PITTSBURGH — Early in the third period, Matt Duchene won a defensive-zone draw so decisively that the puck went shooting across the top of Joonas Korpisalo’s crease and into the corner.
It represented the closest Duchene came to putting a puck on net for the first 50-plus minutes of the Blue Jackets’ 3-0 loss to the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday night.
Advertisement
The center made some nifty passes, set up a few scoring chances — particularly on a third-period power play — and worked hard throughout the first leg of this massive home-and-home showdown. But at night’s end, Duchene had registered only one shot and it didn’t come until 1:47 remained in the game. His only other attempt, a deflection in front of the net, sailed over the Penguins’ cage a few minutes earlier.
Since the trade deadline, the Blue Jackets’ key acquisition has one point — an assist in the Feb. 28 win over Philadelphia. Overall, he has a goal and two helpers in eight games after arriving from Ottawa in the Feb. 22 blockbuster deal.
“I’m not doing anything different than I’ve been doing all year,” said Duchene after Thursday’s game. “It’s not going for anyone right now.
“It’s about being mentally tough. We’ve all gone through stuff like this in our careers. I’ve gone through a helluva lot worse slumps, or whatever. This is kind of my first one all season.”
It couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Blue Jackets, who are 2-4-0 since completing their daring deadline gamble.
Duchene is hardly the only Blue Jackets player struggling to produce. The club’s top defensemen are fighting the puck, even as Seth Jones looked more like his All-Star self against the Penguins. The bottom pair of Scott Harrington and Adam McQuaid were a liability all night.
Few forwards are displaying a level of consistency with the games growing in importance. Winger Ryan Dzingel, also acquired from the Senators, is pointless in his last four games with a combined two shots.
But Duchene is the player under the most scrutiny. Since his dramatic home debut with a goal and an assist in a 4-0 win over San Jose, he’s not driven enough offense. The Blue Jackets are averaging 1.50 goals per games over the past six matches and have been shut out twice.
Advertisement
“We can’t score, that’s it,” said Duchene of a club riding a 124-plus-minute goalless streak. “That’s all that’s missing. It’s insane. It’s one of those things where we need a game to bounce our way (back) and we’ll be fine. We’re doing a lot of good things.
“Tonight, we were feeling it. We were making plays, but we can’t get one to go. If this wasn’t such an important time a year, it would be comical.”
Duchene, who has registered 28 goals and 33 assists this season, was brought to Columbus with games like the one Thursday in mind. He’s expected to fortify the middle of the ice and help the Blue Jackets compete against the Penguins’ brilliant center tandem of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
However, Duchene has made no impact on the scoresheet in his first two meetings with Pittsburgh, a division rival that’s beaten the Blue Jackets eight consecutive times. His next and potentially final opportunity against the Penguins comes Saturday at Nationwide Arena.
Duchene’s sample size with the Blue Jackets is ridiculously small. Then again, so is his new club’s margin for error with 15 games remaining. That’s the risk a franchise fighting for a playoff spot runs when making big deals at the deadline.
There’s not a lot of time to develop chemistry and find a rhythm. A season ago, Thomas Vanek and Ian Cole made immediate contributions for the Blue Jackets. Duchene can still help power a postseason push with his playmaking abilities. You certainly see glimpses, but they rarely lead to goals.
As the table below illustrates, Duchene’s shooting percentage, shots attempted and scoring chances at five-on-five have dipped since arriving from Ottawa.
“He’s got the skill, obviously,” Jones said. “He’s got the vision and the playmaking. He’s playing with some pretty good players. It’s going to come for sure. You see the work ethic on pucks and the creativity at times. We know it’s there. He’s on our team for a reason and he’s going to be a big part of our team down the stretch.”
Advertisement
Nobody wants to experience a postseason run more than Duchene, a veteran of just eight playoff games in the previous nine years.
For all his career points and international success, Duchene hasn’t been in the thick of many pressure-packed March games. He and his teammates seem to be sagging under the weight of expectations they were saddled with when Blue Jackets management not only added big pieces at the deadline, but boldly chose to maintain unrestricted free agent Artemi Panarin.
“Scoring and not scoring are contagious,” said Duchene, who’s also an unrestricted free agent July 1. “All of us are a little snakebitten right now. I have no explanation for it. Eventually, we are going to get a cheap (goal) and start to feel good again.”
The Blue Jackets didn’t sacrifice conditional first-round picks in 2019 and 2020, plus a pair of prospects, for Duchene just to make the playoffs. And yet even that goal appears in jeopardy.
The club doesn’t need Duchene to put on a cape and rescue them from a disaster. After all, he has no experience in the role. What they require is their top players, including him, to elevate their performances.
Otherwise, Duchene’s career with the Blue Jackets could end where it began — in Ottawa against the Senators on April 6, the final day of the regular season.
Analytical table is courtesy of The Athletic’s Alison Lukan.
(Photo: Charles LeClaire / USA Today Sports)