1 Columbus Blue Jackets News Clips November 3-4, 2019 Columbus

Columbus Blue Jackets News Clips

November 3-4, 2019

Columbus Blue Jackets PAGE 05 The Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets | Merzlikins kept busy in home debut PAGE 05 The Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets vs. St. Louis Blues | 3-2-1 breakdown PAGE 02 The Columbus Dispatch: Jackets call up New Albany’s Kole Sherwood PAGE 03 The Columbus Dispatch: Flames 3, Blue Jackets 0 | Another bad start sends Blue Jackets to loss PAGE 05 The Athletic: Portzline: 10 observations from the Blue Jackets’ loss to Calgary, including slow start, scoring chances, Sherwood plays PAGE 05 The Columbus Dispatch: Flames 3, Blue Jackets 0 | 3-2-1 breakdown PAGE 05 The Athletic: A passion beyond pucks: Blue Jackets’ Seth Jones is a budding art collector

Cleveland Monsters/Prospects

NHL/Websites PAGE 10 The Athletic: DGB weekend power rankings: Just how worried should Maple Leafs be right now?

The Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets | Merzlikins kept busy in home debut

By Brian Hedger – November 2, 2019

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Elvis Merzlikins finally got to hear the Blue Jackets’ cannon go off at ice level. That, if anything, is his most vivid memory of making his Nationwide Arena debut Wednesday in relief of Joonas Korpisalo in the Blue Jackets’ 4-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. “It was fun, obviously,” the 25-year old Latvian rookie goalie said Friday, prior to facing the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center. “I heard, on the ice, the cannon too, so that’s the good part. It’s pretty loud, especially when you are on that side of the (rink), so it was fun.” Otherwise, Merzlikins was busy in that game. He didn’t allow a goal in 19 shots against the high- powered Oilers and earned his third start of the season – all on the road – against the Blues on Friday night. “I didn’t have time to think about playing at home and the fans, because I had to get, as soon as possible, into the game,” Merzlikins said. “So, I just deleted everything that was outside of myself and tried to catch the puck.” He took the same approach into St. Louis, which was actually his second experience playing against the Blues. Merzlikins also faced them here in the preseason and took a loss against a team that had most of its NHL players in action. His play against Edmonton combined with a solid showing in Chicago in a 3-2 overtime loss Oct. 18 at the United Center were enough to earn this outing from coach John Tortorella. The relief job against the Oilers was the first time in six years Merzlikins had come into a game in that regard, after starring as the No. 1 goalie with HC Lugano in Switzerland. “Obviously, if you get into the middle of the game, you go in with a free mind – especially in that game, because (we) were 4-0 down,” Merzlikins said. “So, you go in and fight for the win because you never know what’s going to happen at the end of the 60 minutes.” Merzlikins, who continues to adjust to smaller rinks and better players in the NHL, was seeking his first NHL victory going into the game against St. Louis. He had impressive stats in his previous two appearances, though, including a 1.89 goals-against average and .942 save percentage. “I think players, when they overthink, they paralyze themselves,” Tortorella said. “So, certainly, when you just get thrown into (a game), is it ideal for a young guy at that position? I don’t know. I think sometimes they need some time to think about their work, but sometimes they overthink it. But he played well, so it worked for him.” The Edmonton blues The loss to the Oilers on Wednesday stuck with Tortorella for multiple reasons. Their response to coughing up a late 4-2 lead last Saturday in Philadelphia in a shocking 7-4 loss wasn’t what he anticipated, they played slow against a lightning-fast team and they were handled easily, again, by Edmonton – which has now won its past three games against Columbus by scores of 4-1, 4-1 and 4-0 dating back to a two-game series sweep last season.

The Jackets’ bench boss was still agitated by the latest one prior to the morning skate Friday and summarized his team’s effort against the Oilers as only Tortorella could. “Whether it was the six minutes of penalties in the first period threw us off and we’re down 2-0, I don’t know, but it’s unacceptable how we went about our business against Edmonton,” he said. “We have played four, just, lousy games against them. Our last four games against Edmonton have been a dog’s breakfast. I don’t know why, but we just … that’s not us and I just want us to understand who we are.” Harrington plays Tortorella still has defensive depth to use despite Ryan Murray being on the shelf for a few weeks with a broken hand. He dipped into it against the Blues, opting to dress both of his “depth defenders” and scratch Markus Nutivaara. Dean Kukan and Scott Harrington both played in St. Louis despite Nutivaara being healthy enough to play. Tortorella said Nutivaara, who returned from a two-game injury absence Wednesday against the Oilers, was a healthy scratch. Nutivaara participated in the morning skate and took extra work with skills coach Kenny McCudden and forward Markus Hannikainen, who was also scratched. Chasing ‘Rusty’ Three guys are close to passing Rostislav Klesla’s 41 goals for the franchise record in career goals by a defenseman. Zach Werenski tied Klesla on Wednesday with his third goal of the season and 41st of his career, while Seth Jones and David Savard have 40 each. Werenski reached 41 in 249 games, or 266 fewer than Klesla, while Jones played his 282nd game with Columbus on Friday and Savard logged his 502nd game – all with the Jackets. Hannikainen sits Hannikainen was scratched after being recalled Thursday from the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League. Hannikainen, who was previously with the Blue Jackets Oct. 12-19 without playing, has yet to play this season. The 26-year old forward has four points in five games on a goal and three assists for the Monsters and has 15 points on eight goals and seven assists in 91 career games with the Blue Jackets. Cannon fodder Milano is still feeling the effects of being clipped in the mouth by a stick at the end of the Jackets’ loss in Philadelphia last Saturday. No penalty was called on the play because it was judged to be the follow through of a shot that hit him. … Those wondering why Oliver Bjorkstrand shaved his usual facial hair earlier this week, the reason was the Jackets’ Halloween party. Bjorkstrand dressed up as Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame, which required a clean look aside from a fake white mustache.

The Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets vs. St. Louis Blues 3-2-1 breakdown By Brian Hedger – November 2, 2019

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The thing to remember about growing pains is they hurt. Otherwise, they’d be called growing pleasantries or growing annoyances. Growing pains aren’t a lot of fun to go through, but the other thing to remember about them is that growth is happening. Still early into this season, the Blue Jackets are going through some big ones, as flashes of brilliance are often swallowed up by an equal and opposite sized cloud of confounding frustration. They score huge goals, beautiful goals, goals that leave opponents with their tongues dangling so perilously close to the ice that one of those “A Christmas Story” moments is bound to happen eventually. Then, they commit silly penalties. They put themselves in bad spots and make a few poor decisions to undo all the good stuff they just did. The most recent evidence was on display Friday at the Enterprise Center, where the Blue Jackets outplayed the St. Louis Blues – the defending Stanley Cup champions – and still lost, 4-3, on David Perron’s power-play goal just eight seconds after the puck hit the ice to start overtime. Sitting in the penalty box was Sonny Milano, who was called for his second offensive-zone penalty of the game (hooking) with just 1:52 left in regulation. The Blues had already capitalized on his first one, an interference call in the second period, when Brayden Schenn cut the Jackets’ lead to 3-2 with a power-play goal that preceded Oskar Sundqvist’s tying tally by 26 seconds, but the second one was the bigger issue. It led to Perron’s winner and made coach John Tortorella debate, once again, the merits of keeping the highly-skilled forward in the lineup. Milano also scored his third goal of the season at 5:41 of the second period to give Columbus a 2-1 lead, which turned into 3-1 on Oliver Bjorkstrand’s power-play goal five minutes later. “He’s frustrating, because he’s probably one of our best offensive players tonight,” coach John Tortorella said. “It’s frustrating that he continues putting himself in that world.” It’s frustrating to go through growing pains like this, with Milano and others, but there was growth in this game, too, along with the searing pain. After back-to-back duds against the Philadelphia Flyers and Edmonton Oilers in their previous two games, the Blue Jackets re-established their identity. They controlled the action most of the game, created numerous scoring chances and sacrificed their bodies to block shots in front of rookie goalie Elvis Merzlikins. They just didn’t get a win. “We took a step in the right direction for sure,” Tortorella said. “We played a good hockey game. Third period, I thought we were on our heels just a little bit at certain times at the end, but it’s a step in the right direction. To lose that way, it’s a tough one.”

