Final Score: Islanders 4 – Blue Jackets 0
Game Summary
Well if it wasn’t panic time before this, it certainly is now. How does the old baseball saying go? You can’t win your division in April but you sure can lose it?
This is all too applicable to the current Columbus Blue Jackets who lost again to fall to 0-7-0. They are obviously not this bad, no team in the NHL is. But you have to start to wonder if this might be another long season that ends without a playoff berth.
To reach 98 points the Jackets need to go 49-26-0 or some combination thereof. It’s possible but not probable at this point. I expected them to be in that 96-99 point range entering the season. They now have to play at a 108 point pace (or 54 win pace) which is way above any expectations, just to have a sniff of a wild card spot. That is the kind of hole they have dug for themselves.
As for the game, Curtis McElhinney got his second straight start and from what I saw/read he seemed fine. He didn’t steal the game but he played well enough to win and that’s all you can ask from your back-up goalie.
The power play appeared to struggle mightily going for 0-for-6. That was something we could fall back on through the first six games, at least the power play was clicking, but not anymore. On one hand it’s great the team was able to get six opportunities but it’s wasted if you can’t capitalize on it.
Cam Atkinson was a healthy scratch for this game. A curious move as I really didn’t think he was part of the problem. He has one goal and two assists in six games. A half point a game is what you would expect from Atkinson so it’s tough to say he's underperforming. He’s also been a great player against the Islanders in his career with 10 points in nine games. I didn’t see anything about him missing practice or being late making this move even more curious.
There has been some speculation that this means they are shopping Atkinson or have a deal in place. I don’t buy that right now but I do plan to take a look at the situation in the near future, so stayed tuned.
Stat of the Night
Courtesy of this tweet from Adam Gretz.