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BLUE JACKETS CLINCH PLAYOFF BERTH!!!

 

The CBJ became the second NHL team to clinch their spot in the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs.  Washington clinched last night and Columbus clinched tonight after a 4-1 win at New Jersey:  http://www.jacketscannon.com/2017/3/19/14975986/columbus-blue-jackets-top-new-jersey-devils-clinch-playoff-berth

 

This is the fourth win this week for the CBJ; MON: 5-3 at PHI; THURS: 2-1 vs FLA; SAT: 3-2 in OT at NYI; SUN: 4-1 at NJ.  The Jackets have won 7 of their last 8 games, 8-2-0 in their last 10 games, 13-3-1 in their last 16 games!

 

The Jackets still have 11 games remaining in the regular season and are in a three-way battle for #1 in the Metro Division / East Conference / entire NHL.  Columbus is tied with Washington at 100 points (but the Caps currently hold the tiebreaker) and are 1 point ahead of Pittsburgh:  https://www.nhl.com/standings

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  • Gramarye
    Gramarye

    Well, as someone who watched Cleveland come back from a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals and then fall from a 3-1 lead in the World Series, no series lead is safe.   But we just took two out of

  • Gramarye
    Gramarye

    Just posting here for the record to note I stayed up to watch that.   I'm tired just watching it.   Worth it.   'night all.

  • Columbo
    Columbo

Posted Images

:clap:

 

:drunk:

 

:mrgreen:

"You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers

Maybe an inevitable letdown after clinching the playoffs, but the CBJ dropped their next two games.  Though with the caveat that Wednesday's 5-2 loss to Toronto had Korpisalo in goal and the Thursday 2-1 loss at Washington was via shootout where Bob only allowed two goals - one in regulation and one in the SO to TJ Oshie (shootout specialist extraordinaire).

 

Bob followed that gem with a 36-save shutout win over Philadelphia on Saturday.  That slim 1-0 win kept the Jackets from losing a third straight match.  The CBJ are still the only NHL team this season to not lose three-in-a-row!

 

That shutout was Bobrovsky's 7th of the season.  He now leads the NHL in wins (40), goals-against-average (1.99) and save-percentage (.934).  He's been red-hot in March posting a 8-0-1 record with a .970 save percentage and 0.99 GAA.  With that, Bob is becoming the late season favorite for the Vezina Trophy.

 

That shootout loss at Washington didn't help, but the Jackets are still in the top team race.  Columbus stands 3 points behind the league-leading Caps and is tied with the Pens.  Only 8 games remaining for the CBJ, with 1 hosting Washington and 1 at Pittsburgh to go. 

The CBJ are in the midst of a 2-3-2 mini-slump following clinching a playoff berth on March 19.  The Jackets also lost their third game in a row for the first time this season on Sunday against the Caps.  That loss takes finishing 1st in the Metro Division off the table.

 

It looks likely the CBJ will slot into either the #2 or #3 divisional slot for the playoffs.  The Pens are one point ahead of the Jackets going into tomorrow's game at Pittsburgh.  A #2 finish would give the Jackets home-ice advantage facing the #3 team (Pens).  A #3 finish would give the Pens home-ice advantage facing the #3 team (Jackets).  Tuesday's game will go a long way to deciding this.

 

After Tuesday's game at Pittsburgh, the final three regular season games are hosting Winnipeg on Thursday, at Philly on Saturday, and at Toronto on Sunday.

INJURY AND ROSTER NEWS:

 

- Werenski left Sunday's game after a crunching hit in the third period from Ovi and is listed as day-to-day by the team. (See a gif of the hit at http://www.jacketscannon.com/2017/4/3/15157220/recap-losses)

 

- Sedlak is listed as week-to-week after leaving Friday's game at Chicago.

 

- Bjorkstrand is expected to return to practice today, but no word when he might return to the lineup. (UPDATE: He played in Tuesday's game at Pittsburgh.)

 

- Murray (broken hand) has been doing some skating with the team, but is questionable to return for the start of the playoffs next week.

 

Because of these injuries (and also probably due to the recent scoring slump) the team recalled 2014 first-round pick Sonny Milano from Cleveland.  The 20-year-old has been the Monsters leading scorer this season with 16 goals/27 assists/43 points in 59 games.  Milano is expected to start in Tuesday's game at Pittsburgh.