Here is a 3-2-1 of the Jackets’ resurgence of urgency in St. Louis – three takeaways, two questions and one more thing to know: Three takeaways 1) Identity established A year ago, Tortorella felt the Blue Jackets needed a tone-setting group of forwards to lead the way in terms of their hard-nosed, relentless style of play. So, he put together Nick Foligno, Boone Jenner and Josh Anderson as a super checking trio, rolled them out in St. Louis and defeated the Blues 7-4 on Oct. 25, 2018 at Enterprise Center. A year and one week later, he did it again for the same reason. The Jackets were outworked and out played in their prior two games, both regulation losses, so he reunited the three amigos – Foligno, Jenner and Anderson – for a game against the Blues. It worked again, too, even if it didn’t result in goals by their line or a win. Otherwise, those three set an early example for their teammates to follow, pinning the puck in the St. Louis end and generating multiple scoring chances from that hard work. “They were good tonight, right from the drop of the puck,” defenseman Seth Jones said. “They were hitting, forechecking and creating some plays right on the first shift of the game. That kind of set the tempo for us, for sure.” 2) Elvis on the prowl Goalie Elvis Merzlikins was a case study in ups and downs. He made 23 saves, including some acrobatic stops and a couple impressive glove saves, but he also got caught out of position on the Blues’ first and third goals and was beaten twice to the glove side. Robert Thomas scored the first one into an open net in the first, after Tyler Bozak noticed Merzlikins drift outside the right post. Bozak flipped a pass between Jones’ skates that Thomas batted home for a 1-0 lead. The Blues’ third goal was scored by Oskar Sundqvist at 12:33 of the second, tying the game 3-3 just 26 seconds after Brayden Schenn had cut it to 3-2 from the slot. Merzlikins challenged Sundqvist aggressively, but slid too far outside the crease. Pierre-Luc Dubois blocked Sundqvist’s first shot, but the fourth-line center collected the puck and scored into a net that was practically vacated. “The shot is there,” Merzlikins said, referring to the goals by Thomas and Sundqvist. “I had to respect the player (with the puck). I have to respect that he’s going to maybe shoot, or if he’s going to pass it then (I'm) probably going to be (expletive).” It’s another part of the process for a European goalie trying to gain confidence in his first season on NHL- sized rinks against high-end opponents. “(I’m starting) to challenge the players,” Merzlikins said. “I’m trying not to be, anymore, scared of the players. So, yeah, I’m trying to challenge them and I don’t really care about what’s going to happen. I just live the moment.” Among Merzlikins’ best stops were a pronounced snag with the glove to freeze the puck off a wrist shot in the second and then a diving effort with his blocker to deny Jaden Schwartz in the third – the kind of save that gets replayed on highlight clips.

“I really don’t care about that save because we lost,” Merzlikins said. “I might save, maybe, the goal. I might (not), I don’t know. I (haven’t seen) the video yet. Obviously, yeah, I’m happy for the save, but I think that’s good for the team. When (the) team sees the saves, you give them energy – the energy to try and score. I think we had a lot of (scoring) chances tonight. It just ... we didn’t make it.” 3) Lineup shakeup Tortorella came up with new combinations for his top three lines and mixed up all three defense pairings while surprisingly sitting Markus Nutivaara as a healthy scratch. The new line trios were effective through the first two periods and led to even-strength goals by Dubois and Milano on the first and third lines. Dubois scored with 4.7 seconds left in the first off a great pass from Gustav Nyquist, who was moved to Dubois’ group after skating the past few games with Alexander Wennberg. Milano, who’d been working with Jenner and Anderson, was put with Wennberg and Bjorkstrand to form a skill-based unit. Milano scored, a great shot under the bar from a sharp angle, while Wennberg finished with an assist and Bjorkstrand added a goal and assist – including the 100th point of his NHL career. Milano’s penalties, however, took some of the shine off their night. Two questions 1) Is Milano improving? Generally speaking, the answer is yes. He is doing what he does best, which is scoring goals and creating chances, but his undisciplined play still rears its head too much. This was the second game in a row that he was sitting in the penalty box for a power-play goal against and he has watched three straight penalties – including two offensive-zone infractions Friday – turn into power-play goals for the opposing team. “Don’t want to take those,” Milano said. “I didn’t see ’em (on replay). Were they penalties? I’m not known for taking penalties, so I can’t let it get to me. I’m just going to keep playing hard.” As the questions continued in the postgame locker room, his tenor began to change a bit. “I’m just playing hockey,” Milano said. “I get called for (hooking) ... I don’t know if it’s the right call or not, but it’s a pretty tough call at that time of the game, but whatever, just have to not worry about it.” Eventually, he had explained it enough. “I mean, whatever, I’ve got a game (Saturday), so I’m not going to really worry about it too much,” Milano said, when asked about the penalties counteracting his goal. “I’m just going to try to play hockey and make plays out there, and I got called for two penalties there – but I’m not going to worry about it.” Tortorella sounded a lot more concerned. “Just bad penalties,” he said. “It wasn’t through trying to make an offensive play, it’s just … I don’t know what it is. This is something ... he’s gotta figure it out.” Last season, Tortorella had similar comments about enigmatic former Blue Jackets forward Anthony Duclair, another highly-skilled offensive player who struggled with disciplined play off the puck.

Milano was in Cleveland for most of that season, sent to work on that aspect of his game, and that was after going through similar growing pains in 2017-18 as a rookie. It will be interesting to see how much leeway Tortorella gives Milano this season, because the upside is just as obvious. Milano is a gifted player in the offensive zone and this is a team that needs guys like him in the lineup. The Jackets do need more discipline from him, though, which Milano has yet to provide consistently. 2) Will the fourth line earn more trust? It’s starting to look like that might not happen without a trade to add proven veterans or Brandon Dubinsky returns from his wrist injury. Riley Nash is the resident veteran of the line, as currently constructed, and he centers a line that has rookies Jakob Lilja and Emil Bemstrom on the wings. Markus Hannikainen has more experience in that role than either of them, but Tortorella seems reluctant to play him. Lilja and Bemstrom, meanwhile, have averaged less than 10 minutes a game, which was the case again Friday. Nash played 10:45, including 1:23 penalty killing, but Bemstrom logged just 8:12 on nine shifts and Lilja played a team-low 7:13 on seven shifts. Tortorella came into the season hopeful of rolling all four lines more evenly, but so far that hasn’t happened yet – and might not anytime soon. Blue Jackets equipment manager Tim LeRoy received terrible news Friday, when he was informed that his brother, Bill, died in Winnipeg while on a road trip with the Grand Rapids Griffins. Bill LeRoy, 56, was the Griffins’ video coach for 18 years and was the American Hockey League’s dean of video coaches. Tim LeRoy, who has worked for the Blue Jackets since their inception in 2000-01, flew to St. Louis with the team Thursday and worked the morning skate Friday. He flew home in the afternoon to be with his family.

