I recently looked at how the Blue Jackets fared at full strength in the goal department with each of their defensemen, so, with nothing else going on, I decided to do the same for their forwards.
Once again, I used 5 vs 5 data as most of every game is spent in that situation, and over the course of an 82 game schedule you get a pretty large sample size to work with.
That in mind, I tabled the goals for/against data for each of the Blue Jackets' regular forwards in 13-14 to see how Columbus fared with certain players on or off the ice.
A few notes:
- Ryan Johansen was simply excellent in 2013-14. They scored more goals with him on the ice at full strength than anyone else, and he posted the best differential on the team. I think he's just scratching the surface of his potential, so the Blue Jackets really need to get him re-signed.
- Besides Jared Boll, who somehow landed a three-year deal, R.J. Umberger posted the worst 5 vs 5 goal differential on the team. I didn't table his numbers, but Scott Hartnell was 2nd on Philadelphia with a plus-16 goal differential at full strength.
- Boone Jenner's numbers are quite encouraging. He seemed to get better and better as the year went on, and there's no reason that trend shouldn't continue. I said the same about Ryan Murray, but when rookies are facing established NHL players and coming out positive in the goals department, that's always a good sign.
Jackets posts
Devils posts
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Email: NHLToddCordell@Gmail.com