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Mixed Blue Jackets injury news for NHL Playoffs: Jones in, Anderson out

By James O'BrienJun 18, 2020, 4:10 PM EDT

With a Qualifying Round best-of-five looming against the Maple Leafs, the Blue Jackets got mostly positive injury news lately. Seth Jones highlights the good injury news, while Josh Anderson is the most significant letdown.

Jones headlines good injury news for Blue Jackets

The Blue Jackets activated Jones and fellow defenseman Dean Kukan off of IR on Thursday.

This capture the bigger picture: that the Blue Jackets should have quite a few key players back if that Qualifying Round series happens against Toronto. Jones joined Cam Atkinson, Oliver Bjorkstrand, and basically the kitchen sink on the injured list this season.

Jones, 25, scored six goals and 30 points in 56 games before injuries derailed his season.

By certain measures, Jones might not be quite the Norris Trophy-level defenseman many believe. His possession numbers are closer to solid than dominant, although some of that might boil down to playing more than 25 minutes per night.

Wherever Jones ranks in the stratosphere, he’s important to the Blue Jackets. So is Bjorkstrand and Atkinson, as this Evolving Hockey GAR Chart reinforces:

Blue Jackets injury news GAR
via Evolving Hockey

[MORE: Previewing Blue Jackets – Maple Leafs and other East Qualifying Round series]

Players Blue Jackets might not have in the lineup

You may look at that chart above and believe that Anderson isn’t much of a loss. In the framework of the 2019-20 season alone, that’s probably fair.

In the grand scheme of things, it likely is not fair, though. He’s been a useful player for Columbus for some time now. Anderson also boasts the sort of size and physical play that can make him difficult to handle in a playoff format. He was a handful at times for the Lightning during that shocking sweep during the 2019 Stanley Cup Final.

The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline reports that Anderson is unlikely to be available until at least September (sub required).

That’s a big blow, although it does leave the door open for a return during the postseason — if the Blue Jackets made an even better underdog run than in 2018-19.

A lack of Anderson hurts because, frankly, the Blue Jackets figure to struggle to score — even while healthier. With expanded rosters in mind, look at Portzline’s guesses for the forwards Columbus will have on hand:

Cam Atkinson, Emil Bemstrom, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Nick Foligno, Liam Foudy, Nathan Gerbe, Boone Jenner, Jakob Lilja, Ryan MacInnis, Stefan Matteau, Riley Nash, Gustav Nyquist, Eric Robinson, Devin Shore, Kevin Stenlund, Alexandre Texier, Alexander Wennberg.

When you stack that group up against the firepower Toronto boasts in Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, William Nylander, and others, you can see why every Anderson-type helps.

Out of context, the eighth-ranked Maple Leafs probably shouldn’t be big favorites against the Blue Jackets.

Look at the difference in firepower, then consider very different levels of media focus. Put that together, and Columbus is likely to be framed as heavy underdogs.

That’s just the way John Tortorella & Co. like it. With Jones looking good to go, they might just have a shot at making a run.

MORE ON THE BLUE JACKETS:

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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.

The Buzzer: Bemstrom, Foligno power Blue Jackets past Senators

Nick Foligno #71 of the Columbus Blue Jackets, right, and Boone Jenner #38 of the Columbus Blue Jackets celebrate Foligno's second period goal against the Ottawa Senators
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By Scott CharlesFeb 24, 2020, 10:22 PM EST

Three Stars

1) Nick Foligno, Columbus Blue Jackets

John Tortorella has long advocated for teams to not have games on the same day as the NHL Trade Deadline. Coincidentally, the Columbus Blue Jackets won the only game scheduled, defeating the Ottawa Senators in overtime, 4-3. Foligno opened the scoring when he slid a puck past Marcus Hogberg. He later knotted the game at 2-2 with a redirection 12:32 into the middle frame.

