The biggest problem confronting the Blue Jackets might be the lack of one.
With Christmas and the bottom of the Western Conference standings fast approaching, the team without an identity cannot identify its most glaring weakness. That's because it seems to change from week to week, even game to game.
Steve Mason gives up a bad goal, then a defenseman coughs up the puck behind the net, then top forwards don't pay the price to forecheck.
"I don't think you can pinpoint what it is," Jackets captain Rick Nash said, "and that's what makes it frustrating."
During the current 2-6-4 slide, the reasons given for defeat are varied. Poor board play in New York, bad puck management in Montreal, a soft goal in Ottawa. Too many odd-man rushes against Toronto, too little hunger against Colorado.
The Jackets couldn't hold leads two weeks ago and haven't had one in the past two games. After stressing the need to cut down on the number of goals allowed, they are 1-2-1 in the past four games despite not surrendering more than three in a game.
"Most teams that struggle go through the same thing: You fix one thing, and something else goes wrong," general manager Scott Howson said. "You don't really get going until you get everything working with cohesion."
The Jackets, who play host to the Nashville Predators in Nationwide Arena tonight, are just three points clear of the conference cellar because they don't have a foundation, a default setting when times are bad.
Last season, the Jackets relied on sound defensive play and strong forechecking. The former has been erratic for long stretches this season; the latter almost nonexistent..
"I think we have our greatest success when we establish a forecheck," center Antoine Vermette said. "If we can do that, some of the other stuff will take care of itself.
"But it takes a lot of synergy to do it -- commitment, puck support, five guys on the same page."
In the past week, the Jackets' forecheck was noticeable in a 3-0 win over Florida and a 4-3 shootout loss in Nashville. It was missing Saturday in a 3-1 home loss to Anaheim.
Nash, who has two goals in the past 12 games, said elite teams sometimes can get away with a lack of both attention to detail and maximum effort.
"We can't flip that switch," he said. "It's hard to take the puck to the net, it's tough to forecheck, it's tough to come back and stop up in your own end and be responsible. But that's the stuff that worked for us last year.
"This year, we are playing loose, and it's creating inconsistency."
Howson said much of what ails the club is interrelated.
It starts with the Jackets allowing too many goals, and goaltenders, defensemen and forwards all share in the blame for that. The Jackets have done a better job of late, trimming their bloated goals-against average from 3.64 to 3.31 since Nov. 25.
"You have to fix that part of it as a team, not individually," Howson said. "Then, eventually, it starts to turn."
But Saturday night, the Jackets' potent power play failed them when they had a two-man advantage while down a goal in the third period. The Ducks then put the game away with a goal against a penalty-killing unit that had succeeded in its previous 13 chances.
"Something else keeps popping up," Nash said.
With Christmas and the bottom of the Western Conference standings fast approaching, the team without an identity cannot identify its most glaring weakness. That's because it seems to change from week to week, even game to game.
Steve Mason gives up a bad goal, then a defenseman coughs up the puck behind the net, then top forwards don't pay the price to forecheck.
"I don't think you can pinpoint what it is," Jackets captain Rick Nash said, "and that's what makes it frustrating."
During the current 2-6-4 slide, the reasons given for defeat are varied. Poor board play in New York, bad puck management in Montreal, a soft goal in Ottawa. Too many odd-man rushes against Toronto, too little hunger against Colorado.
The Jackets couldn't hold leads two weeks ago and haven't had one in the past two games. After stressing the need to cut down on the number of goals allowed, they are 1-2-1 in the past four games despite not surrendering more than three in a game.
"Most teams that struggle go through the same thing: You fix one thing, and something else goes wrong," general manager Scott Howson said. "You don't really get going until you get everything working with cohesion."
The Jackets, who play host to the Nashville Predators in Nationwide Arena tonight, are just three points clear of the conference cellar because they don't have a foundation, a default setting when times are bad.
Last season, the Jackets relied on sound defensive play and strong forechecking. The former has been erratic for long stretches this season; the latter almost nonexistent..
"I think we have our greatest success when we establish a forecheck," center Antoine Vermette said. "If we can do that, some of the other stuff will take care of itself.
"But it takes a lot of synergy to do it -- commitment, puck support, five guys on the same page."
In the past week, the Jackets' forecheck was noticeable in a 3-0 win over Florida and a 4-3 shootout loss in Nashville. It was missing Saturday in a 3-1 home loss to Anaheim.
Nash, who has two goals in the past 12 games, said elite teams sometimes can get away with a lack of both attention to detail and maximum effort.
"We can't flip that switch," he said. "It's hard to take the puck to the net, it's tough to forecheck, it's tough to come back and stop up in your own end and be responsible. But that's the stuff that worked for us last year.
"This year, we are playing loose, and it's creating inconsistency."
Howson said much of what ails the club is interrelated.
It starts with the Jackets allowing too many goals, and goaltenders, defensemen and forwards all share in the blame for that. The Jackets have done a better job of late, trimming their bloated goals-against average from 3.64 to 3.31 since Nov. 25.
"You have to fix that part of it as a team, not individually," Howson said. "Then, eventually, it starts to turn."
But Saturday night, the Jackets' potent power play failed them when they had a two-man advantage while down a goal in the third period. The Ducks then put the game away with a goal against a penalty-killing unit that had succeeded in its previous 13 chances.
"Something else keeps popping up," Nash said.
