Next Day Review: CBJ vs CAR 2/29
A leapday game that the Blue Jackets were lucky to pretend they were in on. Carolina played their game and Columbus rarely had any answer.
If you read anything in this breakdown, make it the last clip in The Tape section, featuring a good breakdown of the dominant shift from Carolina’s top-line at the beginning of the 3rd Period.
The Stats
The Blue Jackets were mostly starved of quality offensive chances. They certainly got their licks in against Carolina in the second period but when a team has 3 goals scored against them, it’s hard to be too optimistic about the quality of a period.
This isn’t to say the Blue Jackets didn’t totally get chances but that Carolina did everything around those chances to amke sure there wasn’t any offense that was too difficult to absorb. It was similar to the Blue Jackets’ last game against New York. They certainly got behind the defense and in dangerous areas but these moments required perilously difficult execution in small space near the goaltender or where chances where shot location betrayed the ease with which a goaltender could solve the problems.
The shot/possession matchup chart certainly gives a better “feeling” that reflects the events in the game. Carolina largely dominated possession outside of a specific matchup.
Carolina’s skilled line, featuring Martin Necas, Michael Bunting and Jack Drury, struggled in comparison to the rest of the team. Bunting and Necas have spent different times in the doghouse because of some of their lack of defensive detail and it’s easy to see why that may be the case after this game. They certainly let Cole Sillinger and Alex Texier get the better of them.
Gaudreau-Jenner-Roslovic struggling against matchup lines has largely been a theme for this season. This game, Carolina really showed the Blue Jackets what a cohesive top-line looks like. Against the top-pair, top-line/unit comprised of Aho-line and Pesce-pair, and against the Staal matchup line, the Blue Jackets top-line had no answers. They didn’t create nothing but outside of those flashes they provided little.
Theoretically, this was a game in which Chinakhov-Voronkov-Marchenko should have found some traction. Unfortunately they were matched up against probably the best forechecking line in the NHL and were blamed for turnovers and promptly benched. That’s just what you have to do when young players are struggling.
Carolina created a top-unit with Aho-Teravainen-Svechnikov and Skjei-Pesce. They deployed Slavin-Burns with the bottom six and Orlov-Chatfield with their offensive forward line.
It’s easy to see how the Blue Jackets have some of the pieces to create a somewhat similar relationship but that would betray how far away the two teams are in terms of talent.
Aho-Teravainen-Svechnikov is a fully complete offensive unit. There is no facet of the game in which three are weak. Pairing them with Skjei-Pesce, who are excellent neutral zone play killers creates a total unit that is very hard to breakdown. Carolina’s D-forward system and coaching allows those two to use their skills and play fast. That the forward group is willing and capable to cover behind these defensemen should be instructive for the Blue Jackets.
Slavin-Burns is a dominant pairing in all facets. Both are adept at playing up-ice and controlling the game. Burns has been one of the better goalscoring defensemen for an incredibly long time. Pairing them with heavy forechecking lines allows them to bring offense and fill in some gaps.
I think the Blue Jackets try to do this. Zach Werenski plays a lot of minutes with the Blue Jackets “fourth line” featuring Kuraly and whoever his wingers are. The difference? The Canes’ forechecking lines are filling with defensively incredible and intelligent players and are capable of playing into their defensemen’s strengths.
These two things shouldn’t necessarily be the same, the Blue Jackets are a different phase of their competitive cycle but perhaps it can inform the style and quality of forwards that the Blue Jackets will need to enable their young and talented stable of defensemen.
The Tape
Cole Sillinger and Alexandre Texier were the bright spot in this game for the Blue Jackets. In many ways, the Blue Jackets have attached Kent Johnson and Cole Sillinger to eachother. I don’t love the pairing for some of the same reasons I don’t like Gaudreau and Jenner.
Sillinger and Texier allow eachother to play a more natural game. They don’t have to worry about all of the moments between plays and in playing off of their teammates. Instead, they just have to play around very specific moments. Texier worked, and also didn’t, with Fantilli for that same reason.
This play isn’t an exact copy of how Fantilli and Texier played but it contains some of the same DNA. Essentially, Sillinger skips the neutral zone by sending an advanced pass to space for Texier to run onto. Obviously this one isn’t really to Texier but the effect is the same.
Texier then recovers the puck and gets to make a very skilled, very dangerous pass. With almost unbridled energy and speed he gets to a loose puck and finds the next play.
Werenski, at least as far as I can tell, is looking for Sillinger’s stick for a redirect. It’s a good choice and one that plays into Sillinger’s net-crashing skill.
The play continues for a bit and we really just get to see Sillinger and Texier play their games. Both of them thrive in loose-puck recovery styles where they only have to connect the occasional play. Sillinger can rip pucks and compete on the walls and Texier is fantastic at winning battles and slipping passes through defenders to high value areas.
Unfortunately, they haven’t succeeded as a pair much in part because they both struggle in anticipating some defensive coverages and their enthusiasm for attacking and going forward works against them in a conservative zone system at times. Additionally, when Texier tries to make skilled plays with and through possession, he’s prone to dangerous turnovers.
This play, a stretch to the neutral zone followed by a bump pass to speed underneath was one of the primary tools the Blue Jackets used to dismantle the New York Rangers. Here, we can see the degree of difficulty in this move.
The Canes are an exceptional neutral zone defending team, especially so in Brett Pesce.
Boone Jenner is first to the puck but reads that he’s going to be smashed into the boards. I think this is a good example of Carolina being defensively advanced. That hit on Boone Jenner would have provided no utility and instead Aho is focused on skating and defending the next play.
