Just Trying To Get By From One Game To The Next, Blue Jackets Set Another Dubious Milestone In The Process

So it's no surprise that the box scores have been routinely ugly for the past month.

Since Feb. 25, the Blue Jackets have allowed 89 goals, the most in the league, while scoring 57 goals over that span.

Since Mar. 4, Columbus has allowed at least five goals in 10 out of the last 14 games. They allowed at least five goals in four straight games from Mar. 4 through Mar. 14, and yielded at least six goals in a game six times in March.

Still, goaltender Michael Hutchinson might be the happiest player on the ice for the club.

After playing in seven AHL games inside the Vegas Golden Knights organization prior to the trade to Columbus, and no NHL games since 2021-22, he's now become the de facto No. 1 for the Blue Jackets. Hutchinson has played in 11 games, making six starts for the team, his most in the NHL since 2019-20, and he's played the most minutes of any Blue Jacket in the crease since his Ohio arrival.

Hutchinson is 1-4-2 with a 4.37 GAA and .875 SV% but Joonas Korpisalo probably wouldn't have the sterling numbers he displayed with the team earlier in the season with what the Blue Jackets' defense has been. And not to put it all on the defense as the latest group is largely inexperienced and trying to seize the opportunity. More on that.

On Monday, Jet Greaves was brought back to Columbus on emergency recall from Cleveland and will make his NHL debut Tuesday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Gillies was sent back down to Cleveland.

When Jet Greaves starts tonight in Toronto, he'll be the sixth goaltender to play for the Blue Jackets, the most ever in a season Elvis Merzlikins, Joonas Korpisalo, Daniil Tarasov, Michael Hutchinson, Jon Gillies and Greaves.#CBJ played 5 goalies in 2006-07 and '08-09.
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— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) April 4, 2023

And regardless of who's in the net, it's hard to expect much from a defense that is icing the pairs they have been forced to of late, starting with the game against the Boston Bruins last Thursday, ironically one of the better games by the Blue Jackets to limit the historically great and Presidents' Trophy-winning Bruins to two goals in a 2-1 overtime loss.

The defensive pairings above that head coach Brad Larsen has been forced to ice over the last few games are boosted by the most experienced player of the group, Andrew Peeke, with 189 career games. Then it's Gavin Bayreuther (116), Tim Berni (53), Jake Christiansen (31), Marcus Bjork (30), and Billy Sweezey (five).

And it looks like the team will be aided by the return of Adam Boqvist and Jack Roslovic on Tuesday.

Jack Roslovic (upper body) and Adam Boqvist (illnesss) are expected back for #CBJ tonight. Jake Christiansen will be the healthy scratch.

— Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) April 4, 2023

Overall on the season, the club has allowed 302 goals and counting, a new dubious franchise record on the heels of allowing 297 last season. They're not the worst in the league in that category, as the Anaheim Ducks have allowed 314.

Fortunately, there are defensive players in the system that should be suiting up for the Blue Jackets in the near future, including David Jiricek, who is tied for second on the Cleveland Monsters with 36 points (six goals, 30 assists) in 49 games, and Denton Mateychuk who had 65 points (eight goals, 57 assists) for the WHL's Moose Jaw Warriors. He finished fifth on the Warriors in points and first in assists.

Stanislav Svozil nearly doubled his point production for the WHL's Regina Pats, putting up 78 points (11 goals, 67 assists) in three fewer games than in his first WHL season last year. For the entire league, Svozil finished fourth in assists, with the upcoming NHL draft's top prize, Connor Bedard, leading everyone with 143 points, 71 goals, and 72 assists. Bedard and Svozil play together in Regina where Svozil finished fourth on the team in points and second in assists.

Zach Werenski and abled NHLers on this team next season, healthy, surely make the defense improved, but how much?

While Merzlikins and Tarasov might be the plan in net next season, it's hard to see many wins from a tandem with below-league-average metrics.

Another aspect that needs to be addressed? Injuries.

Injuries, in part, might be bad luck but what in the world is the reason for the club to be among the league leaders in man games lost so often?

Since 2013-14, the Blue Jackets are among the most injured teams across the league. With six games remaining and already at 503 man-games lost, they'll set another dubious mark for man-games lost, surpassing the 508 they had in 2014-15.

NHL Injury Viz

The Colorado Avalanche and Pittsburgh Penguins have racked up their share of injuries but have had enough depth and elite-level talent to withstand the injuries and still contend.

Columbus is building a nice prospects pool and hopefully, for them, they'll be able to find a way to stay healthy and keep their best players on the ice more often. But they're going to have to figure out their goaltending situation, another area impacted by injuries, because it looks quite bleak at the moment.