When the season started, the biggest question surrounding the Columbus Blue Jackets was whether or not they could score enough goals to win games.
With the acquisition of Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic, the Columbus offense is beginning to find their way, and the answer to that question has a more optimistic answer now than it has in several months.
Despite only one win in the first three games for Laine (the Blue Jackets are 3-3 with Roslovic in the lineup), Columbus has put up 12 goals in the three games with the former Winnipeg Jet on the top line. Three of those 12 goals have come from Laine, and his rocket Sunday against Carolina was disgusting in all the right ways.
This needs a NSFW label. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/VOWjsAYJ0s
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) February 7, 2021
Where's that salivating emoji?
It took Laine just 58 minutes of ice time with the Blue Jackets to collect those three goals - and only six shots on goal. That's three goals in less than an hour on the ice, coming off an injury, having never practiced with his new teammates.
By comparison, Cam Atkinson has two goals in 228 minutes this season, and Max Domi has two in 205 minutes. Boone Jenner has the same number of goals (3) as Laine in 221 minutes. The three with more? Alexandre Texier, Oliver Bjorkstrand, and Nick Foligno have four each, but it's taken them 227, 225, and 221 minutes, respectively.
To say that the Finnish Phenom has injected some life into the offense is an easy claim, made easier when you look at the details:
| OPPONENT | GOALS | SEASON AVERAGE | PP | SEASONAL PP% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| @ NSH |
|
|
0-2 |
|
| @ NSH |
|
|
0-2 |
|
| @ DET |
|
|
0-1 |
|
| @ DET |
|
|
0-2 |
|
| vs TB |
|
|
1-4 |
|
| vs TB |
|
|
0-2 |
|
| vs FLA |
|
|
0-6 |
|
| vs FLA |
|
|
1-3 |
|
| @ CHI |
|
|
1-2 |
|
| @ CHI |
|
|
0-2 |
|
| ARRIVAL OF PATRIK LAINE | ||||
| vs DAL |
|
|
1-3 |
|
| vs DAL |
|
|
0-3 |
|
| vs CAR |
|
|
1-5 |
|
*Green tabs denote season high.
For a frame of reference, Columbus averaged 2.57 goals per game last season. Despite the slow start on offense, Columbus is now averaging nearly a quarter of a goal more (2.77) so far this year.
While Laine is the biggest reason for the recent success in scoring, he's not alone.
Roslovic has six points in his last four games, and with at least one point in each of those, he's now on a career best streak of four consecutive games with a point. Not bad for a guy who wasn't with the team until the end of January.
As for Foligno, who scored his 200th career goal in Sunday's questionable loss, he's markedly improved from last year. It took him 22 games to hit four goals last year; a number he would be stuck on until his 5th goal came in game 45. Meanwhile, Texier has 2/3rds of his goal total from last year in just 1/3rd the amount of games - and that's having not scored a goal in six straight games.
Bjorkstrand's four goals in 13 games would put him on pace for a 25 goal season over 82 games, which would be a career high in his 4th full season with the team. Seth Jones, who had just one point in his first ten games, has been noticeably better since the arrival of Laine. He's had points in each of the three games with Laine, including the primary assist in both of Laine's goals against Carolina on Sunday. His lone goal of the season, a power play score against Dallas, was assisted by Roslovic.
Things are trending the right way for the Blue Jackets on offense.
Now, about that defense...
