But while the Blue Jackets have the second-best record in the NHL over the past two months — they’re 19-3-5 since Dec. 8 — the Blue Jackets’ power play has ranked near the bottom of the NHL during that span.
The Blue Jackets are 13.6 with a man-advantage since Dec. 8, putting them slightly ahead of Detroit (13.3) at the bottom of the league. (This is not the season to be mentioned in the same breath as Detroit.)
“We have to find a way to make that dangerous,” Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno said. “That’s on every guy who’s out there. It’s going to be a game-changer and a difference-maker down the stretch.
“It was tonight. With all the chances we had to put them away 2-0, we let them hang around and hang around. It’s the difference in the game.”
Jones’ first-period power play helped the Jackets escape the basement, but they went 0-for-4 on the rest of their attempts.
“It was a big goal we scored on the power play,” Jones said. “Great win on the draw by Booner. I saw (Grubauer) kind of cheatin’, so I thought I’d throw it in there. Luckily it went in.
“But our power play wasn’t great. I know we scored on one off the draw, but we lost momentum on a lot of them. That’s unacceptable for our group.”