The mark of a good team is consistent improvement. That has always been the standard by which an organization is judged. While there may be setbacks along the way, constant improvement almost always leads to good things.
For the Blue Jackets, improvement comes in small doses. They have played eight games this season to a record of 4-4-0 (8 pts). Last year through eight games, they were 3-5-0 (6 pts). If you go back two years, they started the first eight games at 2-5-1 (5 pts). This upward trend shows that the team is on the right path.
Being a .500 team with the lofty goals that the Blue Jackets have is not acceptable. It's surely not something to celebrate, although regressing would be worse.
"Five hundred is mediocre," said head coach Todd Richards, "it's average. We have injuries and it's no excuse. You have to find ways, you have to find solutions. As a coach, I've got to be better. As players, playing the game, they've got to be better. It doesn't matter who's out of the lineup, we've got to find a way to win the games."
Richards is always searching for a way to win the next game, and then, to win the game after that. The status quo is not good enough and it never will be.
"There's a way to win the game (Tuesday against Ottawa). There's a way that we could have won the game against L.A., and I thought for good portions of the game we competed hard with a really good hockey team. What's frustrating for me is I want us to be better. And I think we can be better."
Yes, this team is getting better. But they still have a long way to go. They show flashes of good play followed by a lapse that shows they are still learning how to win on a consistent basis. It's never easy to do that. But, by making positive strides, they are proving to themselves that they can be successful.
"I think our start allows us to be a .500 team right now," said forward Nick Foligno. "That San Jose game was a big one for us, obviously. If we don't get that win, it's a different story. We have to be proud of how we started the road trip."
A recurring theme for the team is playing a full 60-minute game. Slow starts means having to chase the game, wearing them down in the process. This was the case last Thursday in San Jose.
"We couldn't find energy or muster up playing a full 60 minutes the rest of the trip to allow us to get success," Foligno continued. "We played against two great teams, Anaheim and L.A., to finish that trip."
"They (L.A.) are a team that just plays the right way, all game long. They don't really waver and that is what allows them to have success. We have to find that."
Playing that full 60-minute game is an area of concern for Todd Richards. He used the game against the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings as a prime example.
"It's just the 60 minute commitment," Richards said. "We did it for most of the game (against Kings), our structure and systematically. And then we get away from it. That's one thing L.A. doesn't do. They don't get away from their structure, discipline and how they execute. And that's what we have to get better at, playing that full 60 minute game."
While getting more than two points would have been good for the Blue Jackets, they are using these games as an example of what they need to do better. All three games in California showed the deficiencies in their own game.
"I think it's a good learning lesson for our team," said Foligno. "We're a young team. I think it was good for some of the young guys, and the older guys too, myself included, to realize that's how you play in order to win in this league."
There are no excuses given for poor play. That's one thing no one on this team does. They are all very up-front and candid with critiquing their own play. And beyond that, they are never satisfied.
"We do it in spurts," Foligno said of how they play. "We have to find that consistency. We have to find a way to do it each and every shift."
"I think it was great to open our eyes up to the Stanley Cup champs of last year and see how they do it. It's not flashy. They're not a flashy team, by any means. They have skill to score, but they just play a solid game that we can do. That allows them to have success."
What will garner them more consistent success is a bit more than minor tweaking, yet there is no need for a major overhaul. Todd Richards knows the areas of concern and sees positive signs in many facets of their recent road trip.
"The way we battled was a positive sign," he said. "The first couple of shifts with (Corey) Tropp setting the tone, that revved up the intensity and emotion of the game. So, I was pleased with that. There were good things like the breakouts and defensive zone coverage, the structure was there. Then, there are times when it's not. That's what we have to clean up."
No one ever said the road to respectability would be an easy one. They have to fight and scratch and claw their way up the ladder. They have identified the things that they need to be better at. The next step is consistent execution of the game plan. Only then will they find the success that they crave.
