Despite some brutal scheduling against top conference foes, the Columbus Blue Jackets now head westward having taken five of six possible points from the Boston Bruins and Carolina Hurricanes.
While they did leave that sixth point on the table last night thanks to Brad Marchand's overtime goal for Boston, they have to be feeling good (for the most part) as they head forward. They'll play the Calgary Flames – one of the league's top teams – on Tuesday before traveling to Edmonton and Vancouver with a big chance to either widen the gap over the now-cold Montreal Canadiens or potentially climb the Metropolitan ladder a little bit.
Here are some key observations from the last week or so that could factor into this upcoming stretch.
Bob can still be Bob
What a run it’s been for Sergei Bobrovsky. Going back to the Blue Jackets’ 2-1 shootout win over the New Jersey Devils, he’s been at his Vezina-winning form, posting a save percentage of at least .947 in four of his five appearances in that span.
The one game where he didn’t post a stellar save percentage was the Blue Jackets’ 7-4 win over the Boston Bruins, and despite looking shaky at times, he actually outperformed expectations. According to Sean Tierney, Boston’s expected goals total that night was actually 4.1, showing that Bobrovsky did still play well given a porous defense in front of him.
Bobrovsky has clearly gotten over whatever issues had ailed him earlier this season, when he struggled with consistency and never seemed to be in his best form. Now, he’s peaking when it matters most, and if he continues to play like this, his playoff woes could be a thing of the past, too.
No longer a one-line team
While Bobrovsky has consistently performed, it’s tough to pinpoint anyone else in the lineup who has done the same over this past stretch. For the better part of the last two seasons, the top line of Artemi Panarin, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Cam Atkinson has carried the team offensively, as the Blue Jackets have struggled to find depth scoring. Lately, though, that top line has been invisible.
Dubois, in his second NHL season, has already surpassed all of his numbers from a stellar rookie year, but he’s fallen on rough times lately. He’s been held without a point in his last nine games, and seen his ice time fluctuate pretty significantly in that stretch. His primary winger, Artemi Panarin, hasn’t been himself lately, either, with no goals in his last nine games and just four assists total. He’s also been held to just one or zero shots on goal in six of those nine games.
When Panarin is on his game, few in the league are better, and frees up Dubois to do his thing. Atkinson’s been moved around the lineup a couple of times lately, too, but if that line can re-capture its mojo, the Blue Jackets could be a force in the postseason.
New Guys Getting It Going
It sure looks like the growing pains are over for Matt Duchene, perhaps the biggest deadline acquisition in Blue Jackets franchise history, who seems to be settling into the right role with the right linemates.
Here's another look at Duchene's goal, his 30th of the season, because it was so damn pretty. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/VFmpI5cSdt
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) March 16, 2019
Duchene has now scored goals in two of the last three games – both against Boston – and had a few other great looks last night. His goal last night was the only tally for Columbus, and he had two great scoring chances in overtime as well. His emergence is coinciding with a fantastic stretch of play from Josh Anderson, who is now on Duchene’s right wing and looks like a prototypical power forward.
Duchene’s other wing, Ryan Dzingel, looks to be settling in as well. The 27-year-old struggled a bit in his first few games with the team, topping 14 minutes played just one time in his first seven games with the team and failing to score a goal. He got his first Blue Jackets goal (plus two assists) earlier this week in the team’s 7-4 win over Boston, and has seen his ice time increase as well, topping 16:53 in three of his last four games.
The Buckeye calls bank on this one.#CBJ pic.twitter.com/nrmOAL0n4d
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) March 12, 2019
Adam McQuaid, the other skater acquired at the deadline, has looked a bit better lately, too, and scored his first goal with the team in the Blue Jackets’ 3-0 win over Carolina.
Struggling to find a role
With the team’s typical top line underperforming and the team’s “identity line” of Nick Foligno, Boone Jenner and Josh Anderson broken up, the Blue Jackets are still seemingly out of sorts. Never was that more apparent than the second and third periods of the Carolina game, where they gave up 54 shot attempts and generated just nine of their own in the game’s last 40 minutes. Yikes!
While Oliver Bjorkstrand’s play is still fluctuating, he’s flashed the ability to be a difference maker on the right wing. Bjorkstrand and Alexander Wennberg have been shuffled between the third and fourth lines, and have both struggled for much of the year while playing together.
John Tortorella’s hair-trigger shuffling of the lines has been chaotic and unpredictable, but at this point, with Montreal in free fall and the Blue Jackets’ playoff chances looking better each day, figuring out a way to get both of those guys going could give Columbus a puncher’s’ chance in a potential matchup with Tampa.
Jenner has played admirably at center, but a move back to Alexander Wennberg’s wing – where he’s sparsely played this year – could help spark the Swedish pivot as it did down the stretch last year.