Welp, the CBJ lost Tuesday's game at Pittsburgh.  So it looks likely the Pens will get the #2 spot in the Metro and the #3 spot will go to the Jackets.

 

That loss also means the Jackets are riding a four-game losing streak - their longest of the season.  It puts more emphasis on tonight's final regular-season home game against Winnipeg.  The Jackets could use a win tonight to calm the fans and gain some confidence going into the playoffs.  Winnipeg has been eliminated from the playoffs and is on a 5-game winning streak.  But they've never been a consistent team this year, so who knows if Winnipeg really "brings it" tonight.

 

A nice story tonight is that Columbus-native Jack Roslovic - and 2015 1st-round pick for Winnipeg - will be making his NHL debut tonight in his hometown.  Classy move from Winnipeg:  https://www.nhl.com/jets/news/roslovic-to-make-nhl-debut-in-his-hometown/c-288470046

Pittsburgh won last night and Columbus lost - so the Pens and the CBJ are locked into the 2 and 3 spots in the Metro.

Really stumbling into the playoffs.  Hopefully they show up in Pittsburgh!

The Jackets broke their season-high 6-game losing streak with a win at Toronto last night.  Toronto had clinched a playoff spot the night before, but the Leafs still had something to play for.  If Toronto won (or got a point with a regulation tie) they would have faced 98-point Ottawa in the first round.  Toronto's loss means they'll face 118-point Washington in the first round instead.

 

The Leafs got the first two goals, but the Jackets got the next three (all in the second period) for a 3-2 win.  For believers in momentum, a nice win to finish the best season in CBJ history (50-24-8, 108 points).  But even if you don't believe in momentum, it looks good to break that losing streak and to get win #50.

So its playoff time again for the Blue Jackets!  OK, its only the third time in the playoffs for the franchise, and the first time since 2014.  But this has been the best season in CBJ history.  With 50 wins and 108 points, the Jackets finished 3rd in the Metro and the Eastern Conference (behind Washington & Pittsburgh) and finished 4th-overall in the entire NHL!

 

So the Jackets reward for this outstanding season is . . . facing Pittsburgh in the opening round - the second-best team in the NHL this season and the defending Stanley Cup Champions!!!

 

Because of the weird NHL playoff rules, the 2nd & 3rd best teams in the East will face each other in the opening round.  If they used a 1 thru 8 seeding, #3 Columbus would face #6 Ottawa and #2 Pittsburgh would face #7 Boston.  But the NHL has the second and third place divisional finishers face off in the first round instead.  So it's a rematch of 2014.  Here's the series schedule:

 

Game 1: Wednesday, April 12, 2017 - 7:30 EST @ Pittsburgh Penguins (USA)

Game 2: Friday, April 14, 2017 - 7:00 EST @ Pittsburgh Penguins (NHLNetwork)

Game 3: Sunday, April 16, 2017 - 6:00 EST vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (CNBC)

Game 4: Tuesday, April 18, 2017 - 7:30 EST vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (CNBC)

Game 5 (if needed): Thursday, April 20, 2017 - Time and TV TBD @ Pittsburgh Penguins

Game 6 (if needed): Saturday, April 22, 2017 - Time and TV TBD vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

Game 7 (if needed): Monday, April 24, 2017 - Time and TV TBD @ Pittsburgh Penguins

 

(All games also broadcast on Fox Sports Ohio in the FSO viewing area.)

33954409496_045b6617e2_o_d.png

 

LET'S GET IT ON!!!  First game is tonight at Pittsburgh.  On paper, the Pens and Jackets are pretty even in most season stats and they split their four-game season series.  But of course it must also be pointed out that Pittsburgh has won two Stanley Cups since 2009, while the Blue Jackets have won two playoff games since 2009!

 

Still, this has been the best season in CBJ history and they did finish 4th-best in the entire league.  So an upset over the defending Stanley Cup champs would not be shocking.

 

Columbus is expecting phenom rookie d-man Zach Werenski to return after missing the final four games of the regular season.  Murray and Sedlak are expected to be out for this series.  Pittsburgh will be without their best offensive d-man, Kris Letang, after he had season-ending spinal surgery this month.  Forwards Carl Hagelin and Chris Kunitz are questionable for the series.  But superstar center Evgeni Malkin is expected to return after missing the final 13 games of the regular season.

