The Columbus Blue Jackets are finally heading into a true road test, and it comes with plenty still unresolved.
They meet the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night with just nine games played, the fewest in the NHL. That odd early schedule has left Columbus with seven of its first nine at home, so this trip is the first real stretch away from home ice this season.
Head coach Rick Bowness believes the group is starting to settle in anyway.
“If you look at our last four games we’ve really had only one bad period, and clearly that was the second period against Toronto,” said Bowness. “The Ranger game we go into overtime, we go into Minnesota on a tough back-to-back, and we hang right in there until the end.”
That’s the encouraging part. The less encouraging part is that the Blue Jackets are still not finishing enough of the chances they’re creating. The offense has had looks, but the puck just isn’t going in, and that kind of dry spell can start to weigh on confidence.
Conor Garland summed up that mindset with a simple approach.
“It’s just about trying to keep your confidence high, because it’s easy to let it go, but if I trust my process, trust my training, trust my day-to-day process, I’ll be okay,” said Conor Garland.
Garland is one of several Blue Jackets who need to give this offense a jolt. He was brought in to be a major part of the attack, but through nine games he has no points and a minus-1 rating while on-ice.
Sean Monahan is in a similar spot. Columbus has a handful of players off to strong starts, but a larger portion of the roster has struggled to generate much early production. Monahan said the chances are there - the finishing just isn’t.
“I mean we are getting chances, and not scoring. I don’t know, I think we got to crank it up and get the intensity going around their net,” said Monahan.
He also pointed to a personal adjustment: shooting more and making quicker decisions around the net.
“I’ve had a few of those ones (scoring chances), and I think I got to look at the net more and shoot more. So, that is one thing for me, that I am trying to focus on.
I’m looking past, and I look over last second and realize I have an empty net, and I am already committed to shooting, so that’s on me. I got to be more poised, and be a more mature player to put those in,” said Monahan.
The Blue Jackets have spent plenty of time talking about their identity as a team that wants to drag opponents into tight, low-scoring games. But eventually, they need the scoreboard to reflect the chances they’re creating.
Denton Mateychuk said the team has to be careful not to let the scoring drought snowball into something bigger.
“We can get ahead of ourselves, and I think you have kind of seen that last year at the end of the year. Where we kind of get into that spot and then it is almost like every game is game seven, and we are almost gripping it too tight, and that is where mistakes start to creep in. I feel like that’s where we got off to the wrong foot to start the year,” said Denton Mateychuk.
Special teams could also swing things. The power play has been part of the problem, and Mateychuk said one good moment there could help change the tone.
“Something like that, winning a game with a power play goal, after it’s been a struggle since pretty much game one could be just little things that kind of change the tide to something like that for you,” said Mateychuk.
Bowness is trying to find the right combinations to spark some offense, and Garland’s line is one area he hopes can help. Garland has been moved alongside Monahan and Cole Sillinger, and Bowness liked what he saw from that group.
“So now we’ve put him with Cole and Monahan. That line looked really good the other night. So, now he’s got to get around the net a little bit more, and you better give that line a little bit of time to create some chemistry, but I thought Sean Monahan had his best game last game,” said Bowness.
There is also some good news on the blue line. Dante Fabbro is expected to return to the lineup barring any pregame setbacks in Philadelphia, and his return should help firm up a defensive group that was supposed to look different from the start.
The added benefit is that getting Fabbro and Ivan Provorov back gives Columbus more of the top-four defense it expected to have. Fabbro’s return also helps stabilize the third pair.
Defense was a major reason for the Blue Jackets’ surge after Bowness was hired last season, and that remains true now. With the back end healthier, they are closer to the shape they envisioned.
The road trip may not be measured only in wins, especially with the level of competition about to rise. Still, Columbus would likely feel good if it can come away with at least three points. Tuesday’s game against the Flyers matters, especially with Carolina and Dallas coming next.
The Blue Jackets will not return to Columbus until Sunday, and their next home game comes Tuesday, Nov. 3, against the Colorado Avalanche.
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