Blue Jackets Face Dallas Test With Scoring and Strong Starts in Focus

Columbus has two clear challenges in Dallas: turn its best stretches into a full-game effort and find enough offense against one of the NHL’s stingiest defenses. The Blue Jackets visit the Stars on Halloween for the first of two meetings this season; the teams are scheduled to meet again next week. Puck drop is set for 8 p.m. Eastern.

The matchup gives Columbus a demanding measure of its progress. Dallas entered the game at 7-5-1 and fourth in the Central Division after losing its previous two contests. The Stars haven’t started as strongly as they would have liked, but their defensive results still make them a difficult opponent. They’re allowing an NHL-low 2.23 goals per game, while Columbus is scoring 2.45 per game, 29th in the league.

Columbus needs a complete performance

The Blue Jackets have shown in recent games that they can play with urgency and create pressure. The question is whether they can sustain that standard across all three periods. Their last two outings offer a sharp illustration of the gap between a strong stretch and a complete game.

On Tuesday in Philadelphia, Columbus raced to a 3-0 first-period lead. The advantage didn’t hold: the Blue Jackets gave it back and needed overtime to secure the win. That opening period showed the pace and assertiveness they can bring, while the rest of the game underlined how quickly a promising position can become complicated when the effort slips.

Thursday’s loss in Carolina unfolded in the opposite direction. Columbus struggled through the first two periods, then fell behind 3-0 early in the third. The Jackets pushed back and made the finish competitive, but the late surge couldn’t erase the deficit. Against a Dallas team that has limited opponents so effectively, waiting until the final period to find its rhythm would leave Columbus with little room to recover.

There’s a useful takeaway in those two games: Columbus has produced a strong period in each, but it needs to connect those efforts. A quick start matters, especially on the road, and so does finishing with the same purpose. The Stars’ recent losses don’t remove the challenge. If anything, the Jackets will need to make Dallas defend from the opening shift instead of allowing the home side to settle into its structure.

More forwards have to contribute

Scoring depth is the other pressing issue. Columbus is averaging 2.45 goals per game, and the offensive burden can’t rest on the top line alone. Kent Johnson and Adam Fantilli have played well, particularly of late, but the Jackets need more production from the rest of the forward group to turn competitive stretches into wins.

Through the team’s first 11 games, Mathieu Olivier, Matthew Knies, Charlie Coyle, Sean Monahan, Valeri Nichushkin, Conor Garland and Dmitri Voronkov had combined for seven goals, including one into an empty net. That total leaves little margin for error against a defense giving up only 2.23 goals per game. Columbus doesn’t need every forward to score in Dallas, but contributions from the middle six would make the attack less predictable and ease the pressure on the top line.

Against a team that has been so effective at preventing goals, the route to chances matters. Columbus will need to make its time in the offensive zone count and find ways to create pressure beyond its leading scorers. The source numbers point to a difficult scoring night if the Jackets rely on only a few players to generate offense. A secondary goal, or even a consistent threat from more than one line, could change how Dallas has to manage the game.

The faceoff battle could help set the tone

The matchup at the dot offers Columbus a chance to compete in a measurable area. Dallas leads the NHL with a 56.7% faceoff rate; the Blue Jackets rank fourth at 54.5%. Those figures put both clubs among the league’s best, with the Stars holding a 2.2 percentage-point edge.

Faceoff wins won’t decide the game by themselves, but they can shape the next few seconds. A clean draw can give a team possession, help it establish pressure or start a defensive shift with the puck moving away from danger. Against a club that has allowed so few goals, those small chances to control possession could matter. Columbus will need to turn its strong rate at the dot into useful plays after the whistle.

The result will hinge on more than one matchup, and the faceoff numbers don’t guarantee an advantage for either side on a given night. Still, if Columbus can win draws and build from them, that’s a practical way to test Dallas while limiting stretches spent chasing the puck. It would also help the Jackets show they can hold their own against a team with ambitions beyond the regular season.

Dallas is coming off two straight losses, while Columbus arrives after a win in Philadelphia followed by a defeat in Carolina. Neither short run tells the whole story, but both make the immediate task plain: the Blue Jackets need a fast start, steady play through the middle periods and a late push that doesn’t depend on climbing out of a deep hole. If they get those pieces together and spread the scoring, they’ll have a better chance to make this first meeting with Dallas a genuine contest.