The Blue Jackets are off to a 7-6-0 start to the season. Bruce Bennett / Getty Images

The Columbus Blue Jackets are in a tough stretch right now. Beginning with Wednesday's loss on Long Island, the Blue Jackets play nine out of 12 games on the road, changing time zones five times in a five-game stretch (New York Islanders, Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, Seattle Kraken).

Through the first month of the season, they've both surged and lurched. Here's six thoughts on the striving but not quite thriving Blue Jackets so far:

There aren't many games where the Blue Jackets are completely overmatched or completely mail it in (often those two are mistaken for each other). The Jackets had their doors blown off by the Colorado Avalanche on Oct. 16, but they've been in every other game this season.

But the best teams don't just hang around. They dictate how the game is going to be played. They set the pace of the play, the level of physical engagement, etc. Home or road, day or night, you know what you're getting when you play the NHL's elite teams.

The Blue Jackets can play with anybody in this league, which should excite longtime fans who have been through all of the ups and downs (mostly downs) this franchise has provided. This is a really good club.

But the next frontier for them is to become a club that sets the rules of engagement, rather than react or respond to those established by the opponent.

This may be an extension of the first category -- and a preview of the third, for that matter.

The Blue Jackets have often played their best games when emotions run high. Given their roster composition -- leading with third-line winger Mathieu Olivier -- they should not fear any other team in the league. But it doesn't always hurt to play the Blue Jackets. One aspect that's been missing through the 7-6-0 start is their play in front of the nets. Yes, plural.

In the offensive zone, I don't see nearly enough traffic in front of the goaltender, not enough greasy goals. And it's the same on the other end, where they aren't quite nasty enough to visitors in front of their goalie.

It's not fair to single one person out. This is on everybody. But Dmitri Voronkov's lack of physicality is, frankly, surprising. The 6-foot-5, 227-pound forward is quick to stand up for teammates, absolutely. He doesn't mind taking a hit to make a play, either. But when you consider how his reputation preceded him to the NHL, and how he played out of the gates in his NHL debut ... where is that guy? He's been an impressive goal-scorer so far. But the nasty edge isn't a regular part of his game.

This might be the most skilled roster the Blue Jackets have ever put together, particularly at forward. Yegor Chinakhov would have been a fixture in the top-line and on the power play in most of this franchise's seasons, but he can't crack the top six -- or even the lineup -- most nights.

But look at the best teams in this league: the Florida Panthers (when healthy), Vegas Golden Knights, Colorado Avalanche, Carolina Hurricanes, Winnipeg Jets, etc. They all have exceptional skill. Scoring, skating, playmaking ... you could go up and down their rosters and marvel. But what has elevated those franchises to the next level is how hard they play, how physically demanding they make it to match their pace.

That loss to Colorado on Oct. 16? That was the issue. Not that the Avalanche have more skill than the Blue Jackets (which they do), but that they completely overwhelmed the Blue Jackets with their pace and energy right from the jump.

The Blue Jackets haven't been guilty of taking many off nights this season. But they were jumped by the Islanders on Sunday and the Flames on Wednesday. The more mature this roster gets, the fewer times that should happen.

Many times during Rick Nash's career, it was surmised that the Blue Jackets needed a second stallion -- a player who could take the heat off No. 61 a few nights each season.

With this forward group, I wonder if it's not the opposite. This seed was first planted by former Blue Jackets coach Dave King, one of the most respected minds in hockey, who was in town last month as part of the franchise's 25th anniversary celebration.

King looked at the roster and surmised (I'm summarizing): "They need a forward."

As noted above, the Blue Jackets are a very talented, highly skilled group. Kirill Marchenko is an elite talent. Adam Fantilli is the two-way center this franchise has always sought. Kent Johnson, Voronkov, Sean Monahan, Boone Jenner, Charlie Coyle ... these are all proven, established veterans.

But I wonder if this roster needs a sun for all of the other forwards to orbit. In other words, when the going gets rough, where does the line form for the guys? Who is their Matthew Tkachuk? Their Nathan MacKinnon? Their Jack Eichel? Not generational talents, necessarily, but of equivalent importance to the club.

Is it Marchenko? It might be, as of early this season. Is it Fantilli? It might be within the next year or two, although he's off to only a so-so start this season. I would argue that it's Jenner, the captain, or Monahan, on most nights.

For now, that's fine. But keep an eye on this the rest of the season and beyond. And if Waddell doesn't see anybody emerge who is worthy of the mantle, that might be his biggest target as this club's GM.

The Blue Jackets are 6-2-0 when Yegor Chinakhov plays. They're 1-4-0 when he's a healthy scratch. That's not on all on Chinakhov, of course, but it's interesting.

Put him in the lineup. Play him. Chinakhov looks like a 20-plus goal talent and a "plus" skater, which every club in the NHL could use, including Columbus.

Of all the options available in this scenario ...

... it feels as if the Blue Jackets, for now, are stuck on the third option.

I get that Dean Evason is looking for four lines he feels comfortable playing in any situation, and for a while -- a four-game winning streak that ended on Sunday -- it was hard to argue with the results. Chinakhov was in the lineup then, too, although in a fourth-line role.

More than the immediate impact Chinakhov could provide, it feels as if over time, the Blue Jackets are going to damage their asset. That's never a good thing, and this franchise has done it over and over.

The critiques listed above are in no way damning. The Blue Jackets are on the right path toward having a multi-year run of really good teams and playoff berths. The rebuild was painful and lengthy, but you've got a club now, Columbus.

I wondered what message was being sent from the front office to the dressing room this summer with the limited moves they made. The only significant changes were to the third and fourth lines, and so far Miles Wood and Charlie Coyle have been solid additions.

To me, that's why Evason has been intent on mixing up his defensive pairs and forward lines. He's wanted to avoid players coming into this season with a comfort level that their roles from last season are part of their contracts.

There's a long way to go and a lot of fascinating developments for the Blue Jackets, but this is a competitive, proud team with an interesting mix of veterans and young forwards, skill and grit -- and the goaltending has been better than anybody expected.

I still don't think they've found their gears yet. But it's coming.