The Columbus Dispatch: Jackets call up New Albany's Kole Sherwood

By Brian Hedger – November 2, 2019

After spending another offseason training hard in Columbus, where he now lives in the summer, Kole Sherwood was intent on making the Blue Jackets’ roster in training camp. When it didn’t happen, it wasn’t easy to stomach. “It was really disappointing,” said Sherwood, who grew up in New Albany and played for the Ohio AAA Blue Jackets program. “I struggled the first couple weeks down in Cleveland. I thought I should be here, but, obviously, I didn’t make it. So there’s nothing you can do about it. At that point, it was just control what you can control.” Sherwood, 22, eventually pushed through his disappointment and helped the Cleveland Monsters get off to a solid 6-3-0-1 start in the American Hockey League’s North Division. He also worked his way back to Columbus with four points on three goals and an assist in 10 games. The Blue Jackets assigned rookie forward Jakob Lilja to Cleveland on Saturday and recalled Sherwood, putting him right into the lineup for his season debut against the Calgary Flames at Nationwide Arena. Sherwood skated with Riley Nash and rookie Emil Bemstrom on the fourth line, filling the vacancy created by Lilja’s departure. “Good reports,” coach John Tortorella said, when asked about the move. “Obviously, the thing with him is his speed. He’s willing to bang, he gets there to bang. I think he’ll add something, especially speed on the fourth line.” Sherwood, listed at 6 feet 1 and 212 pounds, used speed and skill as his biggest tools while developing into a prospect with the AAA Blue Jackets. He continued on that track in the Ontario Hockey League, steadily adding physical play to his game. Last season with Cleveland, however, is where he turned up the checking. He earned his first taste of the NHL that way, along with scoring goals around the net. Sherwood earned a two-game stint with the Blue Jackets that way, making his NHL debut in Chicago to become the first player from the Columbus area to play for the hometown team. Now, he’s back after working through the letdown of training camp with Monsters coach Mike Eaves and his staff in Cleveland. “The coaches there this year, it’s a really different culture, which has really helped me,” Sherwood said. “(They’re) very good coaches, who are close to you and they’re there for you. That helps a lot. It’s a good atmosphere down there. Cleveland’s actually a pretty good spot, but at the end of the day, I just took it upon myself and I really worked on my game and everything worked out.” Sherwood, who played for the Monsters on Friday night in a 2-1 shootout win against the Charlotte Checkers, was informed of the decision after that game. “In your mind, you want to be here, and I live here, so I trained here all summer,” he said. “You don’t get comfortable, but you can see what it could be like. It was disappointing (being cut), but you can’t do anything about it. You’ve just got to go down and play and hope for the best.”

‘Lone soldier’ Sherwood had large gatherings of family and friends at Nationwide Arena in his previous NHL games, both preseason contests and his home debut last year. He didn’t have any on hand Saturday because his parents, Roger and Yuko, were in California visiting Sherwood’s older brother, Kiefer, a forward prospect for the Anaheim Ducks. Kiefer Sherwood, 24, made his NHL debut last season with Anaheim and is currently with the Ducks’ AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls. “My whole family’s in (Los Angeles) seeing my brother, so I’m a lone soldier tonight,” Sherwood said. It began to stand out when Sonny Milano was on the same line as Boone Jenner and Josh Anderson, a couple of physical power forwards. Milano, a skilled forward listed at 6 feet and 194 pounds, started throwing his weight around too. He went harder after loose pucks, physically, and wound up making some elite-caliber offensive plays as a result. Tortorella reshuffled his line combinations Friday in St. Louis, putting Milano with a pair of skilled linemates in Alexander Wennberg and Oliver Bjorkstrand, but he remained aggressive without the puck. “They play hard and they’re always physical, so it was definitely nice playing with those guys,” Milano said of Jenner and Anderson, who are now skating with captain Nick Foligno. “I think it’s just my game, in general. I wanted to change my mindset and just be more physical. So I’m being more physical.” Generally speaking, that’s a good thing for the Blue Jackets. Milano, however, needs to curtail the reckless penalties he was tagged with recently — including three in the past two games that resulted in power-play goals allowed. Tortorella was not happy with the two Milano took against St. Louis, which led to a pair of Blues goals, but he also sees the upside Milano adds offensively. “Just bad penalties,” Tortorella said. “It wasn’t through trying to make an offensive play, it’s just … I don’t know what it is. This is something … he’s gotta figure it out. He’s frustrating because he’s probably one of our best offensive players (in St. Louis). It’s frustrating that he continues putting himself in that world.” The Blue Jackets averaged 6.2 penalty minutes per game last season, the second-fewest in the league. Through their first 14 games this year, they were ranked eighth with 7.2 minutes per game. That might not seem like a big deal, but it has caught the Jackets’ attention, especially with a penalty kill that was ranked 26th (73.2 percent) before playing the Flames. “We need to clean that up a little bit,” forward Josh Anderson said. “You can see a few of them are offensive penalties, too, which we don’t need. I think if we’re just moving our feet and keeping our stick down on the ice, trying to win those 50/50 battles, I think we’ll be fine.” Speaking of Milano’s upside, the goal he scored against the Blues was his third of the season and third straight that was highlight-worthy. It wasn’t in the same league as his between-the-legs shot at full speed against the Dallas Stars or his forehand-backhand to the far side off a sharp angle, but it was still a great shot. After carrying the puck into the offensive zone, Milano made a nice move to avoid a check and got the puck to Wennberg.

As the play developed, he skated to a soft area to the right of the net and waited. Jordan Binnington made a stick save off a shot by Bjorkstrand, creating a big rebound, and Milano sent the puck under the crossbar a second before Blues defenseman Vince Dunn could poke it away. “I had a chance the shift before (that didn’t go in), so it was nice to get one after that,” Milano said.

The Columbus Dispatch: Flames 3, Blue Jackets 0 | Another bad start sends Blue Jackets to loss By Brian Hedger – November 2, 2019

They were on the right road. At least that’s how the Blue Jackets felt after a 4-3 overtime loss Friday night in St. Louis. After shaking off a funk that followed their two worst games, back-to-back, the Jackets felt recharged before facing the Calgary Flames on Saturday night at Nationwide Arena. “We got on the right road, yeah,” coach John Tortorella said before the game. “We got on the right road (Friday) night.” Then, about 75 minutes later, the puck dropped and took those good feelings with it. The Flames built a 2-0 lead through two periods, staved off the Jackets’ 43-29 margin in shots and leaned on goalie David Rittich’s 43 saves in a 3-0 shutout. “Our start was terrible,” Tortorella said. “There’s no question our start was terrible. After that, I thought we played hard. Did we make a lot of plays? No. Were there some plays to be made? Yes. We just did not execute, but it’s unacceptable how we started the game.” Sean Monahan scored the game’s first goal 3:44 into the game, Sam Bennett made it 2-0 at 8:20 of the second, and Matthew Tkachuk completed the scoring with an empty-net goal at 17:21 of the third. “I think the real tale of this game is honestly our start,” Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno said. “For whatever reason, we have a difficult time in our own rink setting the tone of how we want to play, and I think that’s the difference in the game.” Monahan’s goal opened the scoring with a shot from the slot that clipped the glove of Blue Jackets goalie Joonas Korpisalo (26 saves). Bennett then made it 2-0 in the second, when Columbus outshot Calgary 18-10 — a little more than three minutes after tempers boiled over into a heated scrum behind the Flames’ net. A chaotic scene unfurled, with players from both teams entwined in headlocks and a couple trading gloved punches in the aftermath of an overreaction by Calgary’s Milan Lucic to set the whole thing off. Lucic lost his cool at 4:52 of the second period, after Kole Sherwood picked the puck off him and created a 3-on-1 rush. Rittich made the save, Sherwood — a Blue Jackets rookie from New Albany making his season debut — took a poke between the pads and then was hit with a gloved punch in the face by Lucic, who got a double minor for roughing. The scrum followed and the building came to life, but the Jackets couldn’t capitalize. Rittich made 18 stops in the third, as well, and that was it for the Columbus comeback. The Blue Jackets are now in a winless skid of four straight games (0-3-1) and look like they’ve made a wrong turn again.

