At this point, you don’t need me to tell you how badly the Blue Jackets have started the season. It’s all been written and said to this point. So, where can we turn our attention?
In a week with four games in six days, let’s just cut to the chase: looking at the upcoming schedule, is there a game coming up in which the Jackets can finally get off of the goose-egg in the win column? Let’s take a look at each game through the next five, and see where the best case might be.
We’ll look at the teams’ numbers, and maybe see if there’s a silver lining in there at all. You might want to take a seat and hold on to something, for what it’s worth.
Upcoming Schedule
First, some baselines. The Jackets sit at the following levels:
| GF/G | GA/G | PP% | PK% |
| 2.13 (t25) | 3.50 (29) | 10.5% (26) | 64.3% (30) |
Gack. Moving on… Here’s the schedule, with bolded items being categories in which the Jackets are currently better:
| Date | Opponent | GF/G | GA/G | PP% | PK% | Silver Lining? |
| 10/25 | DET | 3.17 (4) | 2.33 (t9) | 17.9% (12) | 73.7% (27) | Ty Conklin is starting? He just gave up seven goals to Washington. Plus, James Wisniewski is back, which could help against the Wings’ bad PK. |
| 10/27 | @BUF | 2.86 (t10) | 1.86 (t3) | 18.2% (11) | 91.3% (4) | Maybe Ryan Miller sits? Other than that, I’ve got nothin’. |
| 10/29 | @CHI | 3.34 (2) | 2.29 (8) | 14.8% (t18) | 94.1% (2) | ZZZ… |
| 10/30 | ANA | 2.14 (t22) | 2.43 (14) | 10.3% (27) | 89.7% (6) | This will be the fourth game of a five-game roadie for the Ducks. They’re also playing a back-to-back, and will be coming in from Nashville Saturday night. Plus, their Power Play is actually worse than the Jackets’! |
| 11/03 | TOR | 3.13 (t5) | 3.38 (t27) | 15.4% (17) | 75.0% (t25) | Toronto is the weakest of the five teams on paper. Columbus will be home, and will be off for three days between their previous game and this one, which might help them get healthy. |
Well, there probably isn’t a lot to get excited about, if you’re just looking at the numbers. But, as is noted in the Silver Lining column, there are some reasons to think the Jackets can compete in three, maybe four of these games. As they get healthy, they’re going to be a little stronger on offense. If other teams consistently trot out their backup goalies, the Jackets might be able to score a little bit.
At any rate, it’s going to be a tough week. But, here’s hoping the team is just fed up enough to bring the streak to an end. Tonight. Please. For the love of God.