NHL
This isn’t just a bad week. And it’s definitely not just bad luck.
The Columbus Blue Jackets are four losses deep, staring at the kind of stretch that can quietly hijack a season if it’s not addressed now. The vibes are off, the defensive zone looks scrambled, and the confidence — especially behind them in net — feels fragile. The standings don’t lie, but they also don’t tell the full story.
Because what’s ailing Columbus isn’t one problem.
It’s a system problem.
And until that’s fixed, it won’t matter who’s in goal, who’s hot, or who’s pressing — the leaks will keep coming.
Let’s address the obvious before it gets weaponized.
Elvis Merzlikins’ save percentage sitting at .879 isn’t NHL-starter material. Full stop. That number has to rise, and Elvis himself would be the first to tell you that. He’s not stealing games right now, and on some nights, he’s not even stabilizing them.
But pinning this skid solely on Merzlikins is lazy analysis.
Because what’s happening in front of him would rattle just about any goalie in the league.
When the Blue Jackets defend well, their goaltending settles. The reads are clearer. The rebounds are manageable. The game slows down. When they don’t? The netminder becomes a human shooting gallery.
Right now, Columbus is living in the second reality.
At a glance, the Blue Jackets’ defensive approach looks fine. Defensemen are doing a decent job steering attackers away from the slot and toward the boards. On paper, that’s textbook hockey.
In practice? It’s backfiring.
Columbus has been overcommitting to the perimeter, pushing attackers too far wide and, in the process, vacating the most dangerous real estate on the ice — the middle. That overextension creates soft pockets between the dots, delayed coverage in the slot, and passing lanes that good NHL offenses eat alive.
It’s not that the defense isn’t trying. It’s that they’re trying too much in the wrong direction.
There’s a critical difference between:
Right now, the Blue Jackets are doing the latter.
Columbus has leaned heavily into a full box-out philosophy — push attackers wide, seal off the boards, win battles below the goal line. That works only if the middle stays compact and layered.
Instead, what’s happening is this:
That’s not a coverage error. That’s a structural flaw.
The fix isn’t complicated, but it does require discipline:
Shift from a total box-out to a partial containment model. Force attackers wide, yes — but stay connected. Keep sticks and bodies closer to center ice. Shrink the slot. Make teams beat you from bad angles, not prime ones.
Right now, Columbus is defending the boards better than they’re defending the net.
That’s backwards.
Statistically, the Blue Jackets’ defensive group is marginally improved from last season. Goals against aren’t wildly out of line. Some underlying numbers even suggest progress.
But watch the games.
The eye test tells a harsher truth:
Those are stress indicators — signs of a system that’s asking players to cover too much ice, too quickly, with too little support.
And goalies feel that pressure first.
When defenders play tighter — closer to the middle, with shorter rotations — goaltenders can play on their feet instead of on their heels. Reads get simpler. Saves get cleaner. Confidence builds.
When defenders stretch coverage too far wide?
That’s how save percentages tank without it feeling like the goalie is imploding.
Elvis needs to be sharper. But the environment around him needs to be calmer. Right now, it’s chaos disguised as structure.
Here’s the good news: this problem is fixable.
This isn’t a talent issue. It’s not a lost room. It’s not a lost season — yet. It’s a priority issue, and it lands squarely on the coaching staff’s desk.
Adjusting defensive spacing, reinforcing middle-lane responsibility, and dialing back the over-pursuit on the walls are coaching levers — not roster moves.
And with the next 10 games shaping up as the most difficult stretch of the season, those levers need to be pulled immediately.
Because if this defensive identity doesn’t tighten up soon, those games won’t just be tough — they’ll be season-defining in the worst way.
Forget the playoff math for a moment.
The next 10 games will tell us:
Lose close, structured games? You can build off that.
Lose lopsided, chaotic ones? That’s how seasons spiral.
This stretch isn’t about wins alone. It’s about how the Blue Jackets lose — or ideally, how they stop losing altogether.
Here’s what needs to happen, immediately:
It’s not revolutionary hockey. It’s disciplined hockey.
And when Columbus has played that way this season? The results — and the goaltending — have been noticeably better.
The Blue Jackets aren’t broken. But they are drifting.
This four-game skid isn’t just a cold streak — it’s a warning light. Ignore it, and the season slips away quietly. Address it, and there’s still a path forward.
Elvis Merzlikins doesn’t need miracles.
The defense doesn’t need an overhaul.
The team needs clarity.
Tighten the middle. Calm the zone. Trust the structure.
Because if Columbus can’t fix what’s happening between the dots, it won’t matter who’s in net — or what the schedule looks like — the problems will keep finding them.
And the clock is already ticking.
Photo Credit: Columbus Blue Jackets/NHL
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