This is the shift that resulted in a massive xG spike in Carolina’s favor. I think through this shift you can see the massive gulf between the two teams’ preferred units all the way down to the playstyle.
First, Aho beats Jenner after his faceoff win. That race win has immense downstream effects. Gaudreau isn’t able to pressure Pesce who has plenty of time to read the play and dial up an option. Pesce stretches a pass into the neutral zone and Teravainen makes an incredibly skilled play to space in front of Aho.
Gudbranson has to switch over to cover him and Aho pulls up after entry to exploit the speed that Gudbranson has to match going backward. Gudbranson is not a particularly nimble skater and this gives Aho quite a lot of time to pick his spot.
A shot on goal and Svechnikov goes to pressure. His pressure timing is immaculate.
Gudbranson has a poor pressure response and is quick to slap the puck in whatever direction. The Blue Jackets have a strong numbers advantage in this spot, 1v3, but after watching the tape I’m not sure those players could win a puck from Svechnikov on the wall.
Aho finds soft ice and finds a tremendous opportunity to score. Skjei makes a great play under pressure that demonstrates he was aware of his options rather than just pumping the puck behind the net in fear of Roslovic turning the puck over.
Werenski covered Aho at first but after resorted to puck watching. Boone Jenner, too, puck watches. I don’t blame them too much they probably aren’t used to strong plays under pressure at the blueline.
The Blue Jackets, from pretty much top to bottom, have a puck watching issue, especially in the defensive zone.
In any case, Grade A chance to the Canes, but it’s important what happens off-puck.
Boone Jenner, Gudbranson and Werenski were all puck watching. Svechnikov is also but he instinctually moves quickly to the middle of the ice in anticipation of a rebound.
What this movement does is force Jenner, and perhaps Gudbranson, to respond moving in reaction to Svechnikov’s movement to take the middle. Well, Svechnkiov is already in the middle and isn’t flat footed so he wins the race back to the boards.
As Svechnikov puts the puck on net, Teravainen moves towards the middle. All of the Blue Jackets players are flat footed and he’s moving.
This means he has speed back to the corner whereas Gudbranson has to accelerate from a standstill/spinning position.
Teravainen gets first touch in a balanced posture and Gudbranson reaches to have an effect on the puck. Aho slips behind the defense for an unpressured backwall look.
Teravainen doesn’t recover the loose puck immediately but he makes an incredibly skilled play to turn the loose puck into a flat pass in rapid succession. His previous habits, continuous movement and balanced touches, stacked the percentages of this puck recovery in his favor but his linking of recovery and pass at speed is a fantastic skill in and of itself.
Here, you can see how good Aho’s hockey sense/habits are. He catches the puck and is scanning behind his shoulder. Svechnikov is rotating off the wall to the netfront as well. He clocks that and sends an advanced backhand off the wall to space.
It misses, but luckily, or perhaps planned as risk insulation, Teravainen gets the puck again.
Teravainen gets the puck and the Blue Jackets have three players in a 1 square foot box none of whom are defending even a single player.
Aho slips to the backdoor for another Grade AA+ chance. Tarasav miraculously keeps the puck out of the net but it doesn’t end there. Not even close.
Jenner and Gudbranson have their sticks tied up and away from the puck. It’s a small detail but one where you’d prefer discipline. At this point, it’s hard to imagine any of the Blue Jackets being of perfectly sound mind considering the complete chaos.
Teravainen, once again in motion, makes a completely fantastic touch to recover the puck in motion. A highly skilled play, one of many that don’t exactly leap off the page from Teravainen, but each of which are instrumental in quality offensive play.
From there, Teravainen moved the puck to the point. Pesce didn’t let the play slow down from there and dust the puck off. Instead, he kept his foot on the gas and immediately moved the puck to his partner, Skjei, who then quickly moved it back.
These three quick passes, one low-to-high and two crosslanes along the blueline didn’t give the Blue Jackets a second off. The side changes also make coverage in the middle of the ice difficult, especially as their forwards move.
I can’t say whether Gudbranson or Werenski should have picked up a different person. Idealistically, I’d prefer Werenski matching his lefty stick on Aho’s in the slot, rather than Gudbranson making a play with his backhand but I can’t necessarily say that’s how the Blue Jackets’ coverage details sort out.
Regardless, Svechnikov alone at the netfront is probably not how they drew it up. Once again, another AA+ scoring chance for the Canes. If not for a Gudbranson net-front clear it would have been a goal.
The Blue Jackets were incredibly lucky to not have a goal scored on them. They should certainly take notes on the advantages of not having a single crosscheck-eating netfront presence and instead how smart players staying in motion through the middle means they can win more “50/50” battles and loose pucks without purely dominant wall-play.
Notable Performances
Teravainen-Aho-Svechnikov
I have probably said enough here.
But still, Svechnikov’s back-wall and net-front dominance shouldn’t go overlooked. He does it in a very different way than the Blue Jackets.
Similarly, Aho and Teravainen’s hockey IQ and habits should also go a long way to inform the type of players the Blue Jackets build a team around.
Skjei-Pesce
Seth Jarvis
Seth Jarvis is another young player who seems to understand center-of-mass and leverage better than many of the “strong” Blue Jackets veterans. We saw this a bit last game with how Kakko was able to dismantlye Provorov and Kuraly. Kakko is big and strong though, so that makes sense.
Cole Sillinger-Alexandre Texier
These two young players brought an energy and intensity that the Blue Jackets sometimes lack. If they can form a strong partnership and solidify their defensive responsibilities the Blue Jackets may take a step towards creating a tenacious forechecking identity.
Whether or not there will be space for both of them in this arrangement will certainly be a puzzle the next GM has to solve.