![]() ![]() Gaudreau and Laine need a center who can do what Boone Jenner and Jack Roslovic haven’t yet for the Jackets’ top forwards - Cole Sillinger or Kent Johnson, perhaps? - or Larsen may need to institute a forward shakeup just to stir the pot. Time could turn that salsa into jelly or even chocolate, or the peanut butter could turn into tortilla chips, but time isn’t something the Blue Jackets can afford. They’ve been more like peanut butter and salsa. Both are still pretty good on their own, just not together. Instead, after Laine missed the first two-plus weeks with an elbow sprain that happened in the season-opener, they’re struggling to produce together after just 10-plus periods of regular season hockey. They spent the entire preseason on the same top forward line and were supposed to go together like peanut butter and jelly. Laine is the owner of a world-class shot and Gaudreau is coming off a career-best 115 points for the Calgary Flames on 40 goals and 85 assists. Nobody was more excited than Laine after Johnny Gaudreau picked the Blue Jackets as an unrestricted free agent. Patrik Laine’s injury threw Columbus Blue Jackets for a loop ![]() Minus both and playing 18-year-old rookie David Jiricek, the Jackets dropped their past two games by a combined 11-1 margin against the Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils. Blankenburg is close to returning, but Boqvist sustained a broken foot and is out five more weeks. Nick Blankenburg’s upper-body injury hasn’t helped either, after the undersized rookie replaced struggling Adam Boqvist and made an instant impact. Turnovers off the indecisive or ill-advised exit passes are putting Columbus goalies into terrible situations.Īlso, the notion that adding “toughness” and “grit” with defenseman Erik Gudbranson and forward Mathieu Olivier would help the Blue Jackets play more aggressively has yet to materialize. Puck battles are being won a lot more often by opposing players. Confusion reigns when the puck slides below the hash marks in the Blue Jackets’ zone, leading to multiple mistakes. Opposing players are being left alone after blown coverages, including superstar Sidney Crosby in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 6-3 victory Oct. The Blue Jackets are tied with the Anaheim Ducks for the worst goal differential in the league, a ghastly minus-18, and they’ve allowed 44 goals for a stunning 4.4 per-game average. After 10 games, that effort isn’t going well. Going into training camp, coach Brad Larsen said the main in-game objectives were to allow fewer goals and improve on last season’s minus-38 goal differential. The Columbus Blue Jackets’ defensive woes have worsened ![]()
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