The bad fate of the Blue Jackets

(Columbus) With a dry and precise shot, Patrik Laine scores the very first goal of the season for the Columbus Blue Jackets. A few minutes later, he retired to the locker room, victim of a shoulder injury. The Jackets lose the game and especially Laine for two weeks.

Simon Olivier Lorange

The Press

The anecdote and its zeugme seem banal. But from the first moments of this 2022-2023 campaign, a bad spell seemed to have been cast on the Ohio team.

When they face the Canadiens this Thursday in Columbus, the locals will likely be without eight players. And not the least.

Goaltender Elvis Merzlikins left Tuesday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers. No details have leaked out about his condition, but he did not train the next day and Daniil Tarasov was called up urgently. Nothing encouraging there.

In defense, the great point guard Zach Werenski will not play any more of the season due to a shoulder injury. Jake Bean and Adam Boqvist also fell in battle. The young Nick Blankenburg had made his way to the first duet: a fractured ankle forced him to rest today.

In attack, it is not better. Barely recovered from his initial injury, Laine is again on the sidelines, also due to a damaged ankle. He joined Jakub Voracek and Justin Danforth in the infirmary.

Adding to all these misfortunes inconsistent and unconvincing performances during the first 10 games, we obtain the result that we guess: the Blue Jackets find themselves in the penultimate place of the general classification of the NHL. The fall is brutal for this team which could legitimately aspire to the playoffs and which finds itself instead in the race for the first choice in the draft.

Increased role

Erik Gudbranson is not trying to escape: the current state of play is not exactly what he envisioned when he signed a four-year contract with the Jackets last summer.

Identified for years as a so-called “depth” defenseman, the Ottawa native played more than 27 minutes last Tuesday night after Jake Bean left the game. With two rookie defensemen in the lineup, head coach Brad Larsen had no choice but to overload his veterans. So Gudbranson found himself, at age 30, setting a personal high in ice time.

“I relied on my experience and tried to keep my game as simple as possible; it was not the time to take risks”, he explains, in French, on the phone.

The reality check was quick for him. The role of the newcomer to a team is no stranger to this seasoned traveler, who has donned an eighth uniform since his NHL debut. The Jackets are indeed his sixth team in three years. He and his wife had become “comfortable in being uncomfortable,” he says of the instability he experienced.

After packing his bags in Columbus, he thought he could enjoy a rare “adjustment period.” The birth of a baby girl, the couple’s second child, just before the start of the season, also injected a good deal of chaos into the Gudbransons.

But, without warning, he became the one his coach and young teammates turned to. Finished the adjustment. After only 15 matches, the time is already not for panic, but for the accelerated search for solutions.

Like everyone else, the defender does not know what to think of the rain of injuries. “It’s getting almost ridiculous,” he exclaims. The loss of Werenski, in particular, is very painful.

However, he refuses to invoke this excuse to justify the failures of his team, which has so far signed only five victories. “We didn’t play well, it’s as simple as that,” he said bluntly. He himself accepts his share of the responsibility. A quick look at his defensive indicators confirms that he has his share of blunders to be forgiven.

nice mood

Despite the circumstances, it’s a good-humored squad that will face the Habs. The Jackets have had five out of a possible six points in their last three games.

He says he is impressed by the many young players making their way into the organization. “They all have so much talent…”, he is moved.

Yegor Chinakov is given increased responsibilities. Kent Johnson is proving he belongs full-time in the NHL. In his second year, Cole Sillinger is having a slow start to the campaign, but the best is certainly ahead of him.

The two victories of the last week laid a “foundation”, still believes Gudbranson. They must dictate the way of playing for the next few weeks. Because even if the quarter of the season is not yet reached, time is already running out if the Blue Jackets want to keep alive the dream of reaching the playoffs.

“There is work to be done,” concludes the defender. This is undoubtedly an understatement.