The Columbus Blue Jackets were defeated at both ends of the ice in their opening series against the Nashville Predators.
In both losses, they struggled to find offense, while the defensive play has been just okay. Instead of pressing the panic button, we wanted to show one of several changes that the Blue Jackets have made since last year, and discussed what has gone wrong as they work to integrate these variations into their game. First up, the more aggressive offensive zone posture.
Under John Tortorella, the Blue Jackets have been staunchly committed to having F3 - the forward in the strongest defensive position - high in the play. This has allowed the club to kill the majority of plays in the neutral zone before they ever gain any traction. By keeping F3 high in the offensive zone, the team is deferring offensive zone success by preventing fast-break rushes against.
That has changed this year, which is consistent with Tortorella's messaging in the early goings dating back to training camp. On the surface, it makes sense. A year ago, this team wasn't convinced that Elvis Merzlikins/Joonas Korpisalo would be able to supplant Sergei Bobrovsky. They both proved more than capable backstops. But in 2019-20, the Blue Jackets finished 27th overall in league scoring. With few changes to the personnel, Tortorella knew he would have to make philosophical differences to spur the offense.
Unfortunately, the plan to be more aggressive with their F3 (and their strong side defenseman, for that matter) hasn't gone as planned. Of the seven goals the Blue Jackets have allowed in the early season, five (!) of them came via odd-man rushes.
On the first goal, Dean Kukan got caught pinching down in the zone. Center Max Domi, ironically, was F1, meaning he was furthest from the play. But Cam Atkinson, who (in theory) should be there to lend an assist to his centerman, also pinched down. That allowed for a 2-on-1 from the defending blue line in.
Two goals this game - both unassisted off the break. Another look at Kunins score #CBJ #preds pic.twitter.com/BCLc5xGNiZ
— Alison (@AlisonL) January 15, 2021
On the second goal, the Blue Jackets were again in an offensive zone posture, when Atkinson and David Savard collided. While the first goal could at least partially be pinned on Atkinson, this one falls on Savard, who committed a cardinal sin by retreating on the wall. By skating backward on the wall, Savard effectively only gave Filip Forsberg the middle of the ice.
2-1 #Preds
— Alison (@AlisonL) January 15, 2021
Savards slight pinch fails, takes out another #CBJ player, and Nashville gets an odd-man rush and a score pic.twitter.com/RjVQwLWh7y
In the second game, the Blue Jackets once again fell victim to the odd-man rush. On the 2-1 goal, Zach Werenski tried to spin away from Forsberg, but had his pocket picked.
Werenski loses the puck to Forsberg who then capitalizes with the second #Preds goal of the game #CBJ pic.twitter.com/7UMQSSzioq
— Alison (@AlisonL) January 17, 2021
On the 4-2 goal, Michael Del Zotto pinched in the zone but Mikhail Grigorenko was a hair slow to break up the play. Eventually, he did get back into a strong defensive position, but he bit on a high-pass fake, which allowed Luke Kunin to get behind him for a nice goal.
Kunin with his second goal in as many games. #Preds lead #CBj 4-2 pic.twitter.com/tLUBdRaW7g
— Alison (@AlisonL) January 17, 2021
The 5-2 goal could be excused in the sense that the Blue Jackets were up ice in a desperate attempt for offense. Unfortunately for them, the result was the same.
5-2 #Preds. Sissons.#CBJ pic.twitter.com/0Aona540Xy
— Alison (@AlisonL) January 17, 2021
Savard, who had wanted to change on the backcheck at the end of his shift, got beat up ice by Colton Sissons. Viktor Arvidsson identified this mismatch and floated a pass to space, where Sissons could pick it up on a defacto breakaway and beat Merzlikins to the far post.
The Blue Jackets have correctly identified that they need a new strategy to create more offense. Through two games, their lack of a high F3 has caused more harm than good. The pessimist in me tends to think that the team lacks the scoring power and offensive punch to repurpose their F3 for a more aggressively offensive role, where trading chances with the opposition is more common. The optimist in me is confident that this team will once again display a propensity for shutting down opponents, as we've seen in years past. After all, it's only been two games, and the club is adjusting to a new system. The realist in me is somewhere in the middle. Can a tiger change its stripes? The jury is still out.
