The Blue Jackets, sporting a 4-5-1 record in their last 10 games, somehow still find themselves in a wild card spot.
But make no mistake: they are in playoff position despite their play, not because of it. No other current playoff team (East or West) has fewer points in their past 10 games.
The problems go back weeks, to be clear, but the past week has been especially excruciating to watch. They're 0-2-1 in the three games since the All-Star break, despite playing well enough, at times, to win all three games. Coming away with just one point in the midst of a thick playoff race is inexcusable.
Their game has flaws throughout; it's not as if they're struggling to "just score" or "just keep pucks out." Goals aren't coming, and when they are (like in Brooklyn), sloppy play and a lack of energy for a full period gave way for the opponent to capitalize.
Other times, it's the penalty killing unit's consistent inability to bail them out for 120 seconds.
Tom Reed of The Athletic pointed out that the club has been brutal on the kill for weeks now, a trend that has only been accentuated in the past three games. In the past 15 games, the Jackets have killed off just 23 of 37 penalties. More recently, the Minnesota Wild converted 1-of-2 chances, the San Jose Sharks went 2-for-3, and the New York Islanders scored on one of their two power play opportunities.
And here I was thinking the power play was bad?
John Tortorella has been justifiably frustrated in recent games. After a great start in the Minnesota game, the Blue Jackets came out flat (that's a compliment to the word "flat") in the second period. Sergei Bobrovsky single-handedly willed the team to one point, and Tortorella kept his press conferences to one-sentence answers.
"Lost battles, beginning of the second" was his lead quote. Not paraphrasing!
A few nights later after dropping a Friday night home affair to the Sharks, he opened his press conference by exclaiming, "I don't want to hear more rhetoric from the players" in regards to captain Nick Foligno's benching.
Fast forward a few more days, and another disappointing loss is in the rear-view mirror. Our Rob Mixer summed it up beautifully:
"They set a new franchise record with 26 shots in the first period, had 19 scoring chances in the opening 20 minutes and of course…were locked in a 1-1 tie."
The Jackets recorded 49 (!) shots in a regulation loss to a team that seemingly can't keep the puck out of its own net. Tortorella was succinct in his post-game presser, saying that the club "found a way to lose tonight's game."
Tortorella has correctly been frustrated with his team's inconsistent and seemingly casual play during this poor stretch. In fairness to the players, one asset of a professional athlete is the ability to stay even-keeled through good times and bad.
Whatever cushion this team had to make the playoffs is gone. The Blue Jackets are basically a coin-flip to make the post-season, statistically speaking.
They're still in a playoff spot, and have a few days to recuperate before playing twice against the Metropolitan Division-leading Washington Capitals, followed by a Saturday night clash with the New Jersey Devils.
The time is now for the Blue Jackets to come out of this slump. It's not too late, but if this slide continues, the club will be on the golf course by early April.
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