SvoNotes: Depth has helped Blue Jackets light the lamp in early going
Just about everyone has gotten on the score sheet for a CBJ team that does it as a team
In the first 24 games of the season, 20 of the 24 players to skate in a game this season have goals, and that doesn't count two attempts by goalie Elvis Merlzikins to shoot on empty nets. In addition, 22 of the 24 skaters have points -- only forward Kevin Stenlund (three games) and defenseman Dean Kukan (two) have gone without -- and even Merzlikins has an assist.
"We need it," head coach Brad Larsen said. "We have talked about it from day one, this is a true team in every sense of the word. We're going to need guys to step up on different nights, and we've been getting that throughout our lineup, whether it's a different line or from the back end or the power play or a big kill. It's been very consistent in that way, and we're going to have to keep it that way."
There's a couple of things to unpack there, but let's start here -- this isn't exactly a top-heavy team. Sure, such players as Patrik Laine, Jakub Voracek and Oliver Bjorkstrand, just to name a few, are pretty adept at putting the biscuit in the basket, but there's also not really a Connor McDavid or Alex Ovechkin on the roster (there's only so many of those guys, right?)
For the Blue Jackets to truly excel, it is going to have to be a team effort, with all four lines contributing as a game goes on. For example, what is generally referred to as the "fourth line" on the squad -- which has been the trio of Eric Robinson, Sean Kuraly and Alexandre Texier for much of this year -- has a combined 16 tallies on the year, with Texier placing tied for second on the team in goals with a career-high eight.
"I think everybody can help the team, they can score some goals, so that's nice for our team," Texier said. "I think when you are on the fourth line, you know you are going to play if you are going to play the right away. It's always nice. It's good to have a fourth line that can play the same way so it just helps out our team, too. It's fun."
To this point in the season, the Blue Jackets have 11 players in double digits in points, a mark that is tied for fourth in the league with St. Louis (Florida has 13, while Anaheim and Minnesota each have 12).
There's also been four players on the team who have scored their first NHL goals -- young rookies Yegor Chinakhov and Cole Sillinger, plus older European imports Justin Danforth and Gregory Hofmann.
Add it all up and it's the kind of thing that can help a team in so many ways throughout a season, leading scorer Bjorkstrand said.
"I think it helps you out in a positive way," he said. "Individually, if you get a goal here and there, people might not want to admit it, but I think it helps a little bit with your mood and just feeling good about your game. I think it's a positive, and for us, we have a team where we rely on a lot of guys getting involved and helping out at certain times when it's important, and that's happened this year."
Happy Returns
For Max Domi and Vladislav Gavrikov, Tuesday's return to Scotiabank Arena brought back fond memories for both.
Just a little bit fonder for Domi.
Back in January 2015, the two played against one another on the ice surface that was then known as the Air Canada Center in the gold medal game of the IIHF World Junior Championships. In a classic game that featured a raucous atmosphere for the home Canadians, Domi and Team Canada emerged victorious by a 5-4 score.
Domi was one of the stars of the game, scoring a goal and adding two assists for a team-high three points. Considering the other goal scorers for Canada all are NHLers -- you may have heard of Connor McDavid, as well as Anthony Duclair, Sam Reinhart and Nick Paul -- it's fair to say it was a pretty memorable game and high-level team that Canada took to the final.
"That was one of the highlights of my career for sure," Domi said. "That week was second to nine, playing for your country in front of the Toronto fanbase and Montreal as well. I don't think you can beat that. It's special, and the World Juniors is such a big thing here. I'm looking forward to watching the boys here this year for sure."
Domi said Gavrikov was the one who brought up the game even though the Russian was on the losing side, but it's fair to say the two have pretty similar fond memories. Gavrikov was on a Russian team that featured a pair of NHL goalies in Igor Shesterkin and Ilya Sorokin, plus such names as Pavel Buchnevich and Ivan Provorov, among others.
Gavrikov was the captain of the team and remembers his time at the tournament just in a similar fashion as Domi.
"The World Juniors is always something," Gavrikov said. "It doesn't matter how long it was ago, it's still something good. Spending time here with the teammates, we were here quite a while, probably for the month. It was kind of similar to like a bubble. It's always good to have memories like that."
The two also had similar answers when asked about the result.
"Winning," Domi said when asked what he remembered most about the tournament.
"I knew he won," Gavrikov said. "He knew we lost."
Offside Hijinks
It's a stat that frankly is hard to believe.
In a six-game span running from the Nov. 26 game vs. Vancouver to Sunday's game vs. San Jose, the Blue Jackets had four goals taken off the board because of offside reviews.
Add in an offside review in Vegas on Nov. 20 that upheld a Vegas goal on a technicality -- plus last night's lost challenge for goaltender interference in Toronto -- and the Blue Jackets have been on the tough side of some calls of late.
The waved-off goals, though, are a true oddity, and difficult to process for a team considering how much momentum has been lost after those key tallies have been taken off the board.
Against Vancouver, Yegor Chinakhov was offside just a smidge before scoring off a feed from Jakub Voracek in the opening minutes of that game. Two games later in Nashville, the Jackets thought they had a key goal from Jack Roslovic while facing a 3-0 deficit, but review showed Max Domi slowed up just enough at the blue line to send Cole Sillinger in offside.
Two games later, another Chinakhov goal was taken off the board in Washington, as Gregory Hofmann tried to slow up at the line but just couldn't keep his skate on the blue ahead of Chinakhov's zone entry. Finally, a day later at home vs. San Jose, Boone Jenner hustled to keep the puck in at the line but it just snuck out before Jenner collected it and passed to Gus Nyquist for a goal.
It's just one of those things, and Larsen hasn't blamed the referees for missing tight calls. Instead, the focus might be on making sure his team stays onside, making reviews moot.
"We've had a few discussions about this," the head coach said. "We're obviously going to have to address it. These guys are pros. It's crazy to me that it's happened as much as it has."
This Day in CBJ History
Dec. 8, 2000: The Blue Jackets win in overtime for the first time, as Geoff Sanderson scores off assists from Frantisek Kucera and Lyle Odelein to give Columbus 3-2 win at Boston.
Dec. 8, 2017: Artemi Panarin ties franchise records with five assists and five points during a 5-3 win at New Jersey. He becomes just the second player in franchise history with five helpers, tying the mark set by Espen Knutsen on March 24, 2001.
