Columbus Blue Jackets looking to Martin St. Louis to help power play
The Columbus Blue Jackets are struggling to cash in on the man advantage, so coach John Tortorella is turning to Martin St. Louis for a little help.
The Columbus Blue Jackets are not struggling overall this year, as they enter Monday’s action with 59 points (tied for fourth-most in the Eastern Conference). But they have lost two games in a row, with just one goal scored in each game, and they are now just 5-for-43 on power play opportunities dating back to Dec. 15 (17 games).
The Blue Jackets have the fourth-worst power play in the NHL right now, converting at just a 14.6 percent rate. Simply getting more chances may help, but it’s not really a red flag as Columbus is in the middle of the pack with 144 man-advantage opportunities right now. But the time is now to figure out whatever issues exist with the man advantage, right down to who should or shouldn’t be playing together, or the Blue Jackets will risk falling down the standings amid a real shortage of offense when the situation favors them.
Help is on the way though. On Monday, the Blue Jackets announced they are bringing in Hall of Famer Martin St. Louis as a special teams consultant. He played under Blue Jackets’ coach John Tortorella for seven seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning, including a Stanley Cup win in 2004, so it’ll be a reunion in Columbus.
Of his 1,033 career regular season points (391 goals, 642 assists), St. Louis had 317 points on the power play (101 goals, 216 assists). In his playoff career (107 games), he had 13 power play goals. So if there’s anyone who can provide some outside help, with some comfort of familiarity and secondarily knowing how to play for Tortorella, St. Louis looks like the right man for the job.
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Tortorella said St. Louis’ role is still being developed, and anything he has to offer will surely be welcome. But since the Blue Jackets have a top-10 penalty kill (82.9 percent), it’s clear St. Louis will primarily be focused on helping a struggling power play.