Here’s a mad lib for you: “It didn’t take long for CBJ’s top line to ________."
After opening night, most would’ve probably scribbled “dominate” or “light up the scoresheet.” And with good reason – Artemi Panarin logged three assists, Alexander Wennberg notched two of his own and Cam Atkinson scored a goal. A stellar debut, no doubt, but not a sign of what was next.
Within 48 hours, the most fitting answer would’ve been “get split up.” Nick Foligno took over for Wennberg at center – which isn’t Foligno’s natural position – during morning skate following a 5-1 loss to Chicago. Wennberg started the next game flanked by Pierre-Luc Dubois and Oliver Bjorkstrand. The 9-10-13 dream was over.
Ha, just kidding.
Midway through the second period of Tuesday’s game, you could’ve put a line through that answer and replaced it with “reunite.” Or erased it if you used a pencil, I guess? Anyways, that leads us to Wednesday, when the imaginary person filling out this hypothetical mad lib would’ve written “get called out by John Tortorella.”
Okay, so it was more of a praise of young guys like Sonny Milano, who have stepped up. But he was clear in saying that he’s looking for more from that top line, as he told 97.1 The Fan:
“I don’t think our big guys have gotten going yet. I don’t think Bread has gotten going yet, Wenny, Cam… to find ways to get some points when not everybody’s going – especially your top guys – I think that’s good news."
Sure, it’s great news when your rookies pick you up, as Pierre-Luc Dubois and Sonny Milano have so far. It’s also great to see Sergei Bobrovsky sporting a ridiculous .985 save percentage through two games. But Panarin, Wennberg and Atkinson lead Blue Jackets forwards in ice time. This is the line that’s supposed to carry the offense, and aside from one game, they haven’t done that.
Wennberg is the only one of the trio who has a positive relative corsi so far, sitting at 51.22%, good for eighth on the team. But on a team that’s dressed 19 skaters so far, Panarin ranks 14th (49.43%) and Atkinson checks in at 16th (48.68%). Foligno, who Torts bumped up to play with them, has a team-worst 45.12% relative corsi. Yikes.
It’s worth noting, though, that Columbus as a team sports a 51.22% relative corsi as a team – identical to Wennberg’s mark and good for 11th in the league. Shot attempts aren’t everything, though. Accounting for shot quality, and it becomes clear that there’s a bit of work to be done.
#CBJ vs league average in dangerous shot % of total:
— Jeremy Crowe (@307x) October 11, 2017
Low danger: 59.2%, lg avg 50.6%
Medium: 29.3%, lg avg 30.1%
High: 11.6%, lg avg 19.3%
Obviously, getting the 9-10-13 line (assuming they stick together this time, which Torts said they will) rolling solves a lot of problems for Columbus, namely, an over-reliance on stellar goaltending.
Perhaps the problem lies in deployment. Panarin in particular is starting 56% of his shifts in the offensive zone, a far cry from his 81% offensive zone start rate last season. Playing with responsible defensive forwards like Wennberg (who made a couple of really nice defensive plays on Tuesday) and Atkinson will certainly do that. That may also be dragging down Panarin’s shot totals – he’s attempted just nine shots through three games after averaging nearly five per game for Chicago last year. For a career 15% shooter – a truly elite shooting talent – three shot attempts per game is far too low.
Alternatively, perhaps the line just needs time to gel and develop chemistry. We’ve seen lines start out hot (Calvert-Dubinsky-Atkinson a few years ago, for example) and fizzle out. This may be the inverse – a new player adjusting to a new system, and his linemates adjusting to his game.
That Panarin pass = pic.twitter.com/Wja1Tungqt
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) October 6, 2017
Regardless, that line has been largely invisible in the last two games, aside from a few d-zone takeaways and some (very) pretty Panarin zone entries. Tortorella also said in that 97.1 interview that Matt Calvert has been the team’s best forward so far – he’s certainly played well – but you’d be hard pressed to find a playoff-caliber team led at forward by a player at Calvert’s level.
Sure, it’s still early, but the Jackets have been buried by poor starts before. They’ve flanked their best playmaker with their two most dynamic scoring threats, putting a heavy burden on a line that’s being deployed in all situations, but if they click, watch out.
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