The Blue Jackets are 5-4-0 in their last nine games after a 5-2 win over Chicago on Saturday and a 6-3 victory over Vegas on Monday, winning back-to-back games for the first time since November 22 and 24.
A big reason for their recent success has been their drastic improvement in the penalty kill. From December 1 to February 16, the team posted a league-worst 66.3% on the power play.
However, since February 17, their penalty kill has been clicking at an 83.3% clip, which is the third-best in the league during this span. Over the last nine games, they've faced the No. 3 (Carolina), No. 6 (NY Rangers), and the No. 10 (Los Angeles) ranked power plays in the league and have allowed just four power-play goals.
"Our PK is doing really well," Blue Jackets head coach Pascal Vincent said after Monday's game, later adding that they "are just going back to some basics. When you look at the standings for the whole season, we're not No. 1, but recently we're a real good team on the PK. Part of it is a personnel thing too. Like having some guys back in the lineup, our goalies making some big saves. But the structure is back to being sound and effective. Knowing when to pressure, knowing when not to, they're doing a real good job."
The team's recent play on the PK has been a bright spot in an otherwise disappointing season. How long can they keep this up?
