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The Minnesota Wild's 2-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Oct. 18 at Grand Casino Arena was sealed by a power-play goal in the second period, as Kirill Kaprizov found a tiny opening above goalie Cam Talbot's shoulder. Kaprizov, who leads the NHL with 10 goals in nine games and carries a $17 million annual salary, delivered a shot that Talbot acknowledged was nearly impossible to stop.
"Yeah, I think I gave him a little bit too much [to shoot at]," Talbot said. "He put it in a great spot, but the other four guys are doing their job. That's my guy. I've got to make that save." Talbot's candid response and his remarkable longevity—becoming the first goalie in NHL history to play and win for nine different franchises—were on display in his Blue Jackets debut on Oct. 9, a win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, he was hardly the problem in St. Paul, where he made 32 saves to keep the deficit at one.
The Wild dominated possession, outshooting Columbus 34-14. "[Talbot] stood on his head tonight," Blue Jackets center Adam Fantilli said. "He gave us a chance. We've got to shoot the puck. We've got to get pucks [to the net]. We've got to be around the net and make [the opposing goalie's] life hard. Didn't feel like we did much of that."
The Blue Jackets were finishing a back-to-back that began with a taxing 1-0 overtime win against the New York Rangers less than 24 hours earlier at Nationwide Arena. While fatigue may have played a role, it doesn't fully explain the team's struggles. Columbus fumbled pucks and sent errant passes throughout the game, but also had chances to score more than once. Conor Garland and Charlie Coyle failed to convert breakaways against Wild goalie Jesper Wallstedt, who stopped all but one shot by Fantilli during a delayed penalty in the first period and also denied Fantilli and Coyle on power-play opportunities.
"We just didn't execute the way we should've," Fantilli said. "We were putting pucks in guys' feet. We were putting guys in tough positions. We weren't working for our teammates to make their lives easier. We worked extremely hard, but I feel like we've got to work smarter. We didn't get enough shots."
That lack of execution is the concerning part. Against the Rangers, shots were even at 29-29 after Kent Johnson's overtime winner. According to Natural Stat Trick, Columbus generated 27 scoring chances in that game, with 15 in high-danger situations. One day later, the Wild held decisive advantages in scoring chances (29-15) and high-danger chances (14-4), including margins of 22-11 and 10-3 at even strength.
"I'm always more concerned if we don't create chances," Blue Jackets coach Rick Bowness said. "We were creating chances [against New York]. The other guy pays people to stop the puck, too. If we weren't creating chances, that's a whole other conversation. So, as long as we're creating chances, we're confident the puck will go in."
But it hasn't gone in much since Columbus opened the season Oct. 1 with a 6-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres. They've been held to one goal three times in the past six games and haven't scored more than three in any of them. It's early, but scoring is becoming an issue.
Key Analysis
The Blue Jackets' early-season scoring drought is a growing concern, especially given the team's inability to capitalize on chances. While goaltending has been a strength, the offense must find its rhythm soon to avoid falling behind in a competitive Metropolitan Division. The back-to-back scheduling didn't help, but the lack of execution and shot generation is a trend that needs addressing.
Originally reported by yahoo.