 

http://www.jacketscannon.com/2017/4/11/15247004/2017-stanley-cup-playoffs-columbus-blue-jackets-storylines-to-watch-for

That 1st period last night was so encouraging, but then... Such a shame to have the season end this way.  :-(

RIP Blue Jackets 2017 season i think

Not getting swept is pretty great, and getting at least one final win at home - even if we lose the next one. Fun fact that last night was CBJ's first-ever regulation playoff victory!

  • 1 month later...

 

CBJ sending 2nd round pick to Vancouver as part of signing John Tortorella - the archaic NHL rule was ended months after CBJ signed Torts, who was still technically under contract with Vancouver at the time he came to Columbus (even though Vancouver fired him).  Ridiculous.

Very Stable Genius

  • 3 weeks later...

The NHL off-season is starting to heat up with deals and rumors of deals.  The moves this off-season will be complicated by the Vegas expansion draft.  By 5PM today, teams must submit their protected players list.  At 10AM tomorrow the lists will be made public.

 

Then, Vegas has until 10AM on Wednesday, June 21 to make their selections from the unprotected players on each team and also sign unrestricted free agents or unprotected restricted free agents.  Vegas will also make many side-deals to not select certain unprotected players on various teams.  (For instance, it has been rumored that the CBJ has made a deal with Vegas to not select Josh Anderson)  The public announcement of the Vegas expansion selections will be later Wednesday during the NHL Awards Show, which starts at 8 PM EST in Las Vegas.

 

Then, the NHL Entry Draft will be on Friday, June 23 and Saturday, June 24.

 

https://www.jacketscannon.com/2017/6/16/15797378/nhl-calendar-upcoming-dates-to-know

And speaking of the NHL Awards show.  Multiple Blue Jackets are up for awards:

 

- Sergei Bobrovsky is nominated for the Vezina Trophy (Best Goaltender)

 

- Zach Werenski is nominated for the Calder Trophy (Best Rookie)

 

- Nick Foligno is nominated for the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award

 

- Coach John Tortorella is nominated for the Jack Adams Award (Coach of the Year)

 

Nick Foligno and Zach Werenski have been making the press rounds this week in advance of the NHL Awards Show.  During their press rounds, they both received that wonderfully creepy "Zach's Broken Face" t-shirt:  https://www.1stohiobattery.com/columbus-blue-jackets-news/2017/06/561/nick-foligno-and-zach-werenski-do-press-all-over-town-in-advance-of-nhl-awards

 

35362123195_2fbf3fd212_o_d.png

 

BTW, Werenski's face is looking alot better and he is now medically cleared for off-season training.

The NHL has revealed the protected/available players list for the Vegas expansion draft.  Here's the CBJ list:

 

http://nhl.nbcsports.com/2017/06/18/nhl-reveals-all-30-teams-available-protected-players-for-expansion-draft/

 

Protected

Cam Atkinson (F)

Brandon Dubinsky (F)

Nick Foligno (F)

Scott Hartnell (F)

Boone Jenner (F)

Brandon Saad (F)

Alexander Wennberg (F)

Seth Jones (D)

Ryan Murray (D)

David Savard (D)

Sergei Bobrovsky (G)

 

Available

Josh Anderson (F)

Alex Broadhurst (F)

Matt Calvert (F)

Zac Dalpe (F)

Sam Gagner (F)

Brett Gallant (F)

William Karlsson (F)

Lauri Korpikoski (F)

Lukas Sedlak (F)

T.J. Tynan (F)

Daniel Zaar (F)

Marc-Andre Bergeron (D)

Scott Harrington (D)

Jack Johnson (D)

Kyle Quincey (D)

John Ramage (D)

Jaime Sifers (D)

Ryan Stanton (D)

Oscar Dansk (G)

Anton Forsberg (G)

Joonas Korpisalo (G)

Signs are pointing to William Karlsson being selected by the Vegas Golden Knights.  Official roster will be revealed tonight.

Very Stable Genius

Lars William Karlsson was selected by the Vegas Golden Knights yesterday.

 

The Blue Jackets paid a steep price to protect unprotected players Josh Anderson, Jack Johnson, and Joonas Korpisalo.  Columbus sent this year's 1st round pick (24th overall), a 2019 2nd round pick, and David Clarkson (who is "retired" more or less for the remainder of his contract) to "steer" Vegas towards Karlsson or Matt Calvert.

Very Stable Genius

Lars William Karlsson was selected by the Vegas Golden Knights yