PREVIEW: Blue Jackets aim to get back on track in Philadelphia
Columbus put in a few days of work after Saturday's setback in Florida
What could go wrong did go wrong in South Florida in the Blue Jackets' last game Saturday night, one game after what could go right did go right in Carolina.
Rarely do you get such opposite results at the NHL level, which left the Columbus team to do a bit of soul searching over the past few days. Monday's practice was one of the most intense you'll ever see in the pros, followed by an optional skate Tuesday and a full skate Wednesday ahead of tonight's game in Philadelphia.
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"The owned it, and there was very little pushback," head coach Brad Larsen said of the work put in after Saturday's 9-2 setback in Florida. "They know it. They felt it. We've dealt with it. We've had some good work days here. That's the positive sign from this, and now we have to go play."
It does seem likely you'll get a fired up Blue Jackets team tonight in Philadelphia, one that knows it needs to turn in a better effort than the one the squad put together the last time it was on the ice.
While Larsen has been adamant all season that the team has delivered solid efforts even amid tough losing streaks, he felt the team gave in to adversity far too quickly against the Panthers, falling into a 4-0 hole in the first period and a 6-0 deficit after two.
The Blue Jackets were playing one of the best teams in hockey, one that has beaten the doors off some pretty good teams at home this year, but everyone involved does know Columbus can do better.
"To be honest, I think it could be good for our group," defenseman Zach Werenski said of the time the Jackets have had to stew on the loss. "This could be a good reset for us to review our structure and get back in the win column if we play the right way."
The word "embarrassing" was used quite a bit by both players and coaches to describe the way Columbus played in its last game, but spirits aren't too much brighter in Philadelphia. The Flyers have lost nine in a row going into tonight's game, including a nine-round shootout loss at home against the New York Islanders on Tuesday night.
It should be a battle of two teams that will do anything to get two points on Thursday night given where each team is in its respective season.
"It should be two hungry teams," Larsen said. "We know the game we're coming off of. They're looking for a win so I'd imagine it should be two teams pretty hungry to try to get two points."
Know the Foe
The Flyers changed coaches, going from Alain Vigneault to Mike Yeo after a 8-11-4 start, but things haven't gotten much better in the City of Brotherly Love as the year has gone on.
Yeo was 5-1-1 in his first seven games, but since the Flyers are 0-6-3 and currently sixth place in the Metropolitan Division, one point behind the Blue Jackets.
It's been a tough run for the Philadelphia ever since the COVID pause in 2020, as the team was the hottest in the NHL going into that but then lost to the Islanders in the playoffs that year then missed the postseason a year ago and appear to be headed for a similar fate this year.
The team boasts one of the oldest rosters in the NHL, and it has struggled on both ends of the ice of late. Philadelphia has given up at least three goals in each of the nine games in its losing streak and never scored more than three in that span, with the team being outscored 36-18 (an average of 4-2).
In all, Philadelphia's struggles are obvious when you look at the stats, as the team is 27th in the league in scoring (2.51 goals per game), 24th in team defense (3.31 goals allowed), 26th in power play (16.2 percent) and 19th in penalty kill (78.8 percent).
Claude Giroux leads the way with 31 points on the season, having netted 12 goals and 19 assists, while former Blue Jackets forward Cam Atkinson is atop the goal scoring chart with 15 tallies among his 29 points. Atkinson is in the midst of one of his trademark hot streaks, posting an 8-9-17 line in his last 18 games.
Travis Konecny adds a 7-15-22 line and youngster Joel Farabee has 11 goals among his 18 points, but a lack of scoring depth has been an issue for the Flyers. Sean Couturier has a 6-11-17 line and James van Riemsdyk has 10 goals among his 16 points, but that's it among Philadelphia players when it comes to those with at least 15 points.
In net, 23-year-old Carter Hart has had a decent year but still is struggling to find the form that made him one of the top young netminders in the league a few years ago. In 24 starts, he's 7-12-5 with a 2.93 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage, while backup Martin Jones is 6-6-2 with a 3.31 GAA and .908 save percentage.
