Not the best time to go cold offensively, eh?
The Blue Jackets show well in all the right metrics – their puck possession numbers are strong – but it doesn't make losing games any less frustrating. A week ago, they were 9-4-1 striding into Amalie Arena in Tampa for a tussle with the league's best team; now, they're 9-7-1 and riding a four-game skid that's been largely ugly.
"Start to finish, we've got to get back to who we are and what makes us successful," said Brandon Dubinsky. "We've got to rectify that immediately."
Carolina was sharper, quicker and played a more sound game all around. The Blue Jackets' power play continued to struggle, albeit using a new formation for only the second game, and at 5-on-5 they were outplayed for the first time in a while. Trash it and move on, one might say, but they've got to figure out their poor starts.
CLUNKER
It was another slow start for the Blue Jackets.
Carolina controlled the play right away, owning the puck in the first 90 seconds before the Blue Jackets were able to catch their breath. Even though Dubinsky scored the opening goal on a breakaway, set up nicely by Tyler Motte, the remaining chances generated by the Blue Jackets went uncashed.
The Blue Jackets tried to steady themselves in the third period and had some looks, but it's kind of a struggle for them to score goals right now. A less-than-desirable start only compounds matters.
"I hated our start. That team was so much quicker than we were. I thought our game started coming in the middle of the second period and the third (period) was our best," head coach John Tortorella said.
TYLER MOTTE
This guy's doing his best to stay in the lineup. Motte was going and skating right out of the gate, and that caught Tortorella's eye. The Blue Jackets' lone goal tonight was the product of Motte's vision and a quick lead pass to Dubinsky, who beat Ward on a backhand deke in the opening period.
Motte was one of three Blue Jackets skaters to finish with a positive shot attempts differential (52% CF at 5-on-5) in a game that was tilted in Carolina's favor for the first 40 minutes.
"He brought some attention to himself. He stood out with his skating," Tortorella said of Motte.
BOB, GREAT
On the FOX Sports Ohio post-game show, the great Bill Davidge ran down a long list of big saves by Sergei Bobrovsky. Bobrovsky made three in the first period alone, and it was a bonus for Columbus that they went into the break leading 1-0.
Zach Werenski agreed.
"He's big for us every night. If we don't have Bob back there, it might have been out of reach in the first period," Werenski said.
Bobrovsky who made 26 saves in a losing effort, deserved better tonight.
CHANCES WERE THERE
At 5-on-5, the Blue Jackets weren't at their best. The Hurricanes are a quality possession team and have a disciplined, structured system that doesn't allow for many chances against. Despite not having the puck all that much, the Blue Jackets managed to get more dangerous scoring chances than Carolina.
Columbus had 64% of the high-danger chances in the game and 52% of the overall scoring chances. What they lacked in volume they made up for in quality, but on the business end, they were lacking.
"We were the better team in the third period, but we don't score," Tortorella said.
TOP GUYS STRUGGLING
Alexander Wennberg was taken off the power play for two games (he was on the No 2 unit tonight). He has nine points in 17 games. Nick Foligno has three goals. Cam Atkinson has four and Artemi Panarin has two.
The Blue Jackets are likely fine in the long term as their shot rates are among the NHL's best, but in the short term, this cold spell by their top players is concerning. In this tight losses where one goal has been the difference, they'd like to have one or two more of those guys feeling better about their game. It's the difference between 0-3-1 and possibly 2-1-1.
"We've got to help them get through it and get some guys going," Tortorella said.
Follow 1st Ohio BatteryFacebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube
