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Oilers come to town...sorry for the absence

October 29, 2019, 1:35 PM ET [3 Comments]
Thomas Townsend
Columbus Blue Jackets Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Hello everyone and welcome back to Jackets Buzz. Last week my computer got a refresh and needless to say I wasn't ready for the repercussions. I was logged out of this site and didn't have my username or password documented anywhere. By the time I realized what was going on it was the weekend. All has now been restored and I am ready to go once again. Hopefully, so are the Jackets after that 3rd period on Saturday...

When we last spoke the CBJ had finished off TOR in OT and were riding a 5-game points streak. They extended that the next game with a come-from-behind OT victory at home vs. the Canes. As all good things do, the streak came to an end, in PHI with a less-than-desirable 3rd period. To add injury to insult (literally), yesterday the Jackets announced that Murray and Texier were placed on the IR. Murray has a broken hand and Texier has a knee injury. Both will likely be out for the next month, maybe longer. No word on roster changes as far as I can find yet.

The opening month of the season has been positive for the Jackets given what happened in the off-season and where all the experts had them pegged.

STATUS
Record: 5-4-2 (12 points)
Standings: 5th in the Metro 7 points behind division leading WAS
Assessment: C

Significant changes in key positions resulted in less impact than initially expected. I think everyone who took an objective look at where Columbus is right now can more or less agree with that statement.
Goaltending is better than expected. Scoring is down, but that was expected. The defense is a bit inconsistent for my liking. With the exception of two games (PIT and PHI) the Jackets have been competitive every night. There has been shuffling of lines and search for identity that happens at the beginning of every season. Here's the thing, the Jackets will finish the opening month of the season no worse than .500 (12 points in 12 games) and could be over .500 (14 points in 12 games) with a win over EDM at home Wednesday. I see that as a positive start with a ton of potential moving into the end of 2019.

Bright Spots

Korpisalo has emerged as the clear #1 goalie in Columbus. He has started 9 of the 11 games and has a 3.08 GAA with a Sv% of .896. Those numbers were severely impacted by the PHI game and looked much better prior, with a sub-3 GAA and an above .900 Sv%.

PLD has become a leader on the team. His play has been on display for the league in the first month of the season. He has a point in 7-of-the-first-11 games and has been able to be the puck-driving-forward the team needs. Doing some quick math (and given that Dubois scores goals at the rate he did the first 11 games), PLD is on pace to scroe 37 goals this season. That is awesome, especially noting that his previous season high was 27.

This Week

The Pacific-Leading-Oilers visit NWA tomorrow followed by a Friday trip to STL and CGY in C-bus for the second half of the weekend back-to-back.

EDM's hot start doesn't surprise me. If you remember back to the end of last season when the CBJ were making a push for the playoffs, the Oilers had the Jackets number. It was just to late for EDM to make a push of their own for the playoffs. They have a ton of dynamic scoring up front with a goaltending tandem that boasts a sub-2.5 GAA and above .914 Sv%. While I didn't see Mike Smith making a difference on this squad, he obviously has. The Oilers' top 6 scorers have outscored the entire Jackets team.

It doesn't get any easier over the weekend visiting the defending Stanley Cup Champion St. Louis Blues and then hosting the Flames the following night. Calgary, the defending Pacific Division Champion, looks to have taken steps back early this season but, STL is just 2 points off the lead in the Central Division.

What Does Success Look Like?
Over the next 3 games, success is taking 4 of a possible 6 points. It would also take the form of giving up 3 goals or less in each game. Four points can come in many different ways, but it would be nice to see a W in regulation. That has only happened 2 times in the first 11 games.

Go Jackets
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