The Columbus Blue Jackets are in a playoff spot, which, depending on how you see the world is either miraculous or expected.
We've compiled a list of statistics that will likely make you shake your head, so if you're looking for a pick-me-up, move along. On the other hand, the glass-half-full side could be saying that, despite these missteps, the Blue Jackets still find themselves in the playoffs (if the season ended today).
Goal-Scoring Drought
By now you've been made aware that the Jackets aren't scoring at the same clip they did a year ago. Entering Thursday, the club ranked 27th in the NHL with 127 goals scored, ahead of only Ottawa, Detroit, Arizona, and Buffalo.
The power play hasn't helped, and it's really been an issue all season. The club ranks last in the NHL with a 14.1% conversion rate, nearly half of Pittsburgh's 26.7%. Only the Edmonton Oilers (19) have less power play goals this season than the Blue Jackets (20). To their credit, they've been better lately but it's still been a massive struggle.
Shooting Percentage Woes
Two weeks ago, we wrote a piece about how Columbus has a seemingly unsustainably low shooting percentage. They haven't played enough games to really impact those numbers, but it's still worth mentioning.
Consider that David Savard's goal on Tuesday night raised his shooting percentage to 3.3%. The NHL average shooting percentage hovers right around 9.0-9.1%, so that's comically low, even for a stay-at-home type defenseman.
It's no secret that Cam Atkinson, Brandon Dubinsky, and Boone Jenner have struggled to find consistency this year (due to injury or otherwise), but their shooting percentages, too, are laughable. The trio has combined for 14 goals on 258 shots (5.43%). Remember, Atkinson had 35 goals a season ago. Jenner is two years removed from a 30-goal campaign himself.
Shootout Veterans
The Blue Jackets lead the NHL in shootout wins with six, but also lead the league in attempts (10). They've given up 10 goals in those attempts, which has clearly contributed to their success. Joonas Korpisalo is undefeated in two shootouts this year, stopping all five of his attempts. Sergei Bobrvosky has stopped 25 of 35 (71.4%), squarely in the top half of the league.
The club is shooting 31.7% on shootouts, which as of Thursday evening was 16th in the NHL. It's hard to complain too much about a glorified skills competition that is clearly working out for them, but consider that Alexander Wennberg, Sonny Milano, and Jussi Jokinen are a combined 0-for-8 on the season. If it weren't for Artemi Panarin's heroics (6-for-10), who knows where the Jackets would be in shootouts.
When is it Going to Come?
At the 50-game mark, the Blue Jackets clearly haven't been able to rekindle the magic of last year. Nobody expected them to have a 16-game winning streak or replicate last year's point totals, but I'll admit, I'm miffed by their problems scoring goals. This is a club that has scored more than three regulation goals just once in its 11 games, and that was a 6-3 loss in Vegas.
Josh Anderson leads the Jackets with 15 goals. The Arizona Coyotes are the only team in the league to not have at least one player with that many or more goals.
The pessimist in me accepts that it's just going to be a struggle for this club to find consistent offense. Every season is different, after all.
On the other hand, it's fairly encouraging that they're in the thick of the playoff race despite all of their shortcomings. Where do you stand?
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