With or without you: a deeper look at the Johansen-Foligno combination
The Blue Jackets are on a five game losing skid and they need to bring home more goals and more wins to reach their target of post-season play. The players need to get the puck in the net, but they also need to work to make one another better, and the team has a pairing uniquely positioned to do just that.
22-year-old Ryan Johansen and 27-year-old Nick Foligno are not only the top two point earners for the Jackets -- Johansen has eight goals and 16 assists, while Foligno has ten goals and 11 assists -- they also are demonstrating a sustained ability to generate more offense together than apart, something Jackets head coach Todd Richards has noticed.
"I think the history of those two guys playing together is one reason we want to keep them together," Richards said. "You're looking for combinations trying to find success and some of it is what's gone right in the past."
According to Dobber Sports Network, last season Johansen skated most frequently on a line with Foligno and RJ Umberger. So far this season, Foligno has been on ice for just over 70 percent of Johansen's ice time at even strength and just over 72 percent of Johansen's power play time.
"I've played with (Foligno) for a couple years now, we've played a lot of hockey together," Johansen said. "It seems like I know where he is on the ice on all times. He always goes to the hard areas and makes strong plays. We feed off each other well."
But playing well together isn't just a feeling. The impact that Foligno is having on Johansen, a fourth round draft pick, is not only something the players perceive it's something that can be measured.
According to stats.hockeyanalysis.com, both players help generate more offense when on the ice at the same time as measured in a statistic called "Corsi". Corsi totals the number of shots on goal, missed shots, and blocked shots taken on the ice. The statistic can be measured both for a team and for an individual player and used as part of a player's overall analysis.
When measuring Corsi on an individual level the comparison of a player's Corsi -- or ability to be part of generating offensive chances for the team -- with a certain player or without a certain player, is called "with or without you" or WOWY.
For three seasons, Foligno has had the largest impact on Johansen's WOWY. This season, Johansen is at 51.4 percent Corsi for with Foligno, but only 44.8 percent without him. Last season, the impact was visible again when Johansen had a Corsi rating of 53.4 percent when on the ice with Foligno but one of 47.9 percent without.
Going into Friday's game, Johansen was seventh in the NHL in points and seventh in the league in assists. Amplifying the offensive production of such a player certainly can be a valuable for a team looking to get back to winning games.
"We complement each other's skill set," Foligno said. "(Johansen) has his dynamic skills with his hands and vision. I try to follow up along the walls picking up pucks behind the net and making plays through there."
Foligno, who says he's always loved a player who can have vision to create plays, believes another part of what works between the two is their ability to hold on to the puck down low and make things happen.
"I think I pride myself on being a guy that's hard to play against," Foligno said. "Getting in on the forecheck, using my speed I think I have some vision and creativity where I can try and make plays happen."
Getting Johansen and Foligno back on the scoresheet can only help the Jackets. So far this season, Johansen had a 10 game point streak and Foligno scored in six straight. They also both have notched more than a few multi-point games -- Johansen has six and Foligno has eight.
"(Foligno) creates a ton of space for me, and that's what you try and do out there," Johansen said. "When you look at the best players in the league and you try to shut them down that's what you try to take away. For us we're good at creating some separation from the opponents and making room for making space for ourselves and finding opportunities."
While the Jackets have tried different line combinations this season to compensate for injuries, Foligno himself was out after a collision in a game against Los Angeles, the team seems to recognize the contributions the pairing of Foligno and Johansen brings and that WOWY is measuring.
"(Foligno) is a big body down low," Richards said. "He's one of guys on our team who hold the defender off because he's strong enough to and then he's quick enough coming off of those checks to make plays. Joe is a top end talent and if given space and time he's going to make a play."
When it comes to turning the tide on this season, reigniting the offensive production that has been present in the Foligno â Johansen pairing might be part of the puzzle for the Jackets to find their winning ways.
The Blue Jackets return to action tonight against the Nashville Predators. The puck drops in Nashville at 8 p.m. You can catch both the game and "Blue Jackets LIVE" pregame show on FOX Sports Ohio.
Follow Alison on twitter at @AlisonL
