Getting Jared Boll back into the lineup was clearly priority No. 1 for head coach Todd Richards, but another reason that factored into Marko Dano sitting in the stands was that the team wanted to get a legitimate look at Jeremy Morin.
While there were other ways to accomplish that, Richards felt it was best to play Morin alongside Scott Hartnell and Alex Wennberg to get a better feel for where he is at.
Some thoughts on the lineup changes and Johansen:
1) Morin didn't get on the scoresheet - he was held pointless in almost 15 minutes of ice - but he and his linemates crushed the Islanders in terms of even-strength possession. That line generated upwards of 80% of the shot attempts (obviously game-highs) while playing primarily against Frans Nielsen, Josh Bailey and Kyle Okposo. That's no easy feat.
2) What did Jared Boll do in his return? Not much. He posted a team-low 38CF% while playing seven minutes. Fortunately the Blue Jackets won, anyway, but this team would be much better off dressing Dano, Morin and all the team's skill players over Boll.
3) Don't look now, but after scoring against the Islanders Ryan Johansen is now on a nine-game point streak. If he records a point against the struggling Penguins on Saturday it'll be the 3rd time this season he's gone on a 10-game point streak. That has to be some sort of record.
4) Speaking of Johansen, I find it odd that the team still openly says they'd like to see more from him. I mean, he's 22 and is going to tally 70+ points in a year where only a few guys may eclipse the 80-point plateau. He's already elite.
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