PREVIEW: Blue Jackets get Devils in a return matchup at Nationwide Arena
Columbus dropped Thursday's game in New Jersey but has another chance to beat the Devils
Blue Jackets head coach Brad Larsen has likened showing up to work each day right now to Forrest Gump, in that he never knows what he's going to get from an injury and health standpoint when he arrives at the rink each day.
But there's another movie he and the Blue Jackets have to try to avoid after winning just three of the last 14 games.
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That would be Groundhog Day, as each day, the Jackets are trying to keep spirits up and put the work in to turn things around despite struggling to get the results they've wanted.
"It sucks losing, it does," Larsen said. "(The players) don't like it. We don't like it. We're looking for answers just like them. We're gonna help them. There are two or three things I think we need to improve on that will help us be more consistent. With the practice time that we have now, we're able to do it. We worked on some more of that stuff today.
"Like I've said, winners get the rest. We're not winning enough games right now, so we have to work at it."
It's been a busy week, as the Blue Jackets have been on the ice for two games as well as full practice sessions on all three off days. Earlier this year, especially as Western travel mounted, the coaching staff was judicious when it came to taking time off to preserve players' energy levels. But as the recent struggles have continued and the travel has eased, Larsen has had the team on the ice in an effort to fix what has ailed the team.
On Thursday in New Jersey, it was the lack of a complete game that cost Columbus in a 3-1 loss. The Blue Jackets outshot the Devils by an 18-5 margin in the first period but were outshot 23-14 the rest of the way, and the Devils scored the only two goals of the third period to break a 1-1 tie and take the victory.
"We had a really good first," Larsen said postgame. "We talked about it, we addressed it, sticking with it, staying with the same ideas, same mentality that we had in the first. I thought we moved the puck well, we checked well, created a ton of opportunities. Structurally (we played) very well.
"We have a real hard time when it goes south a little bit to get it back, and it's gotta get fixed. Guys have to take control. Someone has to take control out there."
The good news is that the Blue Jackets made progress and had more bright moments than in previous games, when injuries and player absences mounted and the team lost to Carolina and Tampa Bay. The hope is that as things ideally trend more toward normal and the Blue Jackets keep progressing toward a full lineup, the team keeps taking steps forward.
"I think we did some good things tonight," said Max Domi, who had the lone goal in the Garden State. "We can definitely build on it. We get another crack at these guys in a couple of days here, so we're gonna have to go to another level up here and do everything we can to get that win. It's frustrating. No one wants to lose, but we did some good things tonight and we just have to build on that."
Know the Foe
To this point, it's been a story of three different seasons for the young Devils, who are seeing a young core led by No. 1 overall draft picks Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes start to find its way.
New Jersey started 7-3-2 and looked to have promise to move up the standings after three straight seasons of finishing seventh or eighth in its division. Then came a rough 3-12-3 stretch going into the holiday break that left the team sinking in the Metropolitan Division, but now the ship has been righted a bit with the Devils owning a 4-1-0 record in the last five games.
A big reason for that has been the emergence of Hughes, who at age 20 looks every bit the prodigy he was forecast to be when he was chosen atop the 2019 draft. In that recent five-game streak for the Devils, he's led the way with four goals and eight assists for 12 points, including a 1-2-3 line in Thursday night's win over the Blue Jackets.
In all, Hughes has a 9-11-20 line in 18 games and looks like a superstar in the making, as he's the youngest player in the NHL to post at least a point per game this season.
He's far from the only talented youngster on the squad, as 23-year-old winger Jesper Bratt leads the team in scoring with a 10-22-32 line in 34 games, Hischier has 6-14-20 in 29 games at age 23, and 20-year-old forward Dawson Mercer looks like another standout in the making with a 9-10-19 line in 35 games.
Hischier returned from injury against the Blue Jackets on Thursday, but the Devils were still able to beat the Blue Jackets without four of their top nine scorers thanks to the absences of standout defenseman Dougie Hamilton (broken jaw) as well as forwards Andreas Johnsson, Yegor Sharangovich and Pavel Zacha (COVID protocols). Both Bratt and Hughes scored while Tomas Tatar (8-9-17 in 32 games) also got on the board.
Goalie Mackenzie Blackwood battled some rebound control issues throughout the game but made enough big saves to improve to 9-7-3 on the year with a 3.20 goals-against average and .899 save percentage. Six different goalies have played for New Jersey this season, and none have a GAA below 3.00, with Akira Schmid (0-2-0/4.40/.851) and Jon Gillies (0-1-0/3.12/.864) currently on the active roster as backups.