2) Emil Bemstrom, Columbus Blue Jackets

Right place, right time. Zach Werenski’s shot created a juicy rebound and Bemstrom was in the right place to put home the game-winning goal. Boone Jenner picked up his second assist of the night and the Blue Jackets moved into the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with the victory.

3) Connor Brown, Ottawa Senators

The human element in sports is often overlooked but the Ottawa Senators put together an admirable performance after seeing several significant pieces dealt earlier in the day. Brown led the way with two goals before the Senators ultimately came up short in overtime. Chris Tierney made a no-look backhand pass from behind the cage to set up Brown 10:48 into the first period. Brown would later add a power-play goal in the middle frame to give the Senators a 2-1 lead.

Highlight of the Night

Tierney showed off spectacular vision when this no-look pass made it to Brown.

Stat of the Night

Scores

Columbus Blue Jackets 4, Ottawa Senators 3 (OT)

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Scott Charles is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @ScottMCharles.

PHT Face-Off: DeBrincat’s scoring struggles; Will Krug re-sign?

By Joey AlfieriFeb 3, 2020, 10:59 AM EST
2 Comments

Every Monday, the PHT Face-Off breaks down some of the big stories and trends in and around the NHL over the next week.

• Torey Krug still needs a new deal

Krug is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, and he’s put together an impressive contract year. He’s coming off a two-goal, four-point performance against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday. He’s now up to 37 points in 45 games.

What is he going to cost the Bruins going forward? Why haven’t the two sides agreed to a contract extension yet? Those are legitimate questions, but the reality is that there’s clearly a disconnect when it comes to the player’s value.

Krug is an undersized, puck-moving defenseman. If he hits the market, there will be no shortage of teams interested in his services. He’s put together three straight 50-point seasons and he’s currently on pace to surpass the 60-point mark for the first time in his career.

David Krejci is currently the highest paid player on the Bruins roster at $7.25 million per year. He has just one year remaining on his deal, so you’d have to think that his next number will come down significantly (if he’s back at all). Once Krejci’s gone, Patrice Bergeron would become the highest paid player on the roster at $6.875 million per year.

Are the Bruins trying to make sure that Bergeron remains the highest paid player on the team? That’s very possible. Can Krug command more than $7 million on the open market? Absolutely.

That’s probably where the disconnect comes from.

• Alex DeBrincat‘s down year

DeBrincat shocked the NHL last year when he scored 41 goals in 82 games. Putting together back-to-back 40-goal seasons was never going to be easy, but his 12 goals in 52 games are way below expectations.

The 22-year-old’s shooting percentage has taken a dive and his five-on-five production has, too.

Of the 12 goals he’s scored this year, only four have come at even strength. Last year, 13 of his 41 goals were scored on the man-advantage. As you’d imagine, his shooting percentage has gone from 18 percent last year to eight percent this year.

The ‘Hawks could use an increase in production from the sniper. They’re right in the middle of a playoff race and a few more goals to make a huge difference. As of right now, the ‘Hawks are three points back of the Arizona Coyotes for the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. Oh, and, Chicago has two games in hand.

It’s fair to wonder whether or not DeBrincat will ever score 40 goals again, but it’s clear that he’s better than his current five-on-five production would indicate.

• Pierre-Luc Dubois is the man

The Blue Jackets lost Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky, so we knew that they were going to transition to some new on-ice leaders this year. Cam Atkinson‘s production has dipped, Nick Foligno, Alexander Wennberg and Boone Jenner haven’t produced a ton of offense either.

So, there’s been a greater importance placed on Dubois’ offense.

The 21-year-old produced 27 goals and 61 points last year and he’s currently on pace to come close to matching those numbers this year (he’s on pace for 26 goals and 65 points). But the impressive thing about those similar numbers is that he’s been able to do it without Panarin eating up the toughest matchups.

There’s many reasons why the Jackets have found a way to get themselves into the playoff picture, and Dubois is definitely one of them.

On Sunday, he scored a pair of goals in his home province, as Columbus took down Montreal in a pre-Super Bowl matinee game.

