The only thing Jack Roslovic could do was throw his head back in disbelief.
Roslovic, who has been on a tear for the Blue Jackets, couldn’t get a puck past Semyon Varlomov on Saturday night if he’d offered the Islanders’ goalie a bribe.
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It wasn’t just him, either.
Varlomov stopped all 34 shots he faced to shut out the Blue Jackets 2-0 at Nationwide Arena, including Roslovic’s one-timer from close range and hard wrist shot off a rush up the right wing. Boone Jenner and rookie Adam Fantilli were also stonewalled on four shots apiece, while Johnny Gaudreau didn’t get a shot on target.
The result was the end of a four-game point streak for the Blue Jackets (3-3-2).
“We’re in a better spot as a team right now than last season, so I’d say personally I’d rather be in this position,” Gaudreau said. “We’re getting looks. We’re getting chances. It’s just not going in right now.”
The Blue Jackets’ next chance to convert scoring chances into goals is Monday in Dallas. They’ll depart after practice Sunday, hoping they find more puck luck in Texas.
Here are three things we learned from the Jackets’ shutout loss:
Columbus Blue Jackets’ finishing woes continue against New York Islanders
According to Natural Stat Trick, this was the fourth straight game the Jackets outshot their opponent and finished with more scoring chances.
They’ve outshot the Minnesota Wild, Anaheim Ducks, Montreal Canadiens and Islanders by a combined 161-117 margin and generated a 163-119 edge in scoring attempts that includes a large advantage in high-danger chances (63-42).
All that for one win and a three-game winless stumble (0-1-2) in those four games.
The Jackets have also been outscored 13-10 in that stretch while Gaudreau is off to the longest goal drought of his career to start a season, Alexandre Texier doesn’t have a point, Kirill Marchenko hasn’t scored a goal, Patrik Laine is injured again and Kent Johnson has one goal in six games.
That’s a lot of skill waiting for some offensive magic while, potentially, “squeezing the stick” a little too tight.
“That’s human nature,” coach Pascal Vincent said. “I think when (the puck) starts going in, it’s going to go really well offensively for those guys, but right now …”
Well, right now, they’re in a tricky spot.
“The dangerous part about this is they’re (at risk) to cheat the game to create more offense and want to stay away from that because once you start cheating the game you may create more offense, but you’re not improving,” Vincent said. “They’re not cheating the game, so I’m satisfied with that.”
Johnny Gaudreau getting frustrated by early goal drought
Gaudreau is saying the right things as an 11-year NHL veteran, but not scoring a goal yet is fraying his nerves.
The star forward’s frustration was evident after the Islanders’ shutout, which included no shots on goal for him. Gaudreau has four points, all on assists, and no goals on 27 shots thus far. Career numbers suggest Gaudreau and others are due to break out with a barrage of goals, but when?
The flip side is the Jackers are off to a decent start despite a dearth of goals for a handful of stars.
“Once (the top scorers) start clicking, they’re going to click as long as they’re doing the right process,” Vincent said. “So, it’s good to see that other guys can take charge, as far as producing. But Johnny has his chances every game. Same with Texier, so I’m not worried about that at all. Not at all.”
Columbus Blue Jackets’ forward depth creating internal competition
Vincent made another skilled forward a healthy scratch against the Islanders and kept power forwards Dmitri Voronkov active. Marchenko sat to create a lineup spot for Kent Johnson, who missed Thursday’s game in Montreal for the same reason.
Johnson, the fifth overall pick in 2021, has been scratched twice and Marchenko, who scored 21 goals as a rookie last season, could have more in his future.
They’re not the only ones at risk of sitting.
“The league rule says 20 players (per game),” Vincent said. “We had a good chat with our forwards. It’s crystal clear. We can only dress 12, so we’re going to make some hard decisions. We told them this morning that it’s all about performance. It’s the NHL.”
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In other words, the Blue Jackets’ coaching staff will utilize a glut of NHL-caliber forwards within the organization, including some with AHL Cleveland, to ice their best lineup. A slew of injuries prevented that last season.
“Sometimes nobody will deserve to sit out, but we’ll have to make some tough decisions,” Vincent said. “That’s where we want to be. For an organization, we want that competition. It’s going to be healthy and it’s going to be clear, as far as why we make those decisions, with the players.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets shut out by New York Islanders: 3 things learned