The Athletic: Portzline: 10 observations from the Blue Jackets’ loss to Calgary, including slow start, scoring chances, Sherwood plays By Aaron Portzline – November 2, 2019

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ten observations from the Blue Jackets’ 3-0 loss to Calgary on Saturday in Nationwide Arena: 1. Maybe they set their clocks back early The Blue Jackets weren’t ready to play when the opening puck dropped against the Flames. On Friday in St. Louis, the Jackets came out roaring, but that energy was nowhere to be found Saturday. The Flames led only 1-0 after the first period, but by then the die was cast. Calgary set the tone with its physical play. The Blue Jackets, at times, matched it, but they never dictated play or created near enough scoring chances. “Our start was terrible,” Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. “No question our start was terrible. After that, I thought we played hard. Did we make a lot of plays? No. Were there plays to be made? Yes. We just did not execute. But there’s no … it’s unacceptable how we started the game. “From where we started (Friday) to how we started tonight, it’s both ends of the spectrum.” During a timeout midway through the first period, Tortorella let the Blue Jackets have it on the bench. He appeared to be saying: “No fucking way is that good enough. No fucking way.” It’s the fifth time in eight home games the Blue Jackets have allowed the first goal. No surprise they’re 3- 4-1 in Nationwide Arena. “For whatever reason, we have a difficult time in our own rink, setting the tone of how we want to play, and I think that’s the difference in the game,” Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno said. “They get a 1-0 lead, and we’re playing from behind. It’s too hard. It’s unacceptable. “We have to be better at home. We have to start better at home. We end up finishing the game and dominating, but our start is so crucial and it’s something that’s shown up with our team for whatever reason, and it has to stop. “It starts with probably me and everybody else in this room. We have to find a way to rectify that because I think that’s the real difference in this game.” 2. Revlon on swine The Jackets generated 43 shots on goal, 34 in the final two periods. But don’t let that fool you. Very few of those shots were actually scoring chances. Tortorella said they counted 10 scoring chances for both the Blue Jackets and Flames. Cam Atkinson has one goal in his last 10 games. Foligno hasn’t scored in 11 games. Oliver Bjorkstrand had 1-1-2 on Friday in St. Louis, but those are his only points in nine games. Alexander Wennberg has 0- 1-1 in his last five games.

The Blue Jackets might not have enough firepower to thrive even if all of those guys are firing on all cylinders. But when they’re slumping, the already thin margin for error evaporates. “There’s a number of guys who are really squeezing their sticks,” Tortorella said. “We just have to work our way through it. “Most of our top guys (are struggling). That’s where games are determined. That’s winning and losing. And most of our top guys are struggling.” 3. Kole Sherwood makes his presence known The Blue Jackets sent forward Jakob Lilja to AHL Cleveland after Friday’s game and recalled New Albany, Ohio, product Kole Sherwood. He played in his third NHL game and was noticeable. On his first shift, he rammed Calgary defenseman Oliver Kylington from behind in the corner, drawing the ire of the Flames. (That irritation would be brought to a head later in the game.) Sherwood finished with four hits, three shots, two takeaways and a blocked shot in only 7:07 of playing time. “I didn’t really talk to the coaches when I got here,” Sherwood said. “I just prepared myself for the game and did my thing. That’s expected of you at this level. I’m sure I’ll talk to them soon.” Not much needs to be said, really. The Blue Jackets felt they’d need energy on the second game of a back-to-back, and they were right. Sherwood was the most noticeable Jackets player in the game. “He played good,” Tortorella said. “Had some shots on goal. Was around the net. Showed some really good speed. Finished some checks. Yeah, he played good.” 4. Sherwood blasted by Lucic At 4:52 of the second period, Sherwood followed his shot from the lower right circle to the net and took an extra jab with his stick on Calgary goaltender David Rittich. This did not sit well with the Flames, primarily forward Milan Lucic. As Sherwood drifted behind the net, Lucic followed. He threw a massive overhand right — his glove was still on — that landed square in Sherwood’s face and sent him backward onto the ice with Lucic on top of him. “That’s expected,” Sherwood said. “That’s going to happen. Things are heated. I was bringing energy early, so I was expecting something early on (in the game). “I saw the puck. (Rittich) didn’t have it covered. Until the whistle blows, I’m going for it. He didn’t like it, obviously.” Lucic was given a double-minor penalty for roughing. The NHL announced after Saturday’s game that Lucic would have a Sunday hearing with the NHL’s player safety department. Sherwood, curiously, was given a two-minute minor for slashing. “I guess I slashed the goalie,” Sherwood said. Sherwood was removed from the game to be placed in the NHL’s concussion protocol but returned before the end of the second period.

“I was fine,” Sherwood said. “I was frustrated. I wanted to get back out there. I missed half of the period. It’s frustrating, but I tried to come back and do my thing.” 5. Korpisalo rallies after a rough first goal Korpisalo allowed four goals a week ago in Philadelphia, then was pulled early in the second period of a 4-1 loss to Edmonton on Wednesday. This was an important start for him. It got off to a rough start. Only 3:44 into the game, Calgary’s Sean Monahan sent in a muffin from the slot that glanced off Korpisalo’s glove before it rattled into the net. It was the Flames’ third shot on goal. “That first goal … of course I want it back,” Korpisalo said. “But what’s done is done, and you just move on.” Korpisalo stopped 26 of 28 shots. The Flames’ third-period goal was an empty-netter. 6. It’s been a while The Blue Jackets carried a six-game point streak (4-0-2) into Philadelphia last Saturday, and they were starting to feel good about all facets of their game. Now? They’ve lost four straight (0-3-1) and have fallen below .500 at 5-6-3. It’s their longest losing streak since Jan. 18 to Feb. 2 last season. “That’s the way the game is, man,” Tortorella said. “We just have to get ourselves out of it. “We need to get back to the way we were playing. We will. That’s just how the league is. There’s no explanation. You lose your game.” The Blue Jackets will take an off day Sunday, then get to work Monday in advance of hosting Vegas on Tuesday in Nationwide. They leave Wednesday for the first multigame road trip of the season: Phoenix, Colorado and Montreal. 7. Milano benched for second period Sonny Milano scored a goal Friday in St. Louis, but his two offensive-zone penalties were backbreakers. They led to goals for the Blues and paved the way for a 4-3 overtime loss for the Jackets. On Saturday, Milano had another offensive-zone penalty: high-sticking at 19:32 of the first period. The Blue Jackets killed the penalty, but Tortorella — who kept playing Milano on Friday — decided to give him a break. Milano played just one shift for 26 seconds in the second period, and it wasn’t even a shift, per se. He came out of the penalty box, joined the play and wasn’t seen on the ice for the rest of the second. At the start of the third period, however, Tortorella elevated Milano to the top line with Pierre-Luc Dubois and Atkinson. 8. Jones and Werenski reunited, but it didn’t feel so good Tortorella split up his top defensive pair of Seth Jones and Zach Werenski on Friday in St. Louis, saying he wanted a spark on the back end.

