears to have been more of a blessing than a curse.
Sam Gagner said the Blue Jackets’ bye week came at the ideal time; Columbus got its week off later in the schedule, which helped rejuvenate the players for the stretch run rather than break any momentum built up before the break.
The Blue Jackets were 4-4-1 in the month of February leading up their break, which began after a sloppy 4-3 loss to Nashville on Feb. 19.
Since the bye week, they’re 7-2-1 with four shutouts – three of those courtesy of Sergei Bobrovsky. They’ve set new franchise records for wins (44) and points (94) in only 68 games, and seem on track for something in the mid-100s range when all is said and done. Don’t worry – you aren’t alone in struggling to grapple with the reality of that statement.
Tortorella had some interesting thoughts on the timing of the break and how it has affected his team shortly after the Blue Jackets’ schedule resumed:
“I don’t know how you manage it. It’s a lot of time off. I think the team is rested. There are certain individuals that, no question, the amount of time off is good for them. You just weight that versus ‘are they ready to get back into it mentally?’
For me, it’s not a physical rest for players – I think it’s a mental rest that’s more important. These are top-notch athletes, but the mental part of the game, the constant traveling, the constant schedule, the monotony of a National Hockey League season…I think that’s nice to get away from.”
The Blue Jackets had no excuse not to be ready, either; their first four games post-bye were against teams either in playoff positioning or just on the fringe, fighting for their lives. They blew out the New York Islanders – one of the league’s hottest teams at the time – behind a Joonas Korpisalo shutout and then went into Madison Square Garden and dominated the New York Rangers only 24 hours later.
It wasn’t any easier after that: the Blue Jackets went from MSG to the Bell Centre in Montreal, going toe-to-toe with Carey Price and the Canadiens in a drama-filled 1-0 overtime loss. Two days later, they were back home at Nationwide Arena and shut out the Western Conference’s top team, the Minnesota Wild.
The NHL is moving to a new format for bye weeks starting next season, but it’s worth noting how the Blue Jackets were one of the few teams to master the “bye week letdown.” They allowed three goals (!) in their first four games after the bye, going 3-0-1 in that span. As of this writing, they've used their post-bye surge to draw within three points of first place in the Metropolitan Division. Madness.
Tortorella chuckled when it was suggested that his NHL coaching colleagues would dial him up around this time next year for advice. All kidding aside, after this impressive stretch from the Blue Jackets, his phone might ring off the hook.
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