Previously: October; November, December, January
Results
L 2-4 vs. TBL
L 3-6 @ OTT
W 4-3 @ SJS
L 1-5 @ LAK
W 7-4 @ ANA
L 1-2 vs. BUF
W 4-2 vs. NYR
L 1-4 @ NYR
L 2-4 vs. CAR
It was going to be tough to keep up the 4 wins a month pace in a 9 game month, and sure enough these Columbus Blue Jackets only managed 3 wins. Most frustrating is they didn’t even have the overtime losses here; each one was in regulation. October had just 9 games but they managed 3-4-2 instead of 3-6-0.
Standings
The grip on last place in the East has strengthened, with a 5 point lead for Ottawa with 2 games in hand. The next closest in the Metro? Pittsburgh is 14 points ahead, also with 2 games in hand. Yikes.
Meanwhile, it’s going to be a tall order to make up ground in the Celebrini Sweepstakes. Chicago is 13 points back, and has played one more game, while San Jose is tied with them at 35 points but has played just 58 games. Columbus is 3 points ahead of Anaheim but won the season series 3 points to 2.
Stats
| Stat | February | January | December | November | October | 2022-23 |
| 5v5 CF% | 49.68 (20) | 51.56 (16) | 45.83 (29) | 46.15 (26) | 48.10 (22) | 44.92 (30) |
| 5v5 FF% | 49.78 (21) | 51.99 (14) | 45.76 (28) | 46.84 (27) | 48.26 (21) | 44.53 (30) |
| 5v5 Save % | 92.80 (7) | 89.93 (24) | 91.40 (17) | 90.26 (23) | 91.04 (19) | 90.10 (30) |
| 5v5 Shooting % | 8.15 (22) | 6.79 (28) | 11.96 (2) | 10.92 (4) | 6.70 (24) | 7.67 (30) |
| 5v5 xGF% | 54.07 (4) | 50.44 (17) | 43.05 (31) | 46.37 (25) | 46.56 (26) | 44.13 (29) |
| GPG | 2.78 (23) | 2.25 (30) | 3.57 (7) | 3.07 (20) | 2.56 (26) | 2.60 (30) |
| GAPG | 3.78 (27) | 3.67 (28) | 4.07 (30) | 3.47 (22) | 3.33 (24) | 4.01 (31) |
| PP% | 16.0 (26) | 12.8 (25) | 25.8 (6) | 7.1 (31) | 16.1 (18) | 18.3 (26) |
| PK% | 71.4 (28) | 68.4 (31) | 67.5 (31) | 94.1 (1) | 83.9 (10) | 75.1 (25) |
If you feel like the team has been playing better of late even with nothing to show for it, you’re not completely crazy. That expected goal rate is really good! The problems? First, they’re not finishing their chances enough. They had 2.64 goals/60 at 5v5 vs. 3.24 expected goals/60, at 5v5. On the power play it’s even worse, with just 5.65 GF/60 vs. 7.7 xGF/60. Of course, that expected goal rate is also in the bottom 10 in the league for the month.
The other problem is the penalty kill, and particularly the goaltending there. While the goalies are 7th in the league at 5v5 save percentage for February, on the kill they’re the 4th worst, at 78.95%. The defense itself has been fine, ranking 16th in xGA/60 (8.59) but the actual GA/60 is 11.78, again the 4th worst. They’re allowing the second fewest high danger shot attempts against.
Three Stars
Honorable Mention: The Goalies
I know I just wrote a long paragraph about the goaltending being the weak spot of the penalty kill, but it’s worth acknowledging their solid (if unspectacular) play this month. Daniil Tarasov in particular was much better with a .905 save percentage and 3.19 GAA. All that got him was a 1-3-0 record. Elvis went 2-3-0 with slight worse numbers: .901 and 3.41. These aren’t Cup-winning numbers but for most of each game, they did enough to give the team a chance. Offensive droughts and turnovers leading to breakouts aren’t their fault.
Third Star: Johnny Gaudreau
Ho hum, just quietly being a point-per-game player again, with 1/9/10 in 9 games.
Second Star: Dmitri Voronkov
The Troika was reunited and have been productive again. VRONK contributed 4 goals, including half of the team’s 4 power play goals for the month.
First Star: Boone Jenner
The All-Star has lived up to his billing this month, leading the team with 5 goals and trailing just Gaudreau with 9 points. He scored a power play goal and a short-handed goal, and earned his first game-winning goal of the season.
Some people want to see him traded. They argue that his value will never be higher than it is now, and it has been reported (and confirmed by John Davidson) that teams have expressed interest. The problem? Jenner said publicly that he doesn’t want to be traded, and Davidson isn’t interested, either. The same thing that attracts contenders to Jenner should be the same things that make him worth keeping here. Would he be worth more to another team than he is to the Jackets? Will their trade offer reflect that?
His contract is cheap, he’s a long-time member of the franchise, and he wants to stay here. He is overused by Pascal Vincent, but that’s not Jenner’s fault. Hopefully the young centers in the organization continue to develop, and whoever coaches next year lets them play more, with Jenner falling back to a more appropriate role that won’t demand 20 minutes a night (he averaged 21:45 in February. That’s insane). If you look back at his long career here, you can see that he has excelled in a variety of roles: 30 goal scorer as a top 6 winger, 30 goal pace as a top line center, or lock down defender in a bottom 6 role (as in the 2019 postseason).
Needs Improvement
Management
So long and thanks for all the fish, Jarmo Kekalainen. Much was accomplished in 11 years here and he left the cupboard full, but there were just too many missteps in the last year or two of the rebuild. Davidson and the rest of the front office likely can’t do too much at the trade deadline a week from today (probably just trading the expiring contract of Jack Roslovic, and maybe hope for a taker for one of the excess right-handed defensemen). The priority is doing full due diligence to make sure the right choice is made for the next general manager.
There is a good core in place, but a new vision is needed to make sure the pieces fit together.
Coaching
We’re seeing some signs of improvement in the way the team is playing, as Vincent has promised for months. The problem is there are still some of the same kind of mistakes that have plagued the team all season. When a play breaks down, there is chaos and confusion. You still get the sense that no lead is safe, and any third period deficit is not likely to be erased.
The rest of the season should be about development and yet we’re still seeing critical minutes given to players who aren’t likely to be here 3 years from now. Why? To what end? Jenner averaged more minutes than all defensemen except Zach Werenski. Voronkov averaged 14:04, less than 8 other forwards, including the newly acquired Alex Nylander. It’s baffling.
It’s especially frustrating as a paying customer. I can understand seeing a loss. I expect it against a team like Carolina or Los Angeles. If I’m going to set through that, however, let me at least see the exciting young players. Benching Yegor Chinakhov for the last half of the Carolina game is a waste of my time and money.