On Saturday, the two blueliners were back in their comfort zones: Werenski on the left and Jones on the right of the Blue Jackets’ No. 1 pairing. Their early-season struggles, when it comes to all-around play, continued, though. They were on the ice for all three Calgary goals (again, the 3-0 goal was an empty-netter). Jones played a game-high 25:13 and had two shots on goal, four blocked shots and a hit. Werenski played 24:18 and had a game-high seven shots on goal with two hits and a blocked shot. Defenseman Markus Nutivaara was a healthy scratch for a second consecutive game. 9. Murray and Texier return to skating Defenseman Ryan Murray (broken hand) and forward Alexandre Texier (knee) were hurt last Saturday versus Philadelphia. One week later, they resumed skating. Murray and Texier skated with development coach Jared Boll in IceHaus along with the healthy scratches, Nutivaara and forward Markus Hannikainen. Murray is probably two to three weeks from returning. Texier is probably one to two weeks away. 10. Chex mix On a night when the Blue Jackets had 43 shots, three players were held without a shot: Riley Nash, Milano and Emil Bemstrom, who is said to have the best shot on the team. Bemstrom has been held without a shot in six of his 14 games. … Josh Anderson led Blue Jackets forwards and all but two defensemen in ice time, playing 20:48. … Hard to believe it’s been more than 10 years since a Calgary Flames game in Columbus was the target of bomb threats by a man in Dublin, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus. The man phoned the arena with several threats before police traced the calls to his home using caller ID. When they arrived, he was wearing a Flames shirt. Alison Lukan’s analytics The Athletic’s Alison Lukan provided these insights into the Blue Jackets’ loss: • This game was a struggle offensively for the Blue Jackets, both in terms of shot quantity and shot quality. The home team didn’t earn the advantage in either category (45.67 percent of shot attempts, 46.43 percent of expected goals). But here’s the interesting wrinkle to those measures: According to MoneyPuck, Calgary won out in overall shot quality with an expected goal total of 3.24 to 3.11. • But here’s why we need to know what goes into these numbers: While the expected goal totals are close, if we look at how those totals came to be, it rings more true to the game that we saw on the ice. The Blue Jackets didn’t get a shot attempt off that had more than a 10 percent chance of becoming a goal until 3:22 remaining in the second. Also, Gustav Nyquist and Oliver Bjorkstrand had the highest expected goal total for their team (.47); three Calgary players were in close proximity or higher to that total. Compare that with the Flames, whose top expected goal total was 1.01. The responsibility to score was broken out across a lot more players on the Jackets’ side of the ice and with a less significant degree of quality assigned to each. • A bright spot: The penalty kill returned to 100 percent for the first time in four games and generated as many shot attempts for as they allowed against (3). • Joonas Korpisalo allowed 2 goals on 28 shots. He saved 1.07 goals above expectations based on the shots he faced.

The Columbus Dispatch: Flames 3, Blue Jackets 0 | 3-2-1 breakdown By Brian Hedger – November 3, 2019

Toward the end of the Blue Jackets’ 3-0 loss to the Calgary Flames on Saturday night, it began to feel like every little flaw they have fought this season had been scooped up and dumped over their heads. They had another bad start at Nationwide Arena, their own building, falling behind 1-0 just 3:44 into the game on a goal by Sean Monahan that goalie Joonas Korpisalo probably should’ve gloved. They didn’t create enough good scoring chances, despite outshooting the Flames 43-29, and they let too many of the ones they did generate slip right through their fingers. The Jackets ran into another hot goalie, too, in David Rittich, who carried a pedestrian 3.02 goals-against average and .906 save percentage into the game. They also struggled again, badly, on the power play (0- for-3), while Sonny Milano took another bad penalty in the final minute of a period while skating in the offensive zone – his third straight game of doing that. Rookie forward Kole Sherwood too a penalty, too, but his was more of a head-scratching call than his own mistake. Basically, other than a steady push over the final 40 minutes, not much of anything was going right for the Jackets – who thought their strong performance Friday in St. Louis was a positive sign. Instead, after earning at least a point in six straight games, they now haven’t won in four straight games (0-3-1). “That’s the way the game is, man,” coach John Tortorella said. “We’ve just got to get ourselves out of it. We need to get back to the way we were playing. We will. It’s just how the league is. Sometimes, there’s just no explanation.” And sometimes, the flaws get dumped over your head because of it – all at once. Here is a 3-2-1 of the Jackets’ latest home letdown – three takeaways, two questions and one more thing to know: Three takeaways 1) Late start One troubling early-season trend for the Blue Jackets is allowing the first goal on home ice. After Monahan gave the Flames a 1-0 lead in the first period, Columbus has now trailed by that score in five of its first eight home games, going 0-4-1. They’re 3-0-0 when scoring first at Nationwide Arena and 5-0-0 when scoring first regardless of the venue. This loss dropped the Jackets’ record to 0-6-3 overall when allowing the first goal. “I think the real tale of this game is honestly our start,” Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno said. “For whatever reason, we have a difficult time in our own rink setting the tone of how we want to play and I think that’s the difference in the game. We have to be better at home. We have to start better at home. 2) Tight grip

This was the latest example of the Blue Jackets peppering the opposing goalie with little to zero success. They outshot the Flames by a combined 34-20 margin in the second and third periods and poured it on late – all to no avail. Columbus currently has just one player, Pierre-Luc Dubois, with double-digit points (10) while Calgary already has five. The top scorers are struggling with an early-season rut. “I think there’s a number of guys that are really squeezing their sticks,” Tortorella said. “We’ve just got to work our way through it.” 3) Kole energy Sherwood’s excitement to be back in Columbus and the NHL was evident on his first shift, when he lined up Flames defenseman Oliver Kylington behind the Calgary net and smashed him hard into the glass. It was the start of a physical night for the 22-year old forward, who’s from New Albany and made his NHL debut last year to become the first local player to play for the Blue Jackets. Sherwood skated 7:47 of ice time on the fourth line, but missed time undergoing the league’s concussion protocol after Lucic punched him in the face during a scrum. He finished with three shots on goal and four hits, providing a physical presence while showing off his speed. “It’s expected, obviously, when you play that way,” Sherwood said of Lucic’s gloved punch. “I thought it sparked the team a little bit, but it’s expected when you play like that.” Two questions 1) So, now what? They thought their recent issues were behind them after a hard-earned point in a 4-3 overtime loss Friday at the St. Louis Blues. Instead, the Blue Jackets came out flat at home again and played catchup unsuccessfully. There is no practice Sunday, but you can be sure the tempo will be high Monday when the Jackets get back on the ice. This last stretch has left a mark, but it’s still early and there is time for a market correction. There are concerns going forward, such as getting more consistency out of both goalies and putting more pucks into the net, but no signs of panic yet. They have a home game coming up Tuesday against the Vegas Golden Knights, another team that can get out to a fast start, followed by a three-game road trip that will last into the middle of next week. This next stretch could be pivotal, so the Jackets needs to get some things figured out quickly. 2) They called Kole Sherwood for what now? If anything, it was a love tap. Sherwood thought he saw the puck uncovered between Rittich’s pads following his shot off a 3-on-1 rush, so he poked his stick in between the pads to see if he could jar it free.

