There's no sugarcoating it, the Blue Jackets' power play this season has been awful. At 12.7%, it sits 27th in the NHL. But that doesn't do it justice, either. According to NHL EDGE's player and puck tracking data, the Blue Jackets have the puck in the offensive zone on the power play at an alarmingly low 55.1%, 3.7% below league average.
According to naturalstattrick.com's data in the chart below, the Blue Jackets are near the bottom of the league in four of the six statistics relating to the power play.
| Stat | Goals | xGoals | Shot Attempts | Shots on Goal | Scoring Chances | High-Danger Chances |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amount | 4.21 | 6.98 | 112.37 | 52.19 | 59.34 | 21.46 |
| League Rank | 27th | 26th | 14th | 22nd | 15th | 25th |
"It's not working," Blue Jackets head coach Pascal Vincent said after Tuesday's morning skate. "So we have to find ways. Our job is to find solutions. We haven't had much success over the course of the season so you're still trying to find what works."
"What I know and I talk to the players about that is the power-play unit has five players," Vincent continued. "If one guy is not doing his job, it affects the other four guys. It affects the team. So we need five guys that will work together."
The Blue Jackets' power play has its toughest test of the season on Tuesday as their opponent, the LA Kings, boasts the league's best penalty kill at 89.7%.
Will they be able to crack the Kings' code and score a power-play goal?
