Boone Jenner is back with the Blue Jackets for limited practice work, wearing face protection, and it's starting to feel like he may return sooner than expected.
If so, the Blue Jackets will welcome their captain back with arms as wide as the 10-point gap between their current position — last in the Metropolitan Division — and the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
They'll also be a different team than they were Dec. 8 at Nationwide Arena , when a puck shot by Ivan Provorov deflected off a St. Louis Blues stick and fractured Jenner's jaw. The Blue Jackets will improve the second Jenner fully returns to action, but they've also improved while he's been out.
"It will be beneficial," coach Pascal Vincent said of Jenner's absence. "You never want to lose Boone ... (but) because his injury happened a little bit later in the season, not early in the season, the benefit is (the young centers) already understood the kind of hockey we wanted to play, 'What's our brand?' "
The critical roles Jenner handles, centering the top line and winning faceoffs on special teams, became big voids when he was injured. They became even larger when veteran Sean Kuraly went down with an abdominal injury on Dec. 23 .
Those are two of Vincent's top options on faceoffs, and he hasn't had either at his disposal since the NHL's holiday break in late December. Somebody had to step up for the Jackets to stay competitive, and that's what happened. The Blue Jackets are near .500 without Jenner at 4-5-4 in four-plus weeks since his injury and they're 2-2-3 without both Jenner and Kuraly.
A big reason for staying afloat is tied directly to their young centers: Adam Fantilli , Cole Sillinger and Dmitri Voronkov . Each has gained valuable experience, and versatile veteran Justin Danforth has also proven instrumental in his third NHL season.
"The good side about losing a player like Boone or Zach Werenski , if there's any good side, is having to put younger players in a position to be evaluated in that role," Vincent said. "They're getting better every game, so when Boone comes back, those younger players will be in a better position."
Jenner and Kuraly should be better off, too, feeling less pressure to take every key faceoff or handle every critical situation for the Blue Jackets.
Fantilli and Sillinger, in particular, have shown remarkable growth since Jenner's injury, especially on draws. Each lagged in the low 40s for win percentage prior to the captain's departure from the lineup, but both are just under 50% since. Sillinger, who is centering the second line, is 52.5% on draws since Dec. 27, which is second-highest on the team while taking the most faceoffs (101) in that stretch.
Part of the improvement is former NHL player Jason Krog, whom the Blue Jackets hired to help with faceoff instruction, but experience simply taking key faceoffs is just as important.
"There are good faceoff guys in this league, and sometimes they just have your number," Sillinger said. "When that happens, you have to find ways to not lose them clean, tie them up or just do whatever you can to give yourself a chance to have the puck. It's just having that mindset, and I've also been trying some different things, especially on my weak side. It's been helping me a lot."
Sillinger leads the Jackets in scoring during the past seven games with four goals, one assist and five points ― including his second career hat trick during an overtime loss to the Minnesota Wild .
Fantilli, meanwhile, has won 49.3% of his 136 faceoffs since Jenner was injured, including 57.5% of his defensive zone draws. He's added three goals, five assists and eight points in those 13 games while centering a top line with Johnny Gaudreau and Danforth as wingers.
"I've definitely been put in (key) situations more often, and faceoffs are something I have to get better at," Fantilli said. "I think I've been a lot better the last (12) games or so ... so, I'm proud of the way I've been able to bear down on them and learn from the guys on our team who are better at those than I am. Not having Boone has been tough, but we're bearing down when we can."
Fantilli's line has struggled defensively without Jenner, but each shift contributes to his development. The same is true for Voronkov, who's sixth on the team in scoring with 7-13-20 in 36 games ― all while adjusting to life outside Russia for the first time in his life.
It's been interesting watching Fantilli, Sillinger and Voronkov develop in their own ways, but losing Jenner and Kuraly sped up the process. How much is yet to be determined, but it's not difficult to envision a future in Columbus with those three leading the way as centers.
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If that pans out, hindsight might show this stretch without a veteran presence down the middle was pivotal.
"The line is, 'What's the cost?'" Vincent said. "Early in the season, it's more, "Well, they may cost us points.' Right now, they may cost us points ... but the cost is not as important as it would've been early in the season. The timing has put us in a little bit better of a position to evaluate the young kids."
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets' young centers showing growth without Jenner, Kuraly
