PREVIEW: Blue Jackets begin road trip at Chicago
Columbus continuing to search for consistency during return to Windy City
Yet there's enough new faces that cohesiveness hasn't come easy this year. Bringing in such players as Max Domi, Michael Del Zotto, Mikhail Grigorenko, Jack Roslovic and Patrik Laine has meant having to mesh those skaters into the team concept amid a pandemic, with the latter two players even coming in after the season started.
The result, head coach John Tortorella said, has been a disjointed squad on the ice, one reason the Blue Jackets have been searching for their game through the first quarter of the campaign.
"We have to find our footing now with the new faces and get going as a team that we expect to be - that hard-nosed, almost predictable team where you come in and you know you're going to have a hard night when you play us," Foligno said. "That's what I want to see now out. …
"We're trying to find our way through some new faces and some guys in different roles that have taken on bigger roles and what is expected of them. And as we go along here, I think you're starting to see us slowly find that stability that we've been looking for."
There has certainly been a fair share of headlines to emerge from the dressing room through the first few weeks of the campaign -- Laine's benching for the last 26 minutes of Monday's win vs. Carolina the latest -- but the captain said Columbus isn't thinking about that in the room.
Tortorella has agreed, with much of his focus directed toward trying to get the Blue Jackets to play more consistent hockey.
"We've decided as a staff, we've got to teach some more details of our team concept," he said after Wednesday's practice. "We touched up on some faceoffs today, assignments on faceoffs, winning and losing in certain areas. We are going to concentrate on all parts of our game, and it has to come within the season.
"It's almost like a little bit of what we do in camp that we're going to have to do during the days and even gamedays, show some tape of some of our concepts -- forechecking, defensive zone coverage, all things that come into play, neutral zone, because of just a lack of cohesiveness."
The biggest thing the head coach has identified is getting the team to play in units of five, something that was a strength of the squad a year ago. So far, there has been too much space between players, resulting in a fair share of incomplete passes, foiled breakouts and long defensive zone possessions.
"If anything, we want to get to our game," Foligno said. "That's probably the most disappointing part is we haven't played as consistent as we've liked, and we're trying to figure that out. For us, it's a lot of new faces and trying to get everyone jelled, but I think we're really confident about where we're heading."
Know the Foe
Four games into the season, Chicago was 0-3-1 and had given up five goals in each of the games it has played.
Since then, the Blackhawks are 5-1-4 -- the only game without a point in that span was a 2-1 loss to Columbus on Jan. 29 -- and given up just 21 goals in that 10-game span, with improved defense one of the major reasons for the hot streak.
And the key to that turnaround could be Finnish goaltender Kevin Lankinen, who has suddenly burst onto the scene as a standout. So far this season, Lankinen is 5-1-3 in nine games with a 2.17 goals-against average and .933 save percentage. In two games vs. Columbus earlier this year, he gave up just three goals in the two-game split, and the 25-year-old who had never played an NHL game before this year is suddenly an early contender for the Calder Trophy.
"The way he makes the saves, he looks under control, he covers up the rebound," head coach Jeremy Colliton said. "Sometimes you're on the run a little bit and you give up a chance, just the goaltender having the ability to freeze it and get you a faceoff can help you settle down, and he does that. It's day by day, he's got to keep working at it, he's building his body of work but he's been a big help for us."
On top of that, the Blackhawks haven't let a slew of injuries and COVID absences to such notable names as Jonathan Toews, Alex DeBrincat, Kirby Dach and Brent Seabrook hurt the team, and perhaps being without such stars has helped foster that defensive mentality that has led to winning games.
It also helps to power play clicking at 35.6 percent, third in the NHL, and Chicago has a power-play goal in 12 of 14 games this year.
When it comes to scoring, Patrick Kane is still doing it about as well as anyone who doesn't play in Edmonton, as the seemingly ageless winger leads the way and is tied for fifth in the league with 17 points (six goals, 11 assists). DeBrincat didn't let his early trip to the COVID list impact his on-ice play as he has a 6-6-12 line in 10 games, while Dominik Kubalik also has 12 points with three goals and nine helpers. Mattias Janmark, signed from Dallas this offseason, and Swiss rookie Pius Suter each have five goals.
The team had a number of players on the COVID list when the teams met earlier this year, but the only name left as of Wednesday was forward and Bowling Green product Ryan Carpenter. In addition, Dublin native Connor Murphy missed Tuesday's game vs. Dallas with a hip injury.
3 Keys to the Game
Locate Kane: Easier said than done, right? But he remains one of the top offensive players in the game, with 58 points in 48 career games vs. Columbus. Shut him down and it gets a lot easier from there.
Win special teams: Chicago's power play is the team's engine in a lot of ways, with the man-up unit averaging more than a goal per game. Staying out of the box is critical, and scoring on your own power plays can help as well.
Solve Lankinen: The Chicago netminder has been a revelation for the team, but he's still a rookie at the NHL level. Getting shots on net and creating consistent zone time would be a good start.
Of Note
Bjorkstrand has a 4-7-11 line in the past 12 games and leads the squad on the season with those 11 points. … Laine has scored three goals in four games since arriving from Winnipeg, while fellow former Jet Roslovic has a career-long five-game point streak (2-5-7). … Jones has a three-game point streak (1-5-6). … Atkinson notched his 14th career shorthanded goal Monday, tying Rick Nash's franchise record. … Defenseman Scott Harrington (1-1-2, 2 GP) and center Kevin Stenlund (1-2-3, 3 GP) have registered points in each of their games played this season. … Columbus has scored first in 10 of 14 games, and 16 of the Jackets' 38 goals have been scored in the first period. … Columbus is 3-9-2 in its last 14 games in the United Center.
Projected Lineup
(Subject to change)
Patrik Laine - Jack Roslovic - Cam Atkinson
Max Domi - Kevin Stenlund - Oliver Bjorkstrand
Eric Robinson - Riley Nash - Nick Foligno
Mikhail Grigorenko - Boone Jenner - Alexandre Texier
Vladislav Gavrikov - Seth Jones
Scott Harrington - David Savard
Michael Del Zotto - Andrew Peeke
Joonas Korpisalo (confirmed starter)
Elvis Merzlikins
Scratches:Dean Kukan, Gabriel Carlsson, Matiss Kivlenieks (lower body, day to day)
Injured reserve: Zach Werenski (lower body, day to day), Gus Nyquist (shoulder, out 5-6 months as of November), Brandon Dubinsky (wrist, LTIR)
Roster Report: Tortorella said Wednesday that Stenlund will move up in the lineup while Peeke will make his season debut in place of Kukan, who didn't play in the last 34 minutes of Monday's game because of his struggles. Merzlikins has been recalled from injured reserve after missing the last three games with an upper-body injury.
