Due to the shortened nature of week two, which was really just a weekend, it seems reasonable to combine it with the recently completed week three in our look at the winners and losers for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Despite the rough 0-2-0 start at the hands of the Boston Bruins and San Jose Sharks, weeks 2 and 3 proved to be much more productive for a Columbus squad fighting to avoid a repeat of last year’s inauspicious start.
After beating the Chicago Blackhawks by a score of 3-2 on October 21, the Jackets began a difficult four game Western Conference swing that began against the ever-dangerous Dallas Stars on October 22. Despite the difficulties of traveling between back-to-back games, the players looked fresh and eager to impress, coming away from Dallas with a 3-0 win. The final three games of the road trip all took place in California, resulting in an overtime loss against the Los Angeles Kings, another difficult 3-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks, and a 4-0 win over the Anaheim Ducks.
Now, with an October record of 3-3-1 and many of the players finding their stride, the Jackets turn their eyes to a November schedule that doesn’t appear to offer much relief. With this in mind, the questions remain: who won the past two weeks, and who needs to step up?
Winners
Sergei Bobrovsky
Making his second appearance in a row as a part of the winners’ circle, Bobrovsky has seemingly returned to a form reminiscent of his Vezina-winning season of 2013-14. Even when the team ahead of him puts forth a mediocre performance, Bobrovsky has shone. Although he has allowed 14 goals in the first seven games, that number pales in comparison to the 218 saves he has had to make in this first month of the regular season. He has faced the third most shots of any goalie in the NHL with 232, placing him behind only Cam Talbot and Marc-Andre Fleury. Whether or not he can sustain his .940 save average is yet to be seen, but for now, he is squarely in the NHL’s top ten for goaltenders.
#CBJ netminder Sergei Bobrovsky stellar on the road trip, going 2-1-1 with 1.25 GAA, .960 SV% and 2 SO.
— CBJ Public Relations (@BlueJacketsPR) October 29, 2016
Nick Foligno
After contributing two points in the first two games, both of which came against the Bruins, the Columbus captain has found himself sitting atop the team in terms of points at the end of the month. He has accrued eight points through these first seven matchups in the form of one goal and seven assists, and an average time on ice of just over 17 minutes per game. Even more importantly, he’s performing well in ways that can’t necessarily be measured statistically. He shows hustle when he’s on the ice, involves himself in the forecheck, and avoids potential costly turnovers. For a player who struggled under the weight of the captaincy at times last season, these signs of life are reassuring and hopefully signal a return to form for this fan favorite.
Brandon Saad
Following his assist in the opening game against the Bruins, Saad was the victim of a short but frustrating drought that left him pointless against the Sharks, Blackhawks, and Stars. Beginning with the game against the Kings, however, Saad seems to have relocated his scoring mitts. In last three games, he has been responsible for three goals and an assist, including a brace against the Ducks on Friday night.
As is the case with Foligno, Saad’s has marked his return to form not only by a sudden boost in scoring, but also with signs of a resurgent confidence on and off the puck. Along with a strong forecheck and improved passing, Saad has demonstrated his intricate control of the puck in even the tightest of spaces, dangling it on a string before creating separation with apparent ease. It’s as if he has managed to shed the weight and frustration of his scoreless streak and return to the point machine that he truly is. Hyperbolic rhetoric aside, he appears to be hitting his stride early in the season and a confident Brandon Saad will be invaluable as the season progresses.
This is a good shot, @BSaad20.#CBJ https://t.co/UhSXEu7z0a
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) October 29, 2016
Losers
Oliver Bjorkstrand
Despite being the hero of the Cleveland Monsters‘ Calder Cup run last season and an impressive camp, Bjorkstrand has struggled to find form at the beginning of this season. While his performances against Boston, San Jose, and Chicago were far from abysmal, he simply looked out of place for a majority of his time on ice. As a result, his playtime dropped from 14 minutes in game one to eight minutes by the third game.
In this span of time, he managed no points, four penalty minutes, and only two shots on goal. As a result, the club decided to call up Sonny Milano to take his spot. While it’s certainly not a permanent condemnation, this move will give Bjorkstrand some time to get back to his winning ways before being called up again, a necessity if he hopes to earn a permanent spot on the roster.
Dalton Prout
Perhaps it is simply the result of the stellar performances of Seth Jones and Zach Werenski, but Dalton Prout has played like little more than a defensive pylon at his best, and a defensive liability at his worst. Even though he has posted the second-best Corsi-for numbers on the team, (53.77%), he has looked more likely to turn the puck over than find a teammate with a successful pass.
With zero points, six penalty minutes, and third pairing time on ice, Prout has essentially become an overpaid bruiser, in the lineup to be a bully and not much more. The moment that perfectly encapsulates Prout’s play this season came on Friday evening, when he broke his stick on the ribs of a Ducks player in the process of crosschecking him. He commits this kind of stupid, hotheaded penalty frequently, and this is detrimental to the Jackets as a whole leading the blueline in penalty minutes in the early going. As soon as Ryan Murray returns, Tortorella will likely scratch Prout in favor of a better player.
Promising Start, But Improvements Needed
While this season’s 3-3-1 start is a massive improvement over last year’s draining 0-7-0, the Jackets will have to not only maintain this level of play, but also improve if they hope to make a push for the playoffs this year. The club will certainly worry about the disproportionately high amount of shots that have found their way to Bobrovsky, and with good reason. Bobrovsky may not maintain this high level of play throughout the entire season, and the team in front of him needs to be more responsible in terms of puck possession and shot prevention. If they can manage to limit turnovers and even out the often imbalanced shot totals, this team can continue to play well throughout the season.
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