Is it too early to worry about the Blue Jackets' special teams?
The blue carpet didn't lead to victory in the home opener
It was late in the first period when the text came from section 227, where one of my correspondents was sitting Monday night:
"Penalty kill is a serious problem."
The Blue Jackets in their home opener gave up two power-play goals and lost 3-2 to the New Jersey Devils before a sellout crowd of 18,627 at Nationwide Arena. It was a fun evening with the blue carpet and the laser-light show and the video introductions. It was fun until the Jackets took their first penalty.
The Devils (2-1) had two power-play chances and converted on both. Now, one might say that the Jackets (1-2) were a tad unlucky: They killed off 119 of 120 seconds of the Devils' first power play before Timo Meier, unmolested at the bottom of the right circle, beat goaltender Jet Greaves with a one-timer inside the near post; they killed off 116 of 120 seconds of the Devils' second power play and nearly scored a shorty before they got beat on an odd-man rush going the other way.
The penalty kill is a problem. Through three games, the Jackets' opponents have converted on seven of 14 power plays. Yes, numbers can be skewed in small-size, early season samples. Yes, they've faced some highly talented power-play units. Yet, any way you look at it, a 50% kill rate is terrible. Were the Jackets just slightly better on the kill, they might be 3-0 right now instead of 1-2.
Let us pause to look at the Jackets' penalties to date. They were guilty of four stick infractions in Game 1 at Nashville. Sloppy, but not egregious. Game 2 in Minnesota was crazy – the Jackets had two bench minors (unsuccessful challenge, too many men on the ice) and three delay-of-game penalties (puck over the glass) – which is stupid but also anomalous. The Jackets scored seven goals and whipped Minnesota, so put a line through it. Game 3 vs. the Devils, they took a couple of hooking penalties, one of which was a borderline call. It happens.
What is tough for them is that any time they take a penalty, this recent history of porous PK might just play on their mind. It's difficult to play as aggressively as the Jackets do and worry about penalties at the same time. Sticks get squeezed.
"Obviously, I said this morning our penalty kill was pretty good," Jackets coach Dean Evason said, recalling his media con-fab after the morning skate.
"It seems to end up in our net, what, with one second and four seconds (left on the kill)," he said. "We've literally killed the whole penalty. But, it's going in right now in that area so, when it does, the power play should pick you up, too, and it struggled here tonight, with the four-minute and we got another one right after that – and that could've changed the momentum, too.
"But I'll tell you: We we talked about staying in hockey games and giving ourselves a chance. We had a really good chance to win this hockey game here tonight and we just didn't finish."
The power play is exacerbating the problem. While the Jackets' three opponents are converting on half of their power-play chances, the Jackets are 1-for-9 with the man advantage through three games. At even strength, they've outscored their opponents 9-2. With a couple-three more power play goals, they might be 3-0 right now instead of 1-2.
Michael Arace
We're talking about a small statistical sample one week into the regular season. The Jackets have 79 games to go, 41 at home. It's unfair to brand them with a hot iron right now. But here's the thing: Last season, they ranked 22nd in the league on the penalty kill and 22nd on the power play and they missed the playoffs by two points.
The Jackets have played nine periods of hockey in 2025-26. At times, such as the first period against the Devils, they have been dominant. Rarely have they been outplayed for any long stretch. There's much to like about the way they look and it's right to be optimistic that there are better things in store – if their special teams improve.
Disa and data
- It might be getting lost amid the banter about the 11% power play and the 50% penalty kill, but the Jackets' goaltending tandem is off to a solid start. To wit: Greaves and Elvis Merzlikins have allowed just two even-strength goals (not counting an empty-netter) through three games. ... Asked about the power-play goal he allowed short-side to Meier, he said, "It was kind of a broken play, but I'll take a look at it to see what I can do better." ... Greaves got the first two plum assignments, the season-opener in Nashville and the home opener against the Devils. Greaves is 0-2, but his numbers are excellent – he has a .932 save percentage and a 2.06 goals-against average. Merzkikins is 1-0 with a .923 and a 4.00. Again, it's a small sample, but it's encouraging.
Michael Arace
- Winger Kirill Marchenko put eight shots on net in Game 1 and was stymied (like everyone else) by Nashville goaltender Juusi Saros. Since, Marchenko has four goals on nine shots, including a hat trick at Minnesota Saturday night. Against the Devils, he scored unassisted on a breakaway after poke-checking the puck away from Jack Hughes. Of his team's frustrations, he said everyone has to "keep a cool head and just go forward." One should applaud his willingness to grasp American idioms, which can be incredibly confusing. He wondered aloud if "ice head" was the correct phrase before he was steered to "cool head."
- Defenseman Zach Werenski, who was second in Norris Trophy voting after a monstrous 2024-25 season, doesn't seem to be at his sharpest right now. Of course, we're talking about a different animal here. Against the Devils, he pulled 29 minutes of ice time (he was the league leader in ice time through the first week of the season) and put seven shots on net. He also blocked five shots. But he had five giveaways, including a few which gave pause. Maybe we expect only perfection from him now.
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Michael Arace
