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After winning consecutive games to start the season by an aggregate score of 8-3, the Blue Jackets have dropped two of three and been outscored 9-7 in that span.

While it's hardly time to panic, there are certainly some things that need to be cleaned up.

Some thoughts:

- One thing the Jackets can't afford to turn into a trend is slow starts. In two of the last three games they've fallen behind 2-0, which is a hole they won't be able to crawl out of more times than not. Against both Ottawa and Dallas they came back to tie it up after falling behind 2-0, but couldn't pull ahead and eventually lost both games.

- I can't say enough about what I've seen from Ryan Johansen thus far. After arriving in camp the Jackets weren't happy with how he looked and thought he was rusty, but he's shown absolutely no signs of that this season. He has recorded at least a point in all five games thus far, and has posted excellent possession numbers while doing so.

Through five games Columbus has generated 57% of all shot attempts when Johansen's been on the ice. Obviously it's not a large sample size, but those numbers are about as good as you could hope for.

- For my money the Tim Erixon - James Wisniewski pairing has been Columbus' best thus far. For the most part they've had more favorable zone starts than the other pairings, but playing against respectable competition they've driven play at a high rate. Columbus is getting a hair less than 60% of the shot attempts when they're on the ice, which is elite. Again, small sample size but encouraging numbers nonetheless.

- Jack Skille has impressed me with the way he's played since moving up to the 3rd line with Marko Dano out of the lineup. In two games he has a goal and six shots while being a 63% possession player.

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