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Moving Week(s)

November 18, 2019, 9:57 AM ET [3 Comments]
Thomas Townsend
Columbus Blue Jackets Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Over the next 2 weeks our beloved CBJ play 7 games with 5 of them on home ice. All but one of those games are against Eastern Conference foes. Their are 14 points on the line moving through the final days of November.

To put that in perspective the Jackets have mustered only 18 points through the first month-and-a-half of the season. Their three (yes that says 3) wins in regulation along with 45 goals for places them dead last in the NHL in both categories and lands them at the bottom of the Metro division. However, that is only 7 points behind 3rd place Carolina.

Signs of Life

Goaltending

Over the month of November the team GAA is 2.86 but, that has provided only 2 wins and 6 points (14 possible points). In only 2 of the 7 games have the Jackets given up 4 goals (OT vs. STL and at COL). Five of the seven November games have been 1-goal affairs.

Secondary Scoring

While scoring has been hard to come by, their are some guys who aren't your primary goal scorers tickling the twine early in the season. Zach has 6 goals from the point, Jenner has 4 on the 3rd line and Milano has 3 bouncing around the line up. Bjork has 4 goals, but I'm not sure we can call him 'secondary' when it comes to scoring any longer. Primary scoring has been the issue. PLD has been a surprising force down the middle driving play and scoring 7 goals. He is certainly doing his part. But, Gus and Cam each only have 3. Anderson has 1. You read that correctly, in 13 games Josh Anderson has 1 goal. In his defense he was injured and still may not be 100%. Those 3 players total 7 goals on the season.

Competitiveness

The Jackets have not given up more than 4 goals in any one contest this month. As stated above 5-of-7 November games have been decided by one goal. Also, 8-of-12 October games were 1-goal games. In total 13-of-19 games this season were of the 1-goal variety. Problem is, all the CBJ wins have been by a single goal. They have yet to register a 2-or-more-goal-victory. That is a troubling statement 19 games into the season.

Because of the competitive nature of the games NWA has been notably loud, creating a home ice advantage. But, as their record starts to dip so will attendance. Eight points over the next 7 games is a must. Columbus has to find a way to score 4-or-more goals in this stretch of games and secure some regulation victories. A cold spell could spell early doom for the Jackets both competitively and financially (with attendance falling as they become irrelevant). Ten or more points will build confidence headed into the last month of 2019 and provide a spark to the beginning of 2020.

Good Luck and Go Jackets,

Thanks for reading.
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