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Three adjustments needed for Game 2

April 14, 2017, 12:32 PM ET [11 Comments]
Paul Berthelot
Columbus Blue Jackets Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The Jackets played pretty well in Game 1 but ultimately did not get the victory. Here are three adjustments they need to make heading into Game 2.

1. Converting Corsi to Chances

With the Jackets play there has been a lot of discussion about possession stats and how they maybe aren’t such a good indicator of how teams are playing. After all looking at Game 1 the Jackets had plenty of shot attempts, but the majority of them were from the outside and low danger areas.






The reason Corsi is talked about so often is because it is a proxy for possession. By having the puck, regardless of if you get chances or not, you keep it away from the opposition and limit their chances. The Jackets only had three high danger chances at 5 on 5 according to Natural Stat Trick but by having the puck they held the Penguins to just six HD chances, something that was done only 13 times in the regular season. In those 13 games the Penguins lost 11 times.

The Penguins with their firepower do not need many opportunities to score. The Jackets must do better at getting into the slot, taking shots and crashing the net. All season they have liked to set up behind the net and make a quick pass to a player streaking to the front of the net. There was none of that in Game 1, give credit to the Penguins for taking that away but the point remains the team needs more chances.

A good way to generate more chances would be to…

2. Play Brandon Saad like your #1 forward

Brandon Saad is the Blue Jackets best forward. This isn’t a controversial statement. His 53 points were third on the team and that is with just three power play points. Per Corsica his 43 points at 5 on 5 were the most on the team, 10 more than Scott Hartnell. That tied him for 11th in the NHL with players like Nikita Kucherov, Ryan Getzlaf and Vladimir Tarasenko. He also had 33 primary points at 5 on 5, again leading the team and tying him for 15th in the NHL with Filip Forsberg and Max Pacioretty.

Saad generates the second most individual shot attempts per 60 minutes on the team behind Boone Jenner and the second most individual scoring chances per 60, behind Oliver Bjorkstrand. He was also second on the team with a 54.61% Corsi. When Brandon Saad was on the ice this season the Jackets scored 62.35% of the goals and had 56.39% of the scoring chances.

Why in the world is Saad not the most used forward on the team? Saad played 14:26 in Game 1, sixth among forwards. With the team down in the third period, looking for offense, Saad rather than be out there every other shift, was nailed to the bench. He played a grand total of two shifts in the third period for a combined 1:45.

I understand wanting to send a message, but I don’t think Saad is the player that needs that message. Saad has been through this before; he's been a part of three long playoff runs with the Blackhawks and has two Stanley Cups. He should know what is expected of him and should know when he's not playing up to those expectations.

Offense has been a major problem for this team down the stretch, benching your best 5 on 5 scorer is not the optimal way to get things going.

3. Adjust the third pair




There is nothing wrong with wanting a faster line-up against a fast team. What’s wrong is you replaced a slower defencemen in Kyle Quincey with another slow defencemen in Scott Harrington. All the while you have a quick puck moving defencemen in Markus Nutivaara just sitting there. It makes no sense to keep Nutivaara in the press box. Nutivaara skates much better than either Harrington or Gabriel Carlsson, he has much more NHL experience than both players, and isn’t a bad defensive player at all. He does a very good job at breaking up on-coming rushes, something that would be very handy to have against a team like the Penguins.

The third pair hardly plays anyway. Harrington and Carlsson only played 8:28 and 7:57 respectively. It would be nice to have a player who’s trusted a little more so that you don’t completely wear down your top four.

Game 2 goes tonight at 7pm. The Jackets don’t exactly need a win but they do have to steal a game in Pittsburgh if they want to win the series. If they can make these three adjustments, they will put themselves in a better position to do just that.

You can follow me on Twitter @PaulBerthelot
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