2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs: What Columbus Did Wrong
In the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Columbus Blue Jackets exited in the first round, winning only one game. How did the Blue Jackets fail and how do they fix it in the off season? Part of a running series.
The Columbus Blue Jackets succeeded past expectations in the 2016-17 NHL season. Still, fans were likely disappointed when the Blue Jackets exited the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs early, taking only one game from the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round.
How can Columbus come back next year with a better team? How do they continue to develop into a Stanley Cup worthy team? What can be fixed from this year, what lessons can be taken away?
Sergei Bobrovsky Looked… Not Great
A shot by Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin (not pictured) gets past Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky (72) (Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports)
So, this season, Sergei Bobrovsky played really well. Bobrovsky is the probable Vezina winner and a Hart finalist this year – that well. But in the playoffs… he dropped off. Like, dropped off in a spectacular fashion, as if he wasn't the same goaltender.
Bobrovsky went from having the best goaltender stats in the regular season – posting a .931 SV% and a 2.06 GAA – to just looking out of place, putting up a .882 SV% and 3.88 GAA in five 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs games. Yeah, it's against the Penguins who have arguably the best offense in hockey. Yeah, he lost his number one defenseman in Zach Werenski during the series. But still, that drop-off killed the Blue Jackets.
Especially when Bobrovsky is going to win the Vezina and he is a Hart finalist. When Columbus went on their winning streak back in November and December, they did it because of the play of Bobrovsky. So when Columbus lost that player in the playoffs, they looked lost and defeated.
But this is a guy without his number one defenseman and who hasn't played in the playoffs for three years, so it might be excusable. Bobrovsky's last playoff series was in the 2014 postseason, and he posted a .908 SV% and a 3.17 GAA. Not much better than this year, but still, there are significant signs that Bobs can be better than this.
Gotta Get Fit, Gotta Stay Healthy
Zach Werenski going down in game three hurt the Blue Jackets. Werenski had had a goal before he went down, and was proving himself to be the future (and present) of the Blue Jackets blue line. The Blue Jackets already being down Ryan Murray didn't help either.
Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Phil Kessel (81) skates with the puck as Columbus Blue Jackets center Lukas Sedlak (45) chases (Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports)
The Blue Jackets were also a very young team up against one of the most talented in the NHL. There were 11 players on this roster without playoff experience. That's young. The fact that they were unproven also hurts. That's the gotta get fit part of that subtitle – the Blue Jackets, now having playoff experience, need to get better in shape for playoff runs.
Hell, coach John Tortorella himself hadn't been in the playoffs since 2013, which was also the last time he had won a playoff series. That's a lot of people without reliable playoff experience, and the Blue Jackets really came up against a tough match up.
Now that they have that playoff experience, expect them to be better suited for it next year. Especially if they're able to keep their guys like Zack Werenski healthy, the Blue Jackets have already proven they're dangerous. Now they just gotta back it up in the playoffs.
Defensive Depth Has to Step Up
This could have been on the offense for scoring one goal in each of two games, but again, that's because of their youth and because Marc-Andre Fleury was better than anybody predicted. I feel like the Blue Jackets defense helping Bobrovsky allow at least three goals in every game is a bigger issue.
Cause that shouldn't be happening. Did Bobrovsky collapse? Yes, but once Zack Werenski went down so did the Blue Jackets defense. And you can't rely solely on two players to play defense, especially in the playoffs, especially when one of them is a rookie. Seth Jones played well offensively, posting two assists, but he also wasn't able to stop the puck. And the defense has to
Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) moves the puck against Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones (3) during the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs (Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports)
start with him.
Jack Johnson scored a goal but also wasn't as successful in terms of defense. The Blue Jackets needed help defensively, something they never got. And that's gotta change if the Blue Jackets are going to make a push next year.
Oh, and even though he got hurt, Zack Werenski himself wasn't great in the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs. No assists, and while plus/minus isn't the be-all end-all some people believe it to be, Werenski's -2 to is still not impressive.
One More Thing…
Get bigger. There's a lot of skinny, small guys on this team. The one bigger guy (Scott Hartnell) the Columbus Blue Jackets do have is 35 years old and didn't produce. The Blue Jackets need to look for a bigger grinder-type because while the league is shifting towards their style of play, the Jackets will still need somebody who can produce an ugly goal once in a while.
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