Five things to know about the Blue Jackets

(Columbus) What’s happening with the Canadian’s next opponents?

A club with two faces

Obviously, the Blue Jackets have two teams: one at home and one on the road. This is because the Columbus club is not the same depending on where it plays. At home, the Blue Jackets have a very respectable 7-3-0 record, which is about as good as a top team’s record. It’s on the road that things get worse, because on enemy rinks, the Ohio club has a record of 4-5-1. Unfortunately for the Canadian, Wednesday night’s game will be presented in Columbus… the now famous Blue Jackets cannon may be heard quite often.

A rebuild, or something like that

What do you call that, a club that has missed the playoffs for the last four years, and which will undoubtedly also miss them next spring, for the fifth time in a row? A club in reconstruction or a just bad club? Make your choice. In fact, since their birth in 2000, the Blue Jackets have missed the playoffs 17 times, and they have made it past the first round of the playoffs just once. The Canadiens’ reconstruction may not be that bad after all.

Monahan is doing well

There are some somewhat cynical people who argue that the Canadian has never been the same since the departure of Sean Monahan. We could probably debate this for hours, and even more, but what is more certain is that Monahan continues to do very well. In 20 games in Columbus this season, the 30-year-old forward has collected 7 goals and 13 assists for a total of 20 points, which, ironically, would make him the Canadian’s top scorer at the moment. Monahan is showing pace that could allow him to surpass the best season of his career, an 82-point season in 2018-2019 while he was a member of the Calgary Flames.

Problems in front of the net

There was a time when Elvis Merzlikins was seen as a lesser prospect in net, but it seems those days are long behind him. We don’t really know if Elvis left the building, but in any case, he left the elite goalies, because these days we find him with a save rate of .894, a rate similar to this which he displayed during the last two seasons. The Blue Jackets don’t really have a plan B, since Daniil Tarasov, their other goalie, has an even worse rate, with .861. It appears that the goalie position should be a priority in Columbus next summer…

Empty benches in Columbus

We can never say it enough: the Canadian is very lucky to rely on such patient supporters. In Columbus, the defeats are starting to take their toll, and it shows in terms of attendance. Thus, in 10 games in front of their fans this season, the Blue Jackets have an average of 16,203 fans per game, i.e. 25^e average in this regard in the NHL. The Canadian always comes first, with an average of 21,105 spectators.