It wasn’t exactly a violent jab, but was, somehow, ruled a slash when the officials began doling out penalties for the melee that followed Lucic’s gloved punch – an offense that earned the veteran winger a pending disciplinary hearing. Sherwood was actually put into the penalty box before having to leave to undergo the league’s concussion protocols in the locker room, so he didn’t know the call was slashing until informed by reporters after the game. “I think (Lucic) was a little mad that I stripped him from the puck, but stuff like that happens and you’ve got to keep playing,” Sherwood said. “I saw the puck (after the initial save). He didn’t have a cover on that thing, so until the whistle blows, I’m going for it, but he didn’t like it obviously … I guess I slashed the goalie, I don’t know. It was heat of the moment.” One more thing to know According to the Blue Jackets, their 43 shots are tied for third-highest in franchise history while being shutout. The most recent occurrence was Oct. 19, 2017 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, when Andrei Vasilevskiy made 44 saves in a 2-0 shutout in Columbus.

The Athletic: A passion beyond pucks: Blue Jackets’ Seth Jones is a budding art collector

By Aaron Portzline – November 4, 2019

COLUMBUS, Ohio — In a room near the entrance of Seth Jones’ Arena District condominium is the kind of collection you’d expect a young star athlete to accumulate.

Jones, the Blue Jackets standout and one of the top defensemen in the NHL, has signed NBA sweaters from LeBron James, Dirk Nowitzki and Steph Curry, all framed on the wall and illuminated with museum- style lighting. His NHL All-Star Game sweater is there, too.

A pair of Nowitzki’s massive sneakers dwarf the table they sit upon, and the room is dominated by a pool table that looks like it’s barely been used. No scuffs, no lint.

But to look around Jones’ place is to recognize quickly that this isn’t your typical 25-year-old’s pad.

From almost every room in the condo, a piece of high-end art — photographs, paintings, sculptures, etc. — either dominates the space or stands as a conversation piece.

It’s enough, believe it or not, to draw your eyes away from the panoramic view Jones’ condo provides of the Columbus skyline, looking across Spring Street and the Scioto River.

“(Three) years ago, when this place wasn’t done yet, I went to a couple of art galleries in Philadelphia, and then I went to New York for a couple of places, just to get a feel for what I wanted,” Jones said.

“I had no idea, didn’t know anything about art. Never even tried to look at art. So this hobby kind of fell into my lap. I was pretty lucky.”

Most fans know Jones as an All-Star-caliber defenseman, one capable of winning the Norris Trophy someday. His teammates joke about what a perfectionist he is in all areas of life. But not many have taken a deep look at Jones about his art collection.

Jones worked closely with an interior designer in Chicago, but it was during a visit with that designer — Centaur Interiors — that Jones’ first art piece was discovered. A photograph by Tyler Shields, called “Blackwater,” grabbed his attention in the designers’ office.

“I just felt like I knew I had to have it right away,” Jones said. “It was exactly the style that really attracts me.

“I feel like there has to be a connection between you and the painting or the photograph. I can walk up to a painting and say, ‘No, that’s not for me,’ or, ‘Oh, I love it.’ It never grows on me; I know right away.”

The interior decorator sent Jones to Samuel Lynne Galleries in Dallas, his hometown, to purchase a print of “Blackwater.” A relationship was fostered at the gallery almost immediately.

Jones noticed photographs by Shields as well as other artists, and he started coming back more frequently — during the offseason, for sure, but also when the Blue Jackets came into town to play the Stars.

“I didn’t meet him until the third or fourth time he came in,” said Lea Fisher, an artist at Samuel Lynne. “But it’s really exciting to have a young person so interested in collecting.”

Jones bought an original work by Fisher, “Sandstorm,” which is sculpted oil on canvas, creating an almost 3D effect with an explosion of colors. It hangs where the entrance hallway spills into the sprawling great room.

“Yeah,” Jones said with a smile. “That one’s in my face all the time.”

Two great stories about “Sandstorm”:

First, it was delivered over the summer when temperatures soared in Texas and Ohio. By the time it arrived and was opened, the paint had melted and oozed into a mess.

“I would have hated to see what it looked like when they took the crate off,” Fisher said. “It was probably the biggest mess in the world. That’s never happened before, and it was really disappointing at the time.

“But I got to work on a second one for him, and I think the second one was even better. I definitely liked it better, so now I’m glad it happened that way.”

Second, Jones — ever the perfectionist — wanted the painting to stand alone on that portion of wall. He wanted nothing else to distract the eyes away from the painting. The electrical outlet near the base of the wall irritated him.

He hired an electrician to remove the outlet and drywall over it but was told that is against the condo building’s code. The electrician made it as inconspicuous as possible, removing the outlet cover and designing one instead that looks more like flat wall with inserts for prongs.

“It’s better,” Jones said. “But it’s not perfect. Still, I think (the painting) is powerful enough that it grabs your attention.”

Fisher has met Jones enough times to understand what draws him to the piece, she said.

“What I love about it, and what I guess Seth probably loves about it, is it’s a very emotional painting,” Fisher said. “It shows a lot of emotion. It shows a lot of power, but also a lot of calmness. There’s a lot of emotion in it.”

Fisher’s painting is the only painting Jones owns, but another piece in the Samuel Lynne gallery caught his eye.

Metis Atash, a German sculptor and artist based in Miami, has become world renowned for her miniature Buddha sculptures that depict many different nationalities and aspects of life.

Jones was drawn to them, so he started asking questions. It led, you might say, to his first commissioned work: “Punkbuddha Seth Jones.” The non-personalized ones sell for about $15,000.

“It symbolizes my first All-Star Game,” Jones said. “I just really thought they were cool, and when she (Atash) said she would do one, that was exciting.

“It’s amazing how detailed it is.”

The artist whose work has inspired Jones the most though, is clearly Shields, with whom he’s become friends. Jones said he first started noticing his work a few years ago because it’s hung throughout his favorite restaurant in Dallas, Nick and Sam’s Steakhouse.

Shields has been dubbed “Hollywood’s favorite photographer” for his work through the years with Lindsay Lohan, Mischa Barton, Demi Lovato, etc.

He gained infamy in 2017 as the photographer of the controversial picture of comedian Kathy Griffin holding the severed head of President Donald Trump.

Shields, who is also a producer and director, has moved away from photographing celebrities in recent years, and it’s his recent work that Jones has embraced.

On the far wall of Jones’ condo is a truly arresting photograph by Shields called “Red Lips.”

“The painting as a whole is interesting, the fact that he painted a girl’s face and took this photo of it,” Jones said. “But the red, the lips, are so vivid. That’s what drew me to it, of course.”

That’s also what makes it, potentially, the most valuable piece in Jones’ collection.

The dye transfer process used to make the lips such a bright color assures that the photograph will only increase in value in the future. Only three were printed, and Jones bought the third.

“Very few people in the world are still doing dye transfers, and they won’t be doing them for much longer,” Shields said. “The chemicals used to make that red so red aren’t available anymore. When that’s gone, it’s gone.

“That was part of the appeal to Seth, I’m sure. It’s been part of the other two people who bought that, too, and they bought them to help build their museum collections.”

Jones has another Shields photograph just inside his front door to the right. “Champagne” is a classic shot that probably stands as Shields’ most popular work — a young couple kissing under a deluge spray of champagne.

After Jones made a few trips to the gallery in Dallas, the staff there decided it was time to put him in touch with Shields, who is based in Los Angeles.

Not only did Jones admire his work, but Shields spent time as a pro athlete, too. A world-class inline skater, Shields competed in two X Games.

“We hit it off immediately,” Shields said. “We talked about every aspect of life possible, from cryptocurrency to art to girls to life to hockey. He told me some great stories about hockey. I told him about the skating world.

