• dangerous

• 14-6-3 instead of 10-10-3

• challenging Detroit in the Central Division standings

• higher than 10th in the Western Conference

• all of the above

"I haven't thought about that," Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock said. "I don't really think like that.

"It's steps. We've had some good things in place for a while now -- multiple chances, good traffic, good rotation with the puck. Those are in place. Now we have to finish the deal."

The Blue Jackets, who played very well Saturday in a 3-0 win over Washington, play host to the Vancouver Canucks at 7 tonight in Nationwide Arena.

Give the Blue Jackets credit for a consistently good performance during the past month. With rare exception, they have played very competitive hockey.

But it will be difficult for the Jackets to win consistently without at least a competent power play. (They went 6-4-3 in November).

After an 0-of-3 night on power plays Saturday, the Blue Jackets are just 2 of 49 in the past 10 games, dropping their NHL-worst power play to a woeful 9.9 percent.

Sustained over a full season -- shutter at the thought, Blue Jackets fans -- it would be the worst power play since the expansion Minnesota Wild had a 9.6 rate with the man advantage in 2000-01.

More math: If the Blue Jackets had the NHL's 15th-ranked power play (Ottawa, 18.6 percent), they would have scored 21 power-play goals by now, instead of 11 goals.

Those 10 extra goals would have come in handy. The Jackets are 3-6-0 in one-goal games this season.

"The difference between the group in our area -- sixth through 10th in the West -- and the teams that are way up there is pretty simple," Hitchcock said. "It's both ends of special teams (power play and penalty kill) and it's goaltending."

General manager Scott Howson would like to add a defenseman who can play the power play point, especially a right-hand shot.

But those players are hard to come by at this point of the season, and it's unclear what the Jackets would be willing to part with to swing such a trade.

Mase the man

Rookie goaltender Steve Mason will make his second straight start tonight against the Canucks.

He had a 26-save shutout in Saturday's 3-0 win over Washington, his second shutout in three starts. Six of the saves were against Caps winger Alex Ovechkin, widely regarded as the NHL's best player, snapping his 10-game point streak.

"The guys in front of me kept a lot of lanes open so I could see the shots," Mason said. "So a lot of credit goes to those guys.

"They shut down one of the best players in the game."

Still, the evidence is mounting that Mason is clearly the Blue Jackets' best goaltender. He is 5-2-1 with a .919 save percentage and a 2.09 goals-against average.

The others -- Pascal Leclaire, Fredrik Norrena and Dan Lacosta -- are a combined 5-8-2 with a .878 save percentage and 3.44 goals-against average.

"We have confidence in Pazzy and Freddy," Nash said. "With Mase, he's just playing so well right now. He hasn't had a bad game. He's so consistent, so big, he reminds me of (Roberto) Luongo.

"I don't think there's a better goalie in the league right now than Luongo, but that's who Mase reminds me of."

Slap shots

The Blue Jackets did not practice yesterday. Hitchcock indicated there will not be any lineup changes, including center R.J. Umberger skating on the No. 1 line. The Canucks come into the game on the heels of back-to-back losses to Calgary. Prior to that, Vancouver had taken a point in 10 straight games, going 8-0-2.

aportzline@dispatch.com