The black and blue line.
Injuries keep racking up, seemingly by the day, but the positive has been the Columbus Blue Jackets being able to find ways to cope, play on, and grab points.
With seven points in the last six games, the Jackets are 3-0-1 after two wins over the Philadelphia Flyers, an overtime loss to the New York Islanders, and a win over the Montreal Canadiens.
A team simply isn't better for losing the likes of All-Star talent like Zack Werenski, Patrik Laine, and Jake Voracek. Losing critical pieces on defense like Nick Blankenburg and Jake Bean. Adam Boqvist has only appeared in four games this season. Justin Danforth provided a lot of depth and secondary scoring. Elvis Merzlikins' tough season continued when he left Tuesday's win over the Flyers with an injury. Then on Wednesday, it was announced Emil Bemstrom was hampered with an ailment. Fortunately for the Blue Jackets, he was able to play Thursday.
Through it all, the games continue and the team charges on.
The power play is last in the league at 10.3% but it's accelerating to the tune of a 28.6% clip in November. After starting the season 0-for-26, the man advantage is now 4-for-14 since the month started, stringing together goals in four of six games in November.
That might not seem too impressive and the sample size is small, but perhaps things are starting to click for now and for later. The Blue Jackets are also 32nd in the league in penalties drawn per 60 (2.98) and are 32nd in power play time on ice per game (4:07).
Marcus Bjork scored a goal in his NHL Debut against the Islanders on Nov. 12, and in his second game on the 15th against the Flyers, was the Blue Jackets' most impactful player.
#NHL GameScore Impact Card for Columbus Blue Jackets on 2022-11-15:#CBJ pic.twitter.com/lSHRl9LO8J
— HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) November 16, 2022
He had another really solid game on Thursday, recording two shots, and two blocked shots, and was +2 in 18:38.
#NHL GameScore Impact Card for Columbus Blue Jackets on 2022-11-17:#CBJ pic.twitter.com/md0OoHURrh
— HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) November 18, 2022
Bjork isn't simply replacing someone like Werenski, and as a rookie, there will be growing pains. But the injuries have forced the Blue Jackets to give players a chance to see what they have in players like Bjork, who signed as a free agent over the summer after spending time in the SHL.
In three games, he has two points (one goal, one assist), five shots, six blocked shots, and six hits.
Bjork from Bemstrom and Nyquist. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/VgGtdZLxFo
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) November 13, 2022
There's still more to give if you're Jack Roslovic. Failing to resemble anything close to how he ended last season, scoring 13 points (10 goals, three assists) last April, so far, he only has six points (one goal, five assists). It's basically the same story as how last season started playing out, where head coach Brad Larsen and Roslovic had a talk about how things are going, as the two already had a candid chat this season.
Sitting as a healthy scratch earlier in the week, he returned to Thursday's lineup and led the game with four blocked shots. As a result of injuries and other lineup decisions, opportunities have allowed everyone the chance to step up and shine.
Boone Jenner has been a man on a mission of late, potting four goals against the Flyers in two games over the last week, and scoring five goals in the last six games overall. He leads the team with seven goals and he's second behind Johnny Gaudreau with 12 points. Going back to Finland, Jenner has registered eight points (six goals, two assists).
Larsen has heaped copious amounts of praise on players like Mathieu Olivier.
Olivier has been a bit of a renaissance man, doing whatever the Blue Jackets need of him, including volunteering to play defense, as he did against the Flyers the first time around when the team was down to four defensemen on Nov. 10. His line with Eric Robinson and Sean Kuraly clicked in Tuesday's game as the fourth line has proven to do for the Blue Jackets on many occasions.
On Thursday, Olivier had the Gordie Howe Hat Trick against Montreal, with a key fight at the end of the second period, and then scored a goal in the third period. Kuraly also added two goals and Robinson had an assist.
Kent Johnson should be playing more minutes, whether with the Blue Jackets or with the Cleveland Monsters. He was a healthy scratch against the Islanders, one game after missing the Flyers contest for precautionary reasons. Johnson is in the top 10 among rookies in scoring with eight points (three goals, five assists).
The whole scoring sequence. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/yllCcU2hEm
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) November 18, 2022
He seems to have found chemistry playing alongside Jenner and Gaudreau and should be given more ice-time opportunities with that group, but as a whole in general. Currently, he's averaging 12:31 per game.
Then there's Joonas Korpisalo who has provided a steady presence in goal while Elvis Merzlikins has struggled, and is currently out 1-to-2 weeks with an ailment. According to MoneyPuck, Korpisalo's goals saved above expected is 2.9 in all situations (1.0, 5v5).
Thinking back to where this team was just a few weeks ago after losing the first two games against the Colorado Avalanche in Finland, Larsen referenced soul searching in regards to breaking up the Gaudreau and Laine line. That term could have been applied to the team across the board as everything felt discombobulated.
Injuries can break a team apart or force the group together. So far, the two storylines have overlapped as Laine and many others have been forced out of the lineup with injuries, and the team overall has banded together as a tighter-knit group and found some life.
As a result, opportunities and storylines are playing out that otherwise might not have unfolded before our very eyes right now.
The Blue Jackets hope to continue the good play on Saturday night against the Detroit Red Wings as the six-game homestand carries on.
