Through 30 games Columbus Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno has just 12 points, six goals, and six assists. On November 24th against the Ottawa Senators, he scored his fourth goal of the season after going 13 games without one. He scored his fifth goal December 1st and then his sixth goal the 5th.
Last season, through 30 games Nick Foligno had 11 goals and 17 assists. That season Foligno had his second highest point total with 51 points.
What has caused such a slow start for the Columbus Blue Jackets captain? There a few explanations.
Nick Foligno Struggling Offensively
Power Play Woes Continue
Currently, the Blue Jackets power play is a dreadful 9.41% while the league average is at 19.49%. In 2016-17, Foligno scored 21 of his 51 points to come on the power play with 10 of those being goals. Currently, Foligno has one point on the power play, a singular goal.
Through 30 games Foligno has seen 77 minutes of power play time. His CF% QoT, corsi-for percentage quality of teammates, is 79.4% of the power play. Foligno has seen most of his power play time come on the first power play unit, which includes Cam Atkinson, Artemi Panarin, Seth Jones, and Oliver Bjorkstrand. None of these players is something to scoff at, Panarin and Cam can shoot the puck better than most on the team and Jones is very good at quarterbacking the power play.
Just last season, Foligno’s relative CF% was a 2.09% on the power play and his xGF – expected goals for – was 30.22. Currently, his xGF is a 5.13. Foligno is not expected to score as many goals on the power play. It’s not easy to blame lack of talent because his CF% QoT for last season was an 81.75%, not much better than what it is so far this season.
Foligno has also taken three penalties while the Blue Jackets were on the power play, thus negating the power play. The good news is, however, Foligno has not taken as many penalties through 30 as he did last year.
The concerning part is how Foligno is – or was – a big part of the power play. Last season, it was almost shocking if Foligno didn’t score or at least get an assist. Currently, he averages the second highest amount of time while on the power play with 2:41, only Zach Werenski has a higher average at 2:47.
Nick Foligno is Not a Center
Perhaps the biggest change for Foligno this season was the fact that he had to play center. To start the season the injuries of Lukas Sedlak and Alexander Wennberg hurt the team down the middle. Their injuries hurt even more with the fact that the Blue Jackets are not especially deep down the middle. Foligno, who usually plays left wing, moved to center from the first game of the season.
As a center, Foligno had to focus more on defensive responsibilities and playmaking abilities.
A majority of Foligno’s games have come while playing center, and the stats speak for themselves. His even-strength relative Corsi-for is a -4.64, last season his even-strength relative CF was a +.92; not a fantastic number, but it shows that the team played better while Foligno was on the ice. Currently, it’s the opposite. This is not just to say that Foligno – and his line – are playing horrible, but the team has been generating more shots with other lines.
Another point in showing that center does not suit Foligno is that this season his even-strength CF quality-of-teammates is higher this year than last. Last season Foligno played mostly on the top line with Wennberg and Brandon Saad – His CF QoT was a 52.23% with Saad and Wennberg – currently, it sits at a 54.72% while playing mostly with Sonny Milano and Oliver Bjorkstrand.
Mental Game
Just like in the 2015-16 season the reason for Nick Foligno’s struggles could be all in his head. Two seasons ago, he became a captain which most likely was to explain the struggles. Now, however, it may be that Foligno is putting pressure back on himself.
It’s been talked about that at the end of the 2015-16 season Foligno talked to head coach John Tortorella who threatened to take away Foligno’s captaincy. Last season Foligno proved Tortorella wrong with an offensive burst that helped Columbus reach the playoffs.
Now, the pressure may not be about being captain, but focusing on how to help the team go back to the playoffs in back-to-back years.
Looking Ahead
Nick Foligno is not running out of time to find his scoring touch, there are still 52 games left. There’s also the fact that now that Wennberg and Sedlak are back from injury – including Pierre-Luc Dubois now paying center as well – Foligno has been moved back to left wing. He’s also been reunited with Wennberg, the center he played with most last year, which hopefully should spark some chemistry from then.
Now that he isn’t playing center, Foligno will hopefully be taking more shots and not overthinking defensive responsibilities.
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