The Blue Jackets will have a new identity this season. The first two preseason games have shown us that.
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After just two preseason games, a team identity for the Blue Jackets is becoming clearer
27 Sep 2024
As surprising as this may be, the Columbus Blue Jackets still have two weeks of preseason work to complete and 47 players still at camp. Despite it still being early, the club has already shown clear signs of the type of game that head coach Dean Evason will have them play in 2024-2025.
Per Natural Stat Trick, the Jackets expected goals against last night were around 2.50. Per MoneyPuck.com, the Jackets' average xGA in the 2023-2024 season was 3.53, which was second to last in the NHL (San Jose).
What I saw personally was that the CBJ did a much better job of eliminating shots from the slot and circles and instead kept much of the Blues' offensive possessions around the boards. When St. Louis attempted to bring the puck into high-danger zones, there was either a man in the way of the pass or a skater attempting to cover up the shooting lane with a shot block or screen of the shooter.
Dean Evason speaks much about his goals to see the team be tough to play against and play smartly and aggressively. As a casual observer, I see that his system looks to have a night and day difference from the one the Jackets have played under their two most recent head coaches.
I'm confident in saying at this point that we will most likely not see the CBJ among the bottom two teams in shots against in this upcoming campaign.
Monahan tallies twice in his preseason debut to help Columbus to a 6-3 win
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Blue Jackets score five in the third to down Sabres
28 Sep 2024
Monahan tallies twice in his preseason debut to help Columbus to a 6-3 win
The Blue Jackets won their second preseason contest in as many nights, pulling away to a 6-3 victory over Buffalo on Saturday night at Nationwide Arena.
Game in a Paragraph
A game Buffalo team composed of largely prospects and AHLer hung in there for a while, but the Blue Jackets used a third-period explosion to pull away. Columbus scored five straight goals, four of them in 4:24 of the final frame and three in just 1:15, to improve to 3-1 in the preseason.
Notable
Elvis Merzlikins played the entire 60 minutes and made 28 saves on 31 shots against. ...
Columbus outshot the Sabres by a 43-31 margin.
Johnson, Kuraly have multiple points as Columbus pulls away to a victory in Nationwide Arena
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Blue Jackets shut out Blues in preseason action
29 Sep 2024
Johnson, Kuraly have multiple points as Columbus pulls away to a victory in Nationwide Arena
The Blue Jackets welcomed fans back to Nationwide Arena for the first preseason home game of the season, downing St. Louis by a 3-0 score on Wednesday night.
Game in a Paragraph
Columbus evened its preseason record at 1-1 as it scored a goal in each period to pull away from the Blues. Despite killing six St. Louis power plays, t
he Blue Jackets had a 41-31 edge in shots on goal and received a number of solid performances up and down the lineup, while goalies Elvis Merzlikins and Zach Sawchenko combined on a shutout.
Just sayin': It appears that the new coaching staff is doing something different to reduce the opponents shots on goal, etc....
