This is not how the Blue Jackets envisioned their season starting after the high hopes and expectations that were foisted upon them after their playoff run last year. On paper, they got better with the addition of veteran Scott Hartnell and had very little roster turnover.
Just prior to training camp starting the news that Nathan Horton had a degenerative back issue hit. Yes, this was a blow to the team, but the prevailing thought was that they could do well while waiting for him to rehab his back. After all, he had played in only 36 of the 82 games last season, going 5-14-19.
And then the seemingly endless trip of the injured players began. Boone Jenner (broken hand), Brandon Dubinsky (abdominal surgery), Matt Calvert (upper body injury), Sergei Bobrovsky (broken finger), James Wisniewski (broken finger), Artem Anisimov (concussion), Mark Letestu (groin), Corey Tropp (illness) and Cody Goloubef (lower body) are on this list.
All this, and they've only played 11 games. At this point, they've gone beyond simple adversity. It's almost inconceivable that they would, or could, lose this many players in such a short amount of time. But, there is no feeling of "why is this happening to us?"
Through 11 games, they are 4-7-0. While this puts them near the bottom of the Metropolitan Division, seven points behind the first place Pittsburgh Penguins, all hope is not lost. They have a quiet determination to get the ship righted as they await the return of some of their teammates.
Similar to last year, slow starts are hurting them as they attempt to make headway. Although it's not quite the rollercoaster ride that began the 2013-14 season, it still is an area of concern.
"For whatever reason, we're having bad starts," said second-year defenseman Ryan Murray, "slow starts. It's just something that we've got to keep focusing on. It's not something that can stay in our game all year. It's something we have to get better at."
They have identified what some of the issues are that have plagued the team in recent weeks. While chasing the game is exciting to watch, they cannot keep that up over the course of the season and have anything left in their tank for a postseason run.
"We have to be sharper to start the game," continued Murray, "getting more pucks to the net whenever we have that opportunity. It seems like we're getting outshot early in games and then catching up later in games. We need to get some momentum going."
In the first 11 games, they are averaging 30.5 shots on goal (335 total) while surrendering an average of 30.6 shots on goal (337 total) to their opponents. These numbers rank them at 27 in the NHL, indicating that it's not just a question of getting more pucks at the net.
Head coach Todd Richards has said that mental lapses are hurting them. Whether that's something as simple as taking a shift off or not being totally committed during the game, the issue is how to correct this.
"Whenever we do to get momentum on our side," Murray said, "it seems like that balance or something doesn't go our way. And then it's right back on the other team's side."
With so many of their regular teammates out of the lineup, getting everyone on the same page mentally is paramount to them having success.
"We have to stay sharper mentally," he said, "stay together as a group and stay together as a team. When we do get down a goal or two, we can't just sell the farm. We can't lose our structure and lose our system. We have to keep grinding away at what we're good at. We've got to stick with it for 60 minutes."
The good news is that they are about to have some of those injured players return in the coming week. Todd Richards has indicated that Matt Calvert and Boone Jenner could return for the games on Tuesday (vs. Carolina), Friday (at Carolina) or Saturday (vs. Tampa Bay). Corey Tropp should be back from illness also.
The Carolina Hurricanes have played one less game and sit just two points behind the Blue Jackets. With two games against them this week, Columbus can gain some separation from the Hurricanes, while making up some ground on the rest of the division.
They host Carolina within the friendly confines of Nationwide Arena on Tuesday with the puck set to drop at 7 p.m.