For the Jackets to finish strong, they’ll need their top point scorer to keep delivering big moments like the one above. He’s quickly turning into one of the elite young forwards in the NHL.

• Alex Ovechkin isn’t aging poorly

Ovechkin continues to climb the all-time goal list. He’s now eighth all-time in goals, as he passed Mark Messier last week. He needs 13 more goals to tie Mike Gartner for seventh all-time and 22 goals to tie Phil Esposito for sixth. It’s a great story. The big question is whether or not Ovechkin will pass Wayne Gretzky’s 894 career goals. Even if he doesn’t get to 895, he might still be considered the best scorer of all time.

The 34-year-old didn’t score in Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, but he lit it up during his previous five contests.

Between Jan. 13-31, the Russian sniper found the back of the net an incredible 11 times. He’s now scored 37 goals in 52 games, which puts him on pace for 58 goals.

“He’s a great shooter,” said Gartner, per NHL.com. “He’s got an extremely hard shot, an extremely accurate shot and an extremely quick shot. A lot of times a shooter may have one, maybe two of those things going for you. He has all three of them, and that’s a very unique package of skills that he brings to the table.

“Wayne Gretzky, just by the sheer numbers, is the greatest goal-scorer ever. He scored 894 goals, so you still have to say that he is the greatest goal-scorer. But if anybody could do it, Alex could do it.”

What’s coming up this week:
• MacKinnon vs. Eichel, Tue. Feb. 4, 7 p.m. ET
• Parise’s 1,000th game, Fri. Feb. 7, 8:30 p.m. ET
• Justin Faulk vs. Carolina, Tue. Feb. 4, 8 p.m. ET

NHL on NBCSN
• Flyers vs. Red Wings, Mon. Feb. 3, 7:30 p.m. ET
• Blackhawks vs. Wild, Tue. Feb. 4, 8 p.m. ET
• Red Wings vs. Sabres, Thu. Feb. 6, 7 p.m. ET
• Sharks vs. Oilers, Thu. Feb. 6, 9:30 p.m. ET

Wednesday Night Hockey
• Bruins vs. Blackhawks, Wed. Feb. 5, 8 p.m. ET

NHL on NBC
• Bruins vs. Red Wings, Sun. Feb. 9, 12:30 p.m. ET

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Joey Alfieri is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @joeyalfieri.

PHT Morning Skate: Weber’s comeback year; Where should Bolts upgrade?

By Joey AlfieriJan 29, 2020, 8:15 AM EST
1 Comment
Welcome to the PHT Morning Skate, a collection of links from around the hockey world. Have a link you want to submit? Email us at phtblog@nbcsports.com.

• If the Predators continue struggling, they’ll have to ask themselves some tough questions. (The Hockey News)

• There’s several reasons why there should be concern in Winnipeg, according to Travis Yost. (TSN.ca)

• The Jets have an issue on defense and there’s no easy way to address it. (Arctic Hockey)

• Chris Tanev has helped Quinn Hughes settle into the NHL. (Sportsnet)

• Shea Weber is having a great comeback season and people around the NHL are noticing. (The Score)

• Dave Andreychuk answered five questions from NHL.com. (NHL)

• Boone Jenner is playing big defensive minutes for Columbus, but is that working out? (The Cannon)

• How have the Bruins done in their own end this season? (Stanley Cup of Chowder)

• It’s officially time to call the Canadiens sellers. (Habs Eyes on the Prize)

• Which position should Lightning GM Julien BriseBois consider upgrading before the trade deadline? (Raw Charge)

• The Coyotes added Taylor Hall via trade in December. Is it time for them to keep buying? (Five For Howling)

• On the Forecheck breaks down the untouchables and the tradable players on the Preds roster. (On the Forecheck)

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Joey Alfieri is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @joeyalfieri.