“It was really … he’s a great guy.”

On the far end of the hallway that leads away from Jones’ kitchen is a picture of him holding one of Shields’ most valuable cameras, one that dates to the 1950s.

“Tyler is all about timeless photos,” Jones said. “That’s what I love about “Champagne,” and that’s what I love about this one. You don’t know when it was taken. It could be 50 years from now. Or it could have been 50 years ago.

“That’s what he’s about, and so his photos don’t age. The black and white helps with that, too.”

Jones smiled when it was pointed out that his condominium still has a few open walls. Opportunity for investments, right?

“There are a couple of walls that could have something, but it’s got to be the perfect piece,” Jones said. “I’m not going to buy something just to fill the wall. I don’t know if I want to do an abstract or another photograph. It’s hard to put a finger on what you like until you see it.

“What I’ve started with, it’s from a few very different artists. But it feels like a collection, and that’s what I like about it.”

Fisher said it’s not unusual to have pro athletes in her gallery. In addition to the Stars, Dallas has the NFL’s Cowboys, NBA’s Mavericks and MLB’s Rangers.

But it is unusual for a pro athlete to get involved in their 20s, she said.

“He’ll be a lifelong art collector,” Fisher predicted. “You’ll be hearing about him buying $5 million pieces in auctions later in his life.

“Seth likes very sophisticated pieces with pleasing colors. He doesn’t like super trendy. He likes classic looks, but substantial pieces.”

Both Fisher and Shields described Jones by saying he was “an old soul” and “sophisticated.”

“You have to think, starting at his age with the eye that he has, that by the time he’s 40 his collection will be worth maybe 100 times what it’s worth now,” Shields said. “Obviously he’s not money-motivated by this, but I could see him having a Seth Jones collection on display at museums where he lives. That’s where this is headed.”

The Athletic: DGB weekend power rankings: Just how worried should Maple Leafs fans be right now? By Sean McIndoe – November 4, 2019

Hey, remember a whole month ago when the Maple Leafs getting a shootout win over a non-playoff team wouldn’t have felt like anything noteworthy? It’s been a rough month for the Leafs, who were hyped as a Cup favorite and instead have mostly looked mediocre. Getting two points out of Saturday’s shootout marathon in Philadelphia will quiet the criticism, but only ever so slightly, because this is Toronto and they don’t really do “quiet.” The Leafs get to be on the front page every time they accomplish anything vaguely positive, so it’s only fair that they get some attention when things are going poorly. And they are going poorly, at least given expectations. Fifteen games into the season, the Maple Leafs have won seven games and lost eight. That’s not good. They’re on pace for a 93-point season, which also isn’t good for a team that was supposed to be a playoff lock. They’re sitting in the East’s second wild- card spot if you go by points, but if you look at points percentage the Habs pass them for that too. All in all, if you are what your record says you are, the Maple Leafs are just a middling team right now. So what’s gone wrong? There’s no shortage of candidates. We can start with Frederik Andersen, who hasn’t looked sharp. Special teams are an issue, with the powerplay looking so-so and the penalty kill being downright bad. They’ve had some key injuries, especially to John Tavares. And they’re taking way too many penalties a year after they barely took any. Then you’ve got the narratives. The Leafs can’t play defense. They can’t defend a lead. They’re not tough enough. They’re tuning out Mike Babcock, because the team threw an unprecedented amount of money at a bunch of kids who aren’t interested in doing the kind of hard work necessary to win the tough ones. That’s a long list of problems. But if you’re a Leafs fan looking for positivity, you could point out that those narratives all seem a little too convenient, and that most of the real issues seem unlikely to continue. We’ve seen Andersen start slow before, and he always recovers to post the same .918 save percentage he’s had for four straight years, give or take a point. Special teams and penalties can be adjusted. They’re getting healthy, with Travis Dermott already back and Tavares and Zach Hyman on the way. Maybe the last month has just been pretty much the worst-case scenario and even with everything going wrong, the Leafs are still basically a playoff team. If that’s the floor, this team will be fine. That’s the optimist’s view. And if you’re a Maple Leafs fan who’s good at optimism, well, welcome to your first day here, I guess. For everyone else, it’s time to worry. Or, if you’re a fan of one of the other 30 teams that might like some attention every now and then, time to grab some popcorn and watch the mess unfold. It will not surprise you to hear that the Maple Leafs are not in this week’s top five. Let’s figure out who should be … Road to the Cup The five teams that look like they’re headed towards a summer of keg stands and fountain pool parties.

As we’ve mentioned each week, the idea behind these rankings is to look ahead to who’ll win the Stanley Cup in June, as opposed to who’s playing the best right now. If you’d prefer the latter view, there are other rankings out there, including a group effort from Athletic writers that came out on Friday. That’s the one where you’ll find teams like the Sabres and Islanders ranked ahead of the Lightning, because they’re better at this moment in time. It’s a perfectly valid way to look at things; it’s just not what we’re going for here. But what if you like the approach we’re taking here, but aren’t sure that I’m getting the rankings right? Is there somewhere else we can look for a quick sanity check? As it turns out, there is, because there’s another group of people out there who are basically trying to do the same sort of long-term thing: the oddsmakers. Go to any sportsbook or online wagering service and check their Stanley Cup futures odds. That’s pretty much the same idea, albeit with a small degree of variance built in to account for public betting patterns. And unlike me, these are smart people who are putting money on the line. As luck would have it, we got a look at some updated odds from one company on Friday. Let’s see where things stand: Click to see the full list and a few interesting things jump out, starting with the Lightning still being ranked with the best Cup odds despite a significant drop since opening night. That’s a little bit of vindication for my insistence on keeping them in my top five – the oddsmakers not only agree, but they’re even more bullish on Tampa Bay than I am. The rest of the top of the list looks at least a little familiar, although the oddsmakers have come around quicker on teams like the Sabres, Oilers and Islanders. Maybe more surprisingly, they have the Coyotes in that same log jam. (In case you’re wondering, the Predators were accidentally left off the main list that was sent around, but their conference odds place them in that group too.) The Avalanche seem low, although that’s probably factoring in their recent injuries, while the Golden Knights are higher than you might expect. This is just one set of odds; anyone who was actually going to make a bet would shop around, since different books can vary, sometimes significantly. And it goes without saying that oddsmakers aren’t infallible; they can get it wrong just like the rest of us can. But it’s a data point to consider. And for now, at least, it proves that I’m not the only one left on the planet who hasn’t deserted the Lightning bandwagon. See let’s see where I have them this week … 5. St. Louis Blues (9-3-3, +2 true goals differential*) – It’s not often you can go 4-0-0 and still come out of it feeling like you had a bad week, but that’s where the Blues are at after losing Vladimir Tarasenko until at least March. Injuries are tricky for these rankings. Our big-picture view means we shouldn’t worry too much about short-term injuries, and even something like Mikko Rantanen being out for several weeks isn’t a game- changer, as long as he’s back for the playoffs. Still, I’m slotting the Blues into the last spot instead of the Avs, even though it’s very possible we don’t see Tarasenko again at all this year. Maybe that’s the wrong call. But I’m making it, partly because it’s too early to assume the very worst- case scenario here, and partly because Doug Armstrong is so clearly in a win-now mode that a move to replace his star seems likely. But it’s a situation worth watching, as the Central feels very volatile right now.

