Blue Jackets falling back to earth

Hockey Betting Lines

11/13/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Blue Jackets posted the best start to a season in franchise history earlier this year, but things have changed since the calendar flipped a page to November.

Columbus opened the campaign with a 7-3-1 mark, and everybody was singing the praises of head coach Ken Hitchcock, who indeed deserves accolades for his efforts in bringing this franchise to life over the past year. After all, any improvement is good news for a club that is in its seventh season and still looking for a first trip to the postseason.

However, the acclaim was apparently delivered to soon, as the Blue Jackets followed a strong October by dropping five of six games (1-3-2) this month.

The offense has disappeared for the Blue Jackets in recent weeks, as the club has managed just 11 goals in their last six outings. Even the team's leading scorer Rick Nash has struggled, notching just two points in six November games.

The Blue Jackets have actually been one of the toughest teams to score on this season and they are fourth in the NHL with an average of 2.18 goals surrendered per game.

Pascal Leclaire has been the biggest reason for Columbus' stingy defense this season, as the goaltender has been a force between the pipes. The 25-year-old Leclaire is 7-4-0 with a .944 save percentage, 1.55 goals against average and a league-leading five shutouts.

Still, Columbus seemingly needs Leclaire to stand on his head if it wants to get a win. The netminder has given up three and four goals, respectively, in his last two starts and was handed the loss in both outings. In fact, Columbus is 0-4-0 when Leclaire has given up three or more goals this season.

It's still too early to determine what caliber club Hitchcock has at his disposal, but a playoff push is something that this franchise could desperately use.

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