Columbus Blue Jackets: Gaudreau's benching tops 4 things we learned in loss to Capitals
WASHINGTON — Pascal Vincent set the standard for playing time on the first day of the Blue Jackets' training camp.
Ice time is earned, not given, and that applies to every player. Since establishing that performance bar, the first-time NHL coach has backed up words with action several times.
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Kent Johnson, the fifth overall pick of the 2021 NHL draft, sat twice as a healthy scratch before an AHL assignment Friday. Jack Roslovic sat one game as a healthy scratch and needed to work his way up from the fourth line to the first. Damon Severson, who signed an eight-year, $50 million contract in June, sat for an entire third period. Kirill Marchenko, who scored 21 goals as a rookie last season, sat out two games amid an early scoring slump.
That's all happened within the first 10 games, so what happened in the third period of a 2-1 loss to the Washington Capitals on Saturday night at Capital One Arena, Game No. 11, shouldn’t be a huge surprise. Vincent pulled struggling star Johnny Gaudreau for the final 16:07 and sat him on the bench, including two power plays with the Jackets down one goal.
The message, once again, was clear.
“I’m coaching a team and the guys that are going are going to play," Vincent said. “Everything's earned and when the game starts it’s not about your name. It's about what's in front of the jersey and who we believe (is) going to give us a chance to win.”
The Blue Jackets need Gaudreau's best effort to win. Full stop.
Thus far, he's scored just one empty-net goal to go with four assists and a missed practice Friday in Columbus for a personal matter forced him to meet the team in Washington. Gaudreau then skated just 11:55, getting only two shifts in the third while his team chased a tying goal against red hot Capitals goalie Charlie Lindgren (35 saves).
Gaudreau, in Vincent's assessment, wasn't helping the effort enough, so he got the same treatment as other struggling Blue Jackets thus far. Gaudreau’s star status and seven-year, $68 million contract didn’t carry an ounce of weight.
“We know Johnny can make a difference when he's skating and when he's involved, and tonight I felt he wasn't there,” Vincent said. “It doesn't matter who you are. It's about the Blue Jackets and I didn't like his game.”
Gaudreau isn’t the first Blue Jacket to hear such matter-of-fact evaluation terminology and won’t be the last. The bar is set and it's the same for every Blue Jacket.
Here are three more things we learned in Washington:
Elvis Merzlikins is steadily regaining top form for Columbus Blue Jackets
One of the Blue Jackets' most encouraging developments is the steady improvement of goalie Elvis Merzlikins.
The 29-year old is coming off the worst season of his career followed by a summer spent transitioning from a guy who feeds off crowds to somebody who no longer cares about fans' cheers or booing. He’s also letting goals that get past him roll off his back much better, which is arguably a goalie’s most difficult “skill” to hone.
Bad bounces are something Merzlikins has learned to accept and “bad” goals are erased.
Merzlikins appears to be maturing into the No. 1 goalie the Blue Jackets hoped they'd get by signing him in 2021 to a five-year, $27 million contract extension. He made multiple key saves against the Capitals, including a fantastic two-save combination 20 seconds into the game, a stop against Tom Wilson on a penalty shot and a gutsy effort against Alex Ovechkin in the third.
“I remember (Washington) since preseason and I’m going to be honest, sitting here before the game I told myself, ‘Elvis, you need to be ready, because they are going to come (at you) right away,’” Merzlikins said. “They are not wasting time. ... I knew they were going to come (at me) right away.”
After making 25 saves on 27 shots, Merzlikins has a solid 2.86 goals-against average and .905 save percentage, which are much improved from his career-worsts (4.23 GAA, .876) last season.
“I just want to have fun and play hockey and enjoy it,” Merzlikins said. “Seasons are going quick and it’s ... seriously, you’re gonna blink once and it’s Christmas. You’re gonna blink twice, it’s already all-stars and you’re either in (the hunt) or out. Then you blink maybe one more time and you are already 35, and you want to play in those playoffs. You want to win the Cup. This is the main purpose of why we are playing hockey. I mean, at least, I am playing because of that. I want to lift that Cup one day.”
That goal appears is a long ways off still for the Blue Jackets, but getting their top goalie playing and sounding like a No. 1 backstop again is a big deal.
Columbus Blue Jackets see Yegor Chinakhov as a power forward
Yegor Chinakhov missed significant time during his first two NHL seasons due to injuries and then a back strain this past summer caused him to miss training camp, all eight preseason games and the start of the regular season.
The game against the Capitals was his first in the NHL since last December and Chinakhov caught the coaching staff’s attention in a good way. His skating stride was back in top form, his strength on the puck was impressive and Chinakhov’s wrist shot will always be a screamer.
Just 22-years old, the 21st overall pick in 2020 carries as much curiosity as he does potential. What kind of forward is he exactly? Where does he fit into the Blue Jackets’ plans? What are his ceiling and floor levels?
Chinakhov must stay healthy for the Jackets to determine those answers, but the Jackets' coaching staff and management have an early picture.
“We think that he can become a power forward with skills, because he’s a strong man,” Vincent said. “He can skate. He can shoot the puck. He probably has the best wrist shot on our team. It’s powerful. It’s accurate. So, he can score, but the game is more than that. We’re still evaluating what he can do in the NHL, because we’ve seen moments where he’s dominant in his role.”
Chinakhov is just happy to be back with the Blue Jackets, which he mentioned during his first all-English interview with a small assist from Ivan Provorov.
“I’m so happy, because I didn’t play (in the NHL) in like seven months,” Chinakhov said. “It’s a tough to start, but I think it will (improve) every day.”
Kent Johnson’s confidence getting an AHL spark
The decision to send skilled forward Kent Johnson to the AHL's Cleveland Monsters on Friday landed with a thud among many Blue Jackets fans.
Vincent and general manager Jarmo Kekalainen drew widespread criticism on social media for the move along with how Johnson’s been used thus far, including two games as a healthy scratch prior to the demotion. Much of the concern stems from the Blue Jackets’ recent history with losing players to free agency or trade requests for various reasons, including center Pierre-Luc Dubois.
Johnson differs from Dubois in that he returned to Michigan for his sophomore season after being picked fifth overall in 2021, and he spent all of last season with the Blue Jackets. After finishing with 16 goals, 24 assists and 40 points in 79 games, Johnson hasn’t looked like the same player in his second NHL twirl. That's not all that surprising given the league's penchant for being tougher in a player's second year, so the decision was made to nip a bubbling confidence issue in the bud.
Johnson is already off to a fast start with the Monsters, helping them split a weekend back-to-back set with three assists in two games. Vincent said the conversation with the young forward was a little easier than he'd anticipated because Johnson took the news professionally.
“He responded like a man,” Vincent said. “He had a smile on his face. He wants to play hockey. He’s a rink rat and he wants to play hockey, so he had a smile on his face.”
Now the goal is to get that smile back on the ice, allowing Johnson’s confidence grow to the point it carries over to his eventual NHL return. Some who’ve criticized the decision interpreted it to mean the Blue Jackets have given up on Johnson. Other fear a trade demand isn't far off.
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Neither of those scenarios meshes with the Blue Jackets' vision for Johnson and their future success.
“It seems like I’ve been hard on him, but I believe in him,” Vincent said. “I feel like we’re putting money in the bank with him. We’re just investing, putting money in the bank and growing his assets, so that when he comes back he’s the player he feels he can be. He’s going to be a difference-maker in the NHL, no doubt. We’re just investing in him right now.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Gaudreau benching tops 4 things learned in Blue Jackets loss to Capitals