4. Nashville Predators (8-4-2, +13) – Speaking of the Central, we’ll keep the Predators in the top five by virtue of being the only contender that’s still running at close to full power, even though they’ve lost two straight. 3. Tampa Bay Lightning (6-5-2, -4) – Last week, we said their New York trip should yield four or five points. Instead, they got two and needed overtime (and seven goals) in New Jersey just to get those. They’re just not good right now. They’re also not playing again until the weekend, as they head to Sweden to face the Sabres. Those trips can be disruptive, but this one might be coming at the right time for Tampa. 2. Washington Capitals (11-2-3, +14) – They’ve won four straight for the second time in two weeks, including Friday’s statement win over the Sabres and a tidy effort last night against the Flames. But honestly, this was probably the highlight of the weekend in Washington: (But seriously, are the Capitals out partying with the Nationals right now? They don’t play again until Thursday. This might end very badly for somebody. Alexander Ovechkin is going to crash their White House visit claiming to be Bryce Harper and demanding to know where the fountains are.) 1. Boston Bruins (10-1-2, +20) – What can you even say? They just keep rolling. It’s five straight wins and at least a point in nine straight. And there is still no sign that anyone in the league can figure out how to contain that ridiculous first line. *Goals differential without counting shootout decisions like the NHL does for some reason. Not ranked: New York Islanders – Well, this feels familiar. If you’re new to this column for this year, you missed the Great New York Islanders Respect Wars of 2018-19. And if so, well, congratulations, because they weren’t fun for anyone. Right around this time last year, the comment section on these pieces started morphing into an ongoing gerrymander from Islander fans wanting to know why their team wasn’t in the top five. They eventually made it, although it took me until February and I never put them higher than fifth. In the end, Islander fans were right – the team really was good and not the sort of PDO-fueled fluke that they seemed like. But I was kind of right too – they were good, but they finished fifth overall in the standings and didn’t make the final four in the playoffs, so having them top out at No. 5 in the rankings was bang on. That was then, and this is now, and the Islanders are the hottest team in the league with nine straight wins. So here we go again. Why aren’t the Islanders in the top five? We could break out the old familiar refrain about how these rankings are about the big picture, and we have to be able to distinguish between a team getting unexpectedly hot for a few weeks and being a legitimate Cup contender. That’s why we haven’t ranked teams like the Sabres and Oilers up here. But that doesn’t really work, because the Islanders aren’t the Sabres or Oilers. Those teams were supposed to be bad, at least according to all the experts. Experts can be wrong, of course, but we should be skeptical of 70-something point teams that suddenly look like world beaters, even for most of a month. But the Islanders aren’t a 70-point team. They were close to that heading into last season when everyone wrote them off. But this year, they’re coming off a 103-point season that included a playoff

win. And even though plenty of us were calling for them to take a step back, they’re still rolling along. Swapping out Robin Lehner for Semyon Varlamov hasn’t really hurt at all, and they might actually have a good powerplay this year, if the refs ever let them try one in a game. At some point, don’t we have to drop the qualifiers and just admit these guys are good? Well … yeah. I think we do. I don’t have them in the top five this week, but unlike the first half of last season, it’s not because I’m not buying what they’re selling. It’s a tough list to break into right now, one that features the last two Cup champs, the last two Presidents’ Trophy winners and last year’s finalist. You could make a case for the Islanders to be ranked ahead of some of those teams, especially after they beat the Lightning on Friday. I didn’t quite get them there, but if you did, I wouldn’t argue much. There’s a decent chance they’ll be there next week. That’s kind of a boring answer, and maybe a letdown if you’re an Islander fan who came here looking for a fight. Sorry about that. Let me try to think of some other things you can be mad at me about. Uh … the Butch Goring trade was overrated, Dale Hunter and Darcy Tucker were cool guys and Mike Milbury deserves another chance. There. Now go flip some tables. The bottom five The five teams that are headed towards the best lottery odds and lots of Alexis Lafreniere junior highlight reels. We won’t be seeing Milan Lucic for two games, thanks to this punch on Kole Sherwood. It’s only the second suspension of the year handed out by the Department of Player Safety for an on-ice infraction. 5. Minnesota Wild (4-9-1, -16) – It was going to be really tempting to slide the Hawks into this slot if they’d lost again last night. But now that Chicago has joined the mighty Four Win Club, we’ll defer to the Wild’s latest losing streak, even if most of it has come against the defending Cup champs. 4. New Jersey Devils (3-5-4, -11) – OK, somebody’s going to have to explain this stuff to me. I get where Taylor Hall’s comments about Devils fans this week may have played poorly, especially if taken out of context. But was his goal celebration on Friday meant to mock those same fans? Or was he just having some fun with a non-story? I’d like to sit back and enjoy the drama of a star player heading towards a midseason trade and/or free agency as much as the next non-Devils fan, but this seems like a mountain out of a molehill. 3. Los Angeles Kings (5-9-0, -19) – They snapped a losing streak and picked up their first points in almost two weeks with Saturday’s OT win over the Hawks. Meanwhile, here’s a good piece that goes deep on Todd McLellan’s rebuild plan. 2. Ottawa Senators (3-8-1, -10) – They lost to the Bruins on Saturday, but all we’ll remember from the game is the sickening sight of Scott Sabourin hitting the ice after a head-to-head collision with David Backes. It was a clean play that led to a horrific result, as Sabourin was out before he hit the ice. Players from both teams were clearly shaken up as Sabourin stayed down for several minutes before leaving on a stretcher. He stayed overnight in a Boston hospital but sent out an optimistic note (and photo evidence of some of the damage) on Sunday morning.

1. Detroit Red Wings (4-10-1, -24) – The Wings’ week started with their most impressive win of the season, a 3-1 decision over the Oilers. That also snapped an eight-game losing streak, making it the sort of game that can turn a season’s momentum around. Nope. The Red Wings suffered a pair of lopsided losses over the weekend and now sit tied for the second-worst record in the league in points-percentage while sporting the worst goals-differential by a decent margin. That’s enough to nudge them into the top spot for a week at least. And it’s also got to be turning up the heat on coach Jeff Blashill; this week we learned that his two-year extension may actually be only one year plus a team option, so there’s not as much security there as we thought. Not ranked: San Jose Sharks – It was a disastrous week for the Sharks, who dropped a pair on the weekend to run their regulation losing streak to five games. They’re now nine points out of a playoff spot and sitting dead last in the West in points percentage, and while I made the case on Friday for why they can still get back into the race, it’s shaping up to be a brutally steep climb and the history of teams with similar starts is against them. If you figure they’ll need 95 points to make the playoffs in the West, the Sharks already need to play at a 105-point pace the rest of the way. Is this a 105-point team? We thought so heading into the season, but that feels like a long time ago. But as bad as all of that looks, the story is actually even worse, thanks to a wrinkle that’s one of the few bits of good news for the Senators these days. As any Ottawa fan will happily remind you, the Sens own the Sharks’ first-round pick this year. It’s theirs from the Erik Karlsson trade. And there’s no lottery protection on it. There’s some beautiful irony here. The Senators spent the last season living through the nightmare scenario of a terrible season in which they didn’t even have their own first-round pick. There was plenty of talk that they could win the lottery and hand Jack Hughes or Kaapo Kakko to the Avalanche. That didn’t happen, although they still coughed up the fourth overall pick. But now they get to enjoy the same scenario from the other side. The Senators are still bad, and still facing down a long season. But now they can look forward to the lottery and the possibility of not one but two chances at a top prospect. Meanwhile, it’s one more bit of bad news for a Sharks team that hardly needs it; even if their season continues to go off the rails, they couldn’t tank for a top pick even if they wanted to. It’s a brutal way to go through a year, as Senators fans could tell them.