The Columbus Blue Jackets are still searching for offense, but Denton Mateychuk and Jake Christiansen have started to show some life from the blue line.
That hasn’t translated into enough goals yet. Mateychuk hit the post twice in Thursday night’s 3-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, another frustrating night in a stretch where Columbus has struggled to finish. Still, the rookie defenseman said he liked what he saw from his own game.
“Obviously for our offense, I think that’s something we want to have our defense be a part of it,” said Mateychuk. “Last game, I felt like I was up in the play and I was having good chances.”
He knows the chances matter, even if the results haven’t caught up.
“It’s frustrating, because in such a tight game like that, where we really need a goal in the third, I get a really good look. We want to see that one go in, and that one is one of those that kind of haunts you. That can change a game right there,” said Mateychuk.
The good news for Columbus is that Mateychuk and Christiansen are beginning to look comfortable together as a third pair. They haven’t spent much time side by side, but the early read is that the fit makes sense.
“I think we haven’t had a lot of games together, but in our short tenure together we’ve read off each other really well. I think we have very similar thought processes to the game, which makes it easy to read off of and make plays with,” said Mateychuk.
Christiansen said the pairing has been built around simple, clean puck movement and communication.
“Dents is obviously a great player; there is no secret about that. It feels like he puts me in great positions to succeed out there, and I try to do the same for him. Just reading off each other in the breakout, and communicating is really important for us trying to get out of there clean,” said Christiansen.
Both defensemen see themselves as puck movers first, and that shows in the way they want to attack the game. Their goal is to turn breakouts into speed through the neutral zone and create extra-man rushes whenever possible.
“Obviously, with a clean breakout it could create more odd mans, and then trying to get up in that pocket as like the fourth man or the fifth man. Just always trying to kind of stay involved in the rush, even if it seems like maybe you won’t be; there’s always a chance. So, just trying to stay engaged in the rush, and then trying to create some more off that,” said Christiansen.
Assistant coach Don Granato said the chemistry between the two has been easy to spot.
“Chemistry was obvious, but they were in the zone. Jake is a guy that was in and out of the lineup that has done a tremendous job to stay very focused and optimistic, and ready for his next opportunity,” said Granato.
Christiansen has continued to provide a spark offensively, and Mateychuk is also getting himself into dangerous spots. The finish just hasn’t come yet, but the Blue Jackets believe that part is a process.
The defense has been a major reason Columbus has been close to the playoffs the past two seasons, with Zach Werenski, Damon Severson, Ivan Provorov, and Mateychuk forming the key group. Now, with pairings shifting, all three defensive units are starting to find their own rhythm, and all three have the ability to swing a game.
That blue line still has to do the heavy lifting without the puck, too. Against Tampa Bay, Nikita Kucherov controlled the game whenever he was on the ice and kept generating chances.
The challenge doesn’t get any easier tonight against the Philadelphia Flyers. Matvei Michkov has already scored 10 goals this season, which accounts for 21.2% of Philadelphia’s 47 team goals, according to The Athletic.
Columbus needs to keep playing its game, push the pace, and find a way to score. This matchup features two of the three worst offenses in the league, so every chance matters.
The Blue Jackets are on a three-game losing streak, while the Flyers have dropped four of their last five. Puck drop is set for 7:00 ET at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
In Other News...
Blue Jackets Are Testing A Fan Base That Looks Near Its Limit
The mood around the Blue Jackets has shifted in a hurry, and not in a way that gives the building much room for patience. After three straight losses, the offense has gone quiet enough to drag down an already uneasy fan base, and the frustration has been visible in recent games as supporters have started to sound less like skeptics and more like people running out of reasons to stay engaged.
What makes the stretch ahead so important is that Columbus now gets a chance to steady itself against lower-ranked opponents, the kind of schedule spot that can either calm things down or deepen the unease if the same problems keep showing up. The bigger concern hanging over all of it is what happens if the losing keeps piling up and the roster starts to change, because any sense that key names might be moving out would only make an already restless crowd even harder to win back. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jackets Look Stuck In An NHL Model Fans Hate
The Blue Jackets rebuild has not just been about adding talent, it has also been about how the organization tries to find it. Under GM Don Waddell, Columbus has leaned on familiar front-office methods and experienced executives, but the broader picture still looks a lot like an old-school NHL operation in a league that has increasingly embraced data, deeper scouting and more inventive roster-building. For a team that has spent too much time in the middle of the standings, that matters.
Around the Metro, clubs such as Carolina and New Jersey have built reputations for using every edge available, and the contrast is hard to ignore. Columbus has tried to modernize in spots, but the staff structure still suggests a thinner operation than the teams it is chasing, which raises the same frustrating question for fans: is this a roster problem, or is it an organizational one? [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jackets Keep Running Into The Same Brutal Problem
The Blue Jackets came out of another game with the same familiar frustration, a night that featured chances, power-play looks and still only one goal to show for it in a 3-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Matthew Knies provided Columbus lone tally, but the broader issue has been hard to miss lately: the offense can create enough to keep leaning on opponents, yet it is not finishing nearly enough of those opportunities.
There was also a rough turn in net, as Jet Greaves gave up a pair of goals he would probably want back, adding to the sting of a loss that already felt expensive. The bigger concern may be the lineup itself, though, because Sean Monahan left the game with an upper-body injury and did not return, leaving Columbus to wonder both how long the scoring drought will linger and what the roster will look like the next time it tries to break through. [Read more 🡒]