What follows is a look at what the team has done at forward through the opening half of the season.
What's gone well
Any discussion of the team's success so far this year has to start with a look at the line of Artemi Panarin, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Cam Atkinson, a trio of players who have combined for 63 goals and 144 points on the campaign.
The three have been on a line together most of the campaign, and it can attack you pretty much any way. The mix of players works together, starting with Dubois, the 20-year-old centerman who head coach John Tortorella says drives the line with his outstanding board work and physical presence as well as a nice dose of skill.
Once Dubois gets the puck, he has two pretty good players to give it to in Panarin, the who averages nearly a point per game in his NHL career and can dish seeing-eye assists and unleash bar-down snipes with equal skill, and Atkinson, the lifelong Blue Jacket who is on pace for yet another career high in goals.
"That line is one of the top lines in the league," Tortorella said. "You have to give them some credit where they have just kept about their business. They have to continue to work on the other side of the puck - it's a reminder we have with them all the time - but they've been really good."
For a good chunk of the season, the Blue Jackets have paired center Boone Jenner with wingers Nick Foligno and Josh Anderson to make a line that combines size, grit, and some scoring punch. The three have combined for 36 goals on the season, and at its best, the line can wear down teams with strong physical play below the hashmarks as well as the ability to score when it gets the puck in front.
A bright spot has been offseason signing Anthony Duclair, who is at 10 goals on the season, while the Blue Jackets have started to see Oliver Bjorkstrand (seven goals) awaken over the past month or so. In recent games, the trio of Bjorkstrand, Lukas Sedlak and Riley Nash have shown an ability to create possession in the offensive zone, force teams into turnovers, and finish occasionally as well.
Where there can be improvement
But as Tortorella said earlier this year while discussing the top line, "We need to get some secondary scoring here because they're going to get checked tighter."
Alex Wennberg, Brandon Dubinsky and Nash, three veterans counted on for that secondary scoring, have tallied a combined six goals on the season with 35 total points. Wennberg has totaled 18 assists, Dubinsky has battled a pair of injuries that have cost him time, and Nash simply hasn't meshed yet after signing as a free agent this past offseason.
Tortorella has also pointed to Duclair and Bjorkstrand as players with strong offensive talent who can add more. Duclair's biggest battle has been his play away from the puck, which has consistently bedeviled Tortorella, while Bjorkstrand got off to a slow start in the scoring department but has picked it up of late.
"We have to be more consistent there," Tortorella said. "Wennberg, Bjorkstrand - Duclair is a wild card if he gets going. We need to get some offense out of Dubinsky. He's doing some good things in other parts of the game, but we need to get some secondary scoring as we go through these dog days in January and February where I think it's going to be tighter checking. We need some of those guys to step up."
On the spot: Alexander Wennberg
Always someone who has been known more as a passer than a scorer, Wennberg simply hasn't put the puck in the net this year with one goal and just 49 shots on goal in 48 games. The 24-year-old had 13 goals and 59 points two seasons ago, and for the Blue Jackets to go far in the playoffs, the lineup needs the balance provided if Wennberg can up his production to that of a second-line center.
"It can do nothing but help this team if we get him going," Tortorella said. "He's a 60-point guy in the National Hockey League two years ago. It can't be gone. We have to help him."
