It's been a tale of two stretches for the Blue Jackets this season.
After a surprising 12-6 start, they fell quickly back down to Earth, going 8-16-1 in their final 25 games before the All-Star Break. Despite the recent rough patch, there have still been some bright spots for the Blue Jackets this year.
Let's take a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly from the Blue Jackets' first 43 games.
The Good
Jakub Voracek
The Blue Jackets needed a playmaker, and they got one in Voracek. He's missed two games due to COVID protocols, but he still leads the team with 27 assists, ten of which have come on the power play.
It hurt the Blue Jackets to send Cam Atkinson to Philadelphia in exchange for Voracek, but the swap has benefitted both teams so far. Atkinson has 17-19-36 in 45 games for the Flyers, which is the second-best points-per-game average of his career (0.80).
Cole Sillinger
When the Blue Jackets selected Sillinger 12th overall in the 2021 NHL Draft, the pick was met with praise from members of the media and hockey community. It was clear that Sillinger had talent, but what most people didn't expect was for him to instantly make an impact with the Blue Jackets.
He made the team out of training camp and hasn't looked back. Sillinger has seven goals and eight assists in 40 games while winning a respectable 48.9% of his faceoffs. That's a decent stat line for any player averaging 13-and-a-half minutes per game like Sillinger currently is. For an 18-year-old who was playing in the USHL last year, it's nothing short of incredible.
Boone Jenner
The Blue Jackets' newly-minted captain has recaptured his scoring touch this season with 18 goals in the first half, including six on the power play. He's also won 54.4% of his faceoffs, which is good for sixth in the NHL among qualified players. Jenner is on pace for 27 goals and 23 assists, according to The Athletic's Dom Luszczyszyn's projections.
The Bad
Jack Roslovic
After making a splash in Columbus last season, expectations were high for Jack Roslovic entering the 2021-'22 campaign. Unfortunately, he's seen his role diminished with the additions of Cole Sillinger and Sean Kuraly, along with Boone Jenner permanently slotting in at center.
Roslovic averaged 16:54 of ice time last season, but he's down to just 12:16 this year. The offensive talent is there (see: his highlight-reel finish against the Hurricanes last season), but his two-way game is still coming along. He'll be a restricted free agent when this season ends, so it's likely that he'll remain with the club barring a trade. Roslovic is capable of recapturing his form from last season, but he's had a tough go of it this year.
Team Defense
The Blue Jackets had an identity during the John Tortorella era: they were hard to play against, worked hard in all three zones, and were physical at every opportunity. In Brad Larsen's first year, it's not a matter of the team working less. The roster is not built to play well in the defensive zone. It's a mixture of youth (a lot of youth) and players whose talents are more suited for the offensive zone.
Elvis Merzlikins and Joonas Korpisalo have struggled this season, and the play in front of them has been an issue. Diving deeper, we can figure out a bit more about why. Merzlikins and Korpisalo are in the top six when it comes to the percent of unblocked shots faced that are on goal. At 59.96% for Korpisalo and 58.79% for Merzlikins, this shows that teams are finding it very easy to create shooting lanes and get the puck on net against the Blue Jackets. That isn't making life easy for their goaltenders.
The Ugly
Goaltending
Merzlikins and Korpisalo are each having the worst years of their career in net. It's true that both have struggled, but playing in front of a young, inexperienced blue line certainly hasn't helped either of their respective cases. Korpisalo is currently touting a 6-8-0 record with a 3.82 GAA and a .887 save percentage. Merzlikins is a bit better at 14-12-1 with a 3.39 GAA and .905 save percentage.
Looking at Money Puck's goals saved above expected statistic, it gives us a clearer picture of their seasons. Merzlikins has saved -1.8 goals above expected, while Korpisalo has saved -8.2 goals above expected. Daniil Tarasov, who filled in admirably during a four-game stretch when Merzlikins and Korpisalo were both out, touts 2.6 goals saved above expected.
The Power Play
Long gone are the talents of Artemi Panarin, Matt Duchene, Pierre-Luc Dubois, and most recently, Seth Jones. When the dust settled after the Jones trade, one thing was painfully clear: the Blue Jackets are lacking the plethora of high-end offensive talent that they once had, albeit for a short while. Patrik Laine is dynamic on the power play, Oliver Bjorkstrand has a lethal shot, Voracek is a great passer, and Zach Werenski runs the point quite well. Unfortunately, that's only four players, and Laine has only played in 24 games due to injury.
The result is a power play that has operated at a 14.81% clip, good for third-worst in the NHL. If it weren't for the Arizona Coyotes and Montreal Canadiens, who are locked into the Shane Wright sweepstakes, the Blue Jackets would be dead last.
They have the pieces to improve, but they need to do so rapidly. NHL average is 20.59%. If the Blue Jackets had an average power play, they would have scored six more power-play goals in the first half of the season. It certainly doesn't help that they have received the second-least opportunities on the power play in the NHL with 108. Only the New York Islanders have less, with 102.
