Adam Fantilli’s season has been a mix of clear progress and frustrating silence, and right now the silence is winning.
The Blue Jackets center has six points through 17 games, with four goals among them. One came on opening night, then three more arrived in a four-game stretch from Oct. 18 through Oct.
- He added the primary assist on the overtime winner against the Philadelphia Flyers after that goal on the 27th, but since then he has gone 148 minutes and 36 seconds without a point.
For Columbus, that drought is hard to ignore. The offense around him hasn’t exactly picked up the slack, either. The Blue Jackets have scored only five regulation plus overtime goals in their last four games, and they’ve managed more than three goals in regulation just twice this season.
Fantilli’s game has looked uneven in the middle of all that. At times he seems to be pressing for too much; at others, he disappears from the attack. That’s a tough spot for a player expected to help drive the offense every night.
Head coach Rick Bowness tried to move him to the second line, but injuries to Sean Monahan - including one in Thursday night’s 3-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning - pushed Fantilli back onto the top line. He logged 21:56 in that defeat, his third-highest ice time in a non-overtime game this season.
The scoring rate tells the story. Fantilli is averaging 0.35 points per game this year.
Last season, he posted 59 points, including 24 goals and 35 assists, for a 0.72 points-per-game pace. Two seasons ago, his 31 goals helped him to a 0.66 average, and even his rookie year - cut short by a midseason injury after 49 games - came in at 0.55 points per game.
That’s why the expectation coming into this season was straightforward: another step forward, not a step back. He signed a six-year deal worth $82.5 million total less than a week before the regular season began, and with that kind of commitment, the Jackets need him to produce.
Fantilli, though, isn’t sounding rattled. Speaking to The Columbus Dispatch earlier this week, he said he believes the offense will come if he keeps creating chances.
"I've missed some chances. That’s on me, but it (the puck) just hasn’t gone in. It’s going to happen."
There have been some encouraging signs underneath the scoring drought. Fantilli has been much better in the faceoff circle, winning more than 60% of his draws this season after finishing below 50% in each of his previous three years. His defensive play has also taken a step forward, even if that work doesn’t show up on the scoresheet.
But Columbus can’t wait forever. The Blue Jackets are 7-10-0 and riding a three-game losing streak, and the lack of offense is putting them in a dangerous spot.
Getting Fantilli going would go a long way toward changing that. The Jackets are counting on him to be a major part of what comes next.
In Other News...
Blue Jackets Suddenly Face Bench Uncertainty On Game Night
Rick Bowness was absent from the Blue Jackets game against the Tampa Bay Lightning because of an illness, leaving Columbus to adjust on the fly for a night when the bench looked a little different than usual. In his second season with the club, Bowness has brought plenty of experience to a young roster, and his presence behind the bench is usually part of the teams nightly routine.
Don Granato handled the coaching duties in Bowness place, giving Columbus a different voice in a game that already carried the usual stakes of an Eastern Conference matchup. For a team trying to keep its footing, any late change behind the bench adds another layer to manage, especially when it involves the NHLs oldest head coach being out of action on game night. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jackets Let Another Home Game Slip Away In Brutal Third Period
Another home game got away from the Blue Jackets on a night when they had chances to settle in and build something against Tampa Bay. Columbus managed just one goal, from Matthew Knies, while Brandon Hagel powered the Lightning attack with two goals and an assist and Nikita Kucherov set the table with two helpers in a 3-1 loss that left the building with the familiar feeling of a missed opportunity.
Dennis Hildeby backed up the win with 28 saves, and the game stayed within reach long enough for Columbus to believe it could still turn. Instead, the third period tilted the wrong way, and the Blue Jackets were left to sort through another frustrating finish against a division opponent that did enough in the key moments to leave Columbus searching for answers. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jackets Suddenly Need Answers On Sean Monahan
Sean Monahans night ended early in Tampa, and the Blue Jackets suddenly have another injury situation to sort through. The veteran forward had one assist in 9:58 of ice time before leaving the game against the Lightning with an upper-body injury, a development that came in a 3-1 loss Columbus could ill afford as it tried to keep pace.
The immediate concern now is how long Monahan might be unavailable and what it means for a lineup that already had to adjust on the fly. Columbus did not have him back for the rest of the game, and with the team looking for stability up front, any absence from a center with his experience would force another round of shuffling at a time when the Blue Jackets need answers more than they need another question. [Read more 🡒]