NHL Fantasy Hockey: Henrique, Nelson highlight this week’s top adds

By Ryan DadounOct 21, 2019, 10:00 AM EDT

Welcome to our weekly Adds/Drops column, where I focus on highlighting players you should consider grabbing or be concerned about in fantasy leagues. As always, the goal here isn’t to recommend 10 players you must add and five players that need to be dropped. Context is everything and the context of each league is different. What this is instead is a guideline so that if you’re looking to make a change, you have potential players to target and if you see players I’ve suggested to drop, you can evaluate your potential alternates.

Players Worth Adding

Neal Pionk, Jets – D: The shift from the New York Rangers in 2018-19 to the Jets this season has been to Pionk’s benefit so far. In terms of average ice time, he’s only jumped from 21:10 minutes to 22:58 minutes, but most of that increase has come from gaining additional power-play time. He’s gotten off to a strong start in 2019-20 with two goals and six points in 10 games and should continue to put up solid numbers this season.

Jakob Silfverberg, Ducks – RW: Silfverberg couldn’t have asked for a better start with five goals and eight points in nine games. At the least he’s a nice gamble in the short-term, but he might be worth hanging on throughout the season. Silfverberg has never gotten more than 49 points in a single season, but new Ducks coach Dallas Eakins seems comfortable with giving him a sizeable role. As a result he’s averaging 18:13 minutes, up from 17:06 minutes in 2018-19, which is more than any other Anaheim forward.

Brock Nelson, Islanders – C/LW: Nelson has been in kind of an odd pattern in the early portion of the campaign. He’s scored in exactly every other game and for the last six games he’s alternated between recording 0 and 2 points. The end result is that he has four goals and seven points through eight contests this season. He saw his ice time jump to 17:58 minutes in 2018-19 and set a new career-high with 53 points as a result. This season his playing time has inched up further to 18:20 minutes and he might be able to flirt with new career-highs. One key benefit to him is his left wing eligibility despite his primary role being up the middle.

Marcus Pettersson, Penguins – D: Pettersson is might just be more of a short-term pickup to gamble on while he’s hot. He has registered four assists over his last four games. That being said, he is averaging 18:34 minutes this season, including 1:33 minutes per game with the man advantage, so there is a chance that this will end up being a breakout campaign for him. Even if you decide not to grab him at this time, he’s worth checking back in on later to see how the 23-year-old has been developing with the Penguins.

Andre Burakovsky, Avalanche – LW/RW: Burakovsky is something of a roll of the dice at this stage. Burakovsky never recorded more than 38 points in a single season with Colorado, but he already has four goals and eight points in eight games with Colorado. Perhaps this is a case of the change of scenery agreeing with him, but he’s also just averaging 13:49 minutes. Unless his role with the Avalanche expands, it’s hard to see him being a significant offensive contributor in the long run. Still, given how well he’s already done and the potential that the 24-year-old is taking a step up this season, it’s worth taking a chance on him.

Adam Henrique, Ducks – C: This is mostly a case of riding the hot hand. Henrique has four goals and five points in his last four games, so he’s worthy of some short-term consideration. In the long run, he has fringe value in standard leagues. The limiting factor with him is his center-only eligibility given the glut of options up the middle.

Paul Stastny, Golden Knights – C: At this point, Max Pacioretty is owned in 84% of Yahoo leagues while Mark Stone is claimed in 97%, but Stastny is owned in just 38%. Stastny is skating on a line with that duo this season and has done his part. Stastny has four goals and seven points in nine games. If he continues to skate with Stone and Pacioretty, he should have a very good year.

[For more fantasy sports analysis, check out Rotoworld]

Marcus Johansson, Sabres – C/LW: Johansson is coming off two rough campaigns, but 2019-20 is shaping up to be different. After signing a two-year, $9 million contract with the Buffalo Sabres over the summer, he’s scored four goals and seven points in nine games. Johansson has typically been put on the ice with Jeff Skinner, who had 40 goals in his first season with Buffalo and has added another five goals in nine contests in 2019-20. All three of Johansson’s assists so far have been on Skinner goals.

