Remember last year when the Blue Jackets gave the Penguins all they could handle? Remember when Columbus had the look of an interesting team that could make some noise in the Eastern Conference this Roy Lopez Jersey year?Those days are a distant memory.Coming into Mondays game against the Panthers, the Blue Jackets were mired in a four-game losing streak. They sit with 14 points, the lowest total in the NHL and are 13 points out of a playoff spot.For anyone paying attention, injuries have been a major part of the problem. In theory, with three quarters of the season left, there should be time to turn it around. But unfortunately, that injury problem is not going away.On Monday, Columbus announced Artem Anisimov has a torn triceps muscle and . Hell join Ryan Murray (knee), Fedor Tyutin (knee), Marc Letestu (groin) and Nathan Horton (back) on injured reserve.While Brandon Dubinskys imminent return will ease the lo s ofAnisimov, the problem with the Blue Jackets remains this is a team that was built on depth last season. It could roll out positive or at least neutral po se sion Kyle Allen Jersey players on most lines. As the Rangers showed in their run to the Stanley Cup Finallast season, depth can be a very valuable thing to have.It showed up in the po se sion numbers. Last season the Blue Jackets had a Fenwick close (the percentage of unblocked shot attemptsthey take when the game is within a goal in the first two periods, or tied in the third period or overtime) of 50.7 percent 14th in the league.This season, injuries have zapped that advantage. When Ross Blacklock Jersey one player returns, someone else goes down. The end result is a third and fourth line that just isnt that good. If Columbus had the top-end talent of a Pittsburgh or Chicago, but Phillip Lindsay Jersey even last year, it was a middle-of-the road po se sion team.This season that Fenwick closenumber is 45.7, 26th in the league. Columbus is controlling le s of the po se sion, getting le s opportunities and surrendering more goals.Typically the way to survive that type of po se sion domination is to either a hot goalie orpuck luck. Unfortunately, Sergei Bobrovsky, when he's not sidelined, has an, which is well below average.As for the luck factor, only Edmonton has a lower PDO than the Blue Jackets. So that's been breaking against them too.In other words, almost everything that could have gone wrong for the Blue Jackets has. But while that luck will likely even out, and the goalie play will almost certainly improve, until the Jackets gets healthy, they likely lackthe fire power to crawl out of this hole.And given that players like Anisimov, Murray and Tyutin could be sidelined a while, a nightmarish start could easily Laremy Tunsil Jersey turn into a lost season for the Blue Jackets.
