Columbus Blue Jackets: 3 reasons to believe they're making progress
It’s been another painful season for the Blue Jackets.
They’re 22-32-10 with 18 games remaining, remain miles away from playoff contention and, for the fourth straight year, will have a lottery pick in the NHL draft. That’s without mentioning the forced resignation of coach Mike Babcock in September, who was eventually replaced by Pascal Vincent; the key absences due to injury; and Patrik Laine’s entrance into the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program in January.
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The Jackets have dealt with a maddening tendency to fumble away late leads, as well. Thirteen of them, to be exact, in 12 losses. General manager Jarmo Kekalainen was also removed in February after 11 years on the job and multiple players have griped about issues publicly.
It seems like a complete mess, but there’s a flip side, too.
This year’s pain has also led to noticeable growth. They’ve stayed close in almost every game, multiple players have taken strides in their NHL maturation and the Jackets are forming a tight bond while going through adversity together.
Reasons to believe they’re turning a corner abound, which is far different than the feeling around Columbus a year ago. Here are three:
Columbus Blue Jackets improving in one-goal decisions
Losing close was a huge issue in the Jackets’ first three months, as they went 4-5-8 in one-goal games from the season-opener in October through a 3-2 overtime loss Dec. 30 in Buffalo.
That worked out to a .235 winning percentage in one-goal games that ranked last among the NHL’s 32 teams to that point. Since the flip of the calendar to 2024, the Blue Jackets are 4-2-2 in one-goal games for a .500 winning percentage that has them ranked 16th in the league.
That’s a big improvement tied to fewer blown leads in third periods as the result of better goaltending, defensive play and the expanded implementation of Vincent’s strategic systems. The Jackets’ confidence has also grown while holding late leads, which is a key part of a young team’s maturation.
Elvis Merzlikins, Daniil Tarasov becoming a strong goaltending tandem
It’s an incredibly small sample size, but the Jackets’ NHL goalies have posted impressive numbers the past couple of weeks.
Elvis Merzlikins and Daniil Tarasov have combined for a 5-4-0 record, 2.50 goals-against average and .930 save percentage in 11 appearances since the latter of the two — who’s technically the backup — earned a win Feb. 21 in Anaheim. If they can provide something close to that over a full season, that’s the kind of goaltending that leads teams into the playoffs feeling confident.
The trick is getting both to keep their performance high while sharing the net at a near-even split for a full season, which is much harder than it seems. Merzlikins and Tarasov, however, possess the abilities to combine as a powerful one-two punch for the Blue Jackets, who may replicate what the Boston Bruins have established with goalies Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman.
Merzlikins’ contract has three years left at $5.4 million per season, so that’s something to watch in the pending offseason. Should he and Tarasov return next year and thrive, the Blue Jackets could turn one of their biggest perceived weaknesses into a strength.
Columbus Blue Jackets’ future down the middle impressive
The general rule of thumb when building a Stanley Cup contender is to work from the goalie out. The Blue Jackets’ goaltending tandem is showing promise, as mentioned, but they’re also close to having an advantage at center ice.
It wasn’t long ago that captain Boone Jenner and Sean Kuraly were the Blue Jackets’ top two centers. That’s still true in some ways, particularly on faceoffs, but they’ve now got company from three young centers.
Cole Sillinger, Adam Fantilli and Dmitri Voronkov have all shown in spurts the Jackets’ future is bright down the middle. Sillinger has already logged 202 NHL games by age 20, Voronkov has 17 goals and is already centering the second line as a 23-year-old rookie. Fantilli had 12-15-27 in 49 games before a severe calf laceration halted his rookie campaign in January.
Peering into the Blue Jackets’ future, it’s not difficult to foresee those three handling the top three center spots in Columbus with either Jenner or Kuraly shifting to a wing position as a forechecking menace. All three young centers are learning tough lessons now, but they’re also forming a backbone down the middle for an upstart Jackets team moving forward.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 3 reasons Columbus Blue Jackets are making headway
