Blue Jackets express concerns about their goals – The Hockey Writers – Columbus Blue Jackets

The Columbus Blue Jackets looked to win their fourth straight game Wednesday night against the Montreal Canadiens. Although they managed to force overtime, they failed to secure a second point.

Nick Suzuki scored early in overtime to give the Canadiens a 4–3 victory. While their record heading into the Black Friday matchup against the Calgary Flames is a respectable 9-9-3, the Blue Jackets have a major issue that needs to be addressed.

Head coach Dean Evason acknowledged Thursday that it’s an issue they’re working to address. They concede too many goals.

Defense work is underway

Although the Blue Jackets’ offense is one of the best in the league in terms of goals, they rank 29th in the NHL in goals per game (3.62). On Wednesday night against Montreal, Evason said his team didn’t have the speed it had in the last few games, all of which were wins.

“We didn’t like our speed in that game,” Evason said. “And not necessarily just the way we skated, but we didn’t play as fast as we used to, especially in the three games before that. We played a very fast game. We looked at the analytics (Thursday morning) and Montreal had a lot of possession time in our offensive zone, which historically they haven’t had this year, but they did because they beat us and scored a lot of goals. So they had the first touches and then we struggled to get rid of them because we were a little slower.”

The Blue Jackets still managed to pick up a point despite not playing well for a long period of time. It’s a testament to their ability to put the puck in the net. Zach Werenski’s third period goal, his 22nd point in 21 games, tied the game. The team ranks 7th in the NHL in goals scored, which helps compensate for its leaky defense.

Evason said Thursday that their defense is a problem area they are trying to work on.

“We had some problems keeping it out of the network,” Evason said. “We have to really achieve this, even with the short period of time that we had. We missed too many opportunities. This is worrying.”

“We’ve been working on this here. We had two days of training and we worked hard on our defensive zone to keep the ball out of the back of the net. Because of this, our PC also had to suffer a little. It doesn’t help score goals. We make a conscious effort to keep the ball out of our net, just like we try to score goals.”

The Blue Jackets will face a Calgary Flames team that is in the opposite position in terms of scoring. They are off to a great start in the standings but struggle to score goals (26th in the NHL) but are good at preventing goals (7th in the NHL). Friday will be an interesting test to see if the Blue Jackets can start scoring. are showing signs of improvement on defense.

Grateful Blue Jackets

Thanksgiving is always a time in the United States when friends and family come together and celebrate with each other the things they are grateful for in life. The same goes for some members of the Blue Jackets.

We have to ask Werenski, Zach Aston-Reese and James van Riemsdyk what they are most grateful for and if a Thanksgiving tradition emerged that they remember and adhere to to this day. Here’s what each of them said.

Werenski

Grateful: “I think it’s pretty standard. Family, friends, health, teammates. Lots of things to be grateful for. My whole family is healthy, and that’s the most important thing. I’m very grateful for a lot of things.”

Tradition: “Lion watching. That’s all, to be honest. “They haven’t won at Thanksgiving in a couple of years, so maybe they have something to prove.” Author’s Note: The Bears certainly helped the Lions late in the game, but the Lions made it work.

Aston-Reese

Grateful: “Honestly, for the opportunity I got here. It’s been a long road from a full year in Grand Rapids last year to being in Vegas without ever giving up on being here. It was just great. This is such a good team. Really tight. There is no ego here. It’s just nice to come in every day. I’m very grateful. I’m grateful to be here.”

Another player I met today was Zach Aston-Reese. Last year he spent the season in the AHL Grand Rapids. Then he returned to the NHL, but Vegas refused him and demanded #CBJ. Now he has a role with the Blue Jackets. He is very grateful and loves being in Columbus.

— Mark Scheig (@mark_scheig) November 28, 2024

Tradition: “When I was a child, we always got sparkling grape juice. You think you’re drinking victory, but it’s in a bottle of wine. Get a cool champagne-like top that you can take off. It’s always been cool for me. It’s either a grape or an apple.”

van Riemsdyk

Grateful: “For me, only my family, especially my wife and children. There have been three teams in three years, so we have to move around a lot and settle the children a lot. A lot of things that happen behind the scenes with my wife, our extended families, my parents, her parents, really help us feel balanced and make each place our home. So I’m grateful for that.”

Tradition: “When we were growing up, we played a little football, backyard soccer, so it was always fun. And a wishbone. It was always good.”

I asked van Riemsdyk if any of his wishes had ever come true. He said he couldn’t remember. “I must not have wished for too much.”

Side dishes

• Black Friday will mark the first meeting between the Blue Jackets and Calgary Flames since Gaudreau’s passing. The two franchises will be forever linked. The same two teams will play in Calgary next week. The Gaudreau family is expected to be in attendance at the Saddledome.
• Cole Sillinger, who missed Wednesday’s game against Montreal with an upper-body injury, will play Friday, Dean Evason said Thursday. However, Egor Chinakhov is questionable for Friday. He missed training with Evason, saying he was “shaken.” We’ll see if he can play when Evason takes the floor around 12:15 p.m.
• One final note about van Riemsdyk. He and his wife hosted about 30 people, including families, for Thanksgiving. “It’s nice to coordinate things like this and bring guys together who maybe don’t have families here. It should be good.”