Ian Cole, Avalanche – D: Cole missed the start of the season with a hip injury, but he made his return on Oct. 14th and has made up for lost time with four assists in his last three games. He’s not a particularly exciting defenseman from an offensive perspective, but you could gamble on him while he’s hot. It’s worth adding that he’s also one of the better sources of blocked shots out there, so if your league cares about that category then that’s a great secondary reason to consider grabbing him while he’s hot.

Mikko Koskinen, Oilers – G: Koskinen’s first season with the Edmonton Oilers left plenty to be desired, but he’s been a big part of their early season success. He’s 4-0-0 with a 2.21 GAA and .934 save percentage in four starts. He was a top-tier goaltender in the KHL and now that he’s had a full season to adjust to North America, he might prove to be a solid goaltender in 2019-20.

Players You May Want To Drop

Henrik Lundqvist, Rangers – G: Lundqvist has been on the decline for several seasons now and that descent will likely continue at the age of 37. Through four starts, he’s 1-3-0 with a 3.57 GAA and .906 save percentage. It doesn’t help that while the Rangers did get some very encouraging additions over the summer, they are still not quite a full force contender.

Boone Jenner, Blue Jackets – C/LW: Jenner didn’t exactly wow people last season with his 16 goals and 38 points in 77 games, but the 2019-20 campaign might prove to be worse. Despite the Blue Jackets losing some key forwards over the summer, his ice time has tanked from an average of 17:04 minutes in 2018-19 to 14:27 minutes this season. That’s his lowest minutes per game since 2013-14 when he was a rookie. He has just a goal and no assists through eight games.

Sammy Blais, Blues – LW/RW: Blais enjoyed a strong start to the season with three goals and five points in five games, but he hasn’t recorded a point in three contests. If you picked him up during that hot streak, you should re-evaluate his role now. He’s averaging a modest 14:03 minutes per game, so it’s hard to see him being a major offensive force this season. On the plus side, he is an excellent source of hits, so if you need help in that category, then maybe it’s worth your while to keep him even if he’s not contributing much in other areas.

Nino Niederreiter, Hurricanes – LW/RW: After Carolina acquired Niederreiter from Minnesota during the 2018-19 campaign, he went on a terrific run of 14 goals and 30 points in 36 games. However, a big part of that run was due to his increased role with the Hurricanes. He had averaged 14:37 minutes with Minnesota prior to the trade and 18:17 minutes for the rest of the season. In his first full campaign with the Hurricanes, Niederreiter has fallen back to a level of responsibility he’s more accustomed to. He’s averaging 15:39 minutes and has recorded no goals and three assists in nine games. With his playing time down, he’s also taking fewer shots, from 2.86 shots per game in 2018-19 with Carolina to 2.22 this season. His complete lack of goals can still be partially attributed to bad luck, but unless his role increases, he’s not going to return to the levels of production we saw during his post-trade time with Carolina last season.

Cory Schneider, Devils – G: Schneider has had some highs and some extreme lows over the last few years, but on the whole he’s certainly left plenty to be desired. That trend has continued this season. He has a 0-3-0 record, 4.08 GAA, and .876 save percentage in four games. To make things worse, at least for Schneider owners, Mackenzie Blackwood has rebounded from his own rough start to the campaign. It’s entirely possible that Blackwood will end up getting more starts than Schneider this season. There’s just not a lot to like about Schneider’s outlook right now. 

If you’re looking for fantasy hockey information, Rotoworld is a great resource. You can check the player news for the latest information on any player and insight into their fantasy outlook.

Every week Michael Finewax looks ahead at the schedule and offers team-by-team notes in The Week Ahead. I have a weekly Fantasy Nuggets column where I basically talk about whatever’s captured my attention that week. Gus Katsaros does an Analytics columns if you want to get into detailed statistical analysis. If you’re interested in rookies and prospects, there’s a weekly column on that written by McKeen’s Hockey.

For everything fantasy hockey, check out Rotoworld’s Player News, and follow @Rotoworld_ HK and @RyanDadoun on Twitter.