The 2021-22 Blue Jackets season by the numbers

Throughout the hockey season, many numbers are created. Many, many numbers.
There's goals and assists, penalty minutes and plus/minus, goals against and save percentage. Then there's shots and shot attempts, which leads to stats like shot share, expected goals and much, much more.
But some numbers stand out more than others, which is what we're looking for this year when we wrap up the most interesting, intriguing and unique numbers that define the 2021-22 Columbus Blue Jackets season.

562
Per official statistics, there were 562 goals in Blue Jackets games this season -- 262 for the Jackets and 300 for opponents, both of which are franchise records. Taking out shootout goals, that number goes down to 555 (258 for, 297 against), but scoreboard operators were quite busy no matter how you slice it this year during CBJ games. Scoring is up across the NHL this season, but it's still fair to say the Blue Jackets will want to keep the goals for up but figure out a way to cut down the goals allowed going into next season.
6
Keeping the scoring trend going, six CBJ players notched career highs in points -- Oliver Bjorkstrand (57), Zach Werenski (48), Jack Roslovic (45), Vladislav Gavrikov (33), Sean Kuraly (30) and Eric Robinson (27). We could also add in Jake Bean (25), Adam Boqvist (22) and Alexandre Texier (20), youngsters who all impressed, but none has a long enough NHL track record to really start getting into career highs. Nonetheless, those steps up show a team with plenty of scoring depth and some players coming into their own when it comes to putting the puck in the net.
12
It's also worth mentioning Columbus had 12 different players score at least 10 goals for the team, tying a franchise record set in 2016-17. The men to reach double digits were Bjorkstrand (28), Patrik Laine (26), Boone Jenner (23), Roslovic (22), Gustav Nyquist (18), Cole Sillinger (16), Kuraly (14), Werenski (11), Boqvist (11), Texier (11), Robinson (10) and Justin Danforth (10). A fun trivia fact - the players to score at least 10 goals in both 2017 and 2022 for the Jackets? Jenner and Werenski.
Also of note: Columbus had four 20-goal scorers, tied for the second-most in franchise history (5, 2018-19) and four 50-point scorers, third-most in CBJ history (5, 2009-10 and 2016-17).
43
Columbus got 43 goals from defensemen on the season, a mark that placed sixth in the NHL behind just Colorado, Florida, Vegas, Washington and St. Louis. Werenski and Boqvist led the way with 11 each, a mark that places tied for sixth all-time in franchise history in goals in a season from blueliners.
4
Of Nyquist's 18 goals, four of them came shorthanded, which tied him for the second most in a season in franchise history. Nyquist also finished tied for third in the NHL, one off the league lead.
10
Ten different players made NHL debuts for the Blue Jackets this season, tying a franchise record set in the inaugural season of 2000-01 and underscoring just how many new faces there were on the team this year. Three players debuted on opening night -- young draft picks Sillinger and Yegor Chinakhov, plus European veteran Gregory Hofmann -- and they were joined in November by Danforth. Goalie Daniil Tarasov was summoned in December when sickness hit the CBJ goalie ranks, then defenseman Jake Christiansen debuted in January. Winger Trey Fix-Wolansky became just the sixth Jackets player to tally in his debut in February, then Carson Meyer, Kent Johnson and Nick Blankenburg all joined the fray in April.
15
Speaking of debuts, 15 players made their CBJ debuts in a season, pushing the Blue Jackets to 314 players who have worn the sweater in a regular-season game. In addition to the 10 NHL debuts above, Boqvist, Bean, Kuraly, Brendan Gaunce and Jean-Francois Berube all took the ice for the first time in a Blue Jackets jersey.
56
Jakub Voracek finished the season with 56 assists, which was notable for multiple reasons. First off, the Czech wing placed second all-time in assists in a single season with the Jackets, trailing only the 59 that Artemi Panarin posted in 2018-19. Secondly, those 56 apples were the most ever for an NHL forward who finished with less than 10 goals (Voracek scored six times). In addition, only two other forwards in NHL history have ever notched 60 points in a season but finished in single digits in goals. One of them was Wayne Gretzky, who posted a 9-53-62 line in 1998-99 with the New York Rangers.
25:40
Werenski finished with an average ice time of 25:40 on the season, a career high by more than a minute over his average of 24:22 in 2021. That mark tied him for sixth in the NHL this season with Colorado defenseman Cale Makar and places third in CBJ history behind just Jack Johnson (25:58 in 2013) and Seth Jones (25:49 in 2018-19). His 48 points were also third all-time for a CBJ defenseman; Jones had 57 in 2017-18 and James Wisniewski notched 51 in 2013-14.
16
Sillinger's 16 goals were notable for a variety of reasons. The 18-year-old, who spent the entire season as the youngest player in the NHL, tied Jenner (2013-14) for the third most goals by a rookie in franchise history. The two trail just Pierre-Luc Dubois (20, 2017-18) and Rick Nash (17, 2002-03) in CBJ annals in that regard. In addition, Sillinger's hat trick March 13 vs. Vegas was just the second by a CBJ rookie (Nikita Filatov, 2008) and just the 18th by an 18-year-old in NHL history. The previous three were all accomplished by Laine during his rookie season in Winnipeg in 2016-17.
59
Goalie Elvis Merzlikins appeared in 59 games on the year, including 17 of the last 18, cementing himself as the CBJ starter this season. Those 59 games are the seventh most in a season by a CBJ goalie, yet Merzlikins finished strong, posting a .932 save percentage in his last eight appearances of the campaign.
82
It's a special accomplishment for NHL players to skate in all 82 games in a season, and it had happened just 36 times in the 17 full seasons undertaken by the CBJ franchise before this year. In other words, it averages out to just about two players per season being able to make it, and this year two CBJ players got to all 82 - forward Nyquist and defenseman Andrew Peeke.
169
Speaking of Peeke, he might just have to grow a bushy beard and fully embrace becoming the next David Savard. The Jackets lost the team's all-time leader in blocked shots at the 2021 trade deadline, but Peeke stepped up and filled the role this season with 169 shot blocks. That total outpaces anything Savard did in a season and is second all-time in CBJ franchise history, behind only the 171 Ryan Murray had in 2015-16. Peeke also tied for fifth in the NHL with St. Louis' Colton Parayko.
3
The Blue Jackets entered the month of March with just 18 goals in franchise history that tied a game in the final minute of regulation. Columbus then notched three of them in that very month, much to the delight of the 5th Line. Voracek's goal at 19:57 of the March 5 game vs. Boston knotted the score, then Werenski did the same six days later when he scored at 19:28 to tie a game in Nationwide Arena vs. Minnesota. Then on March 25, Bjorkstrand scored at 19:46 to push the Jackets to overtime against Winnipeg. Though Columbus would win only one of those games -- the contest vs. the Wild -- in extra time, they were still thrilling moments.
2
Speaking of late heroics, there were also a pair of late winners for the Jackets, and those are even more rare. Just six times in franchise history going into February had Columbus won the game with a goal in the final minute of regulation, then the Blue Jackets did it twice on the same road trip in early February. First, Jenner scored at 19:15 on Feb. 8 at Washington to break a 4-all tie and give the Jackets the win, then Laine's power-play laser at 19:52 (the latest regulation game-winner in team history) gave the CBJ a 2-1 win Feb. 12 at Montreal.
23
In the same vein, 23 of the 37 wins by the Blue Jackets on the season were of the comeback variety, the most in franchise history and the sixth-most in the NHL this season. The Blue Jackets also tied a franchise record with nine wins when trailing after two periods, which placed second in the NHL. On the other hand, Columbus lost eight times (four in regulation, four in extra time) when leading going into the third period, which tied for second in the NHL. There was no shortage of drama, was there?
59
OK, we'll finish by the numbers with a number about numbers. Just one new CBJ sweater number hit the ice for the first time this year -- the 59 of Chinakhov, who skated with that digit for the first time in team history. He joins sweater unicorns Joonas Korpisalo (70), Merzlikins (90), Voracek (93) and Roslovic (96) on this year's roster, but all debuted that number before this year. Jet Greaves was the first player to be issued 60 to wear it in a game, but the backup goalie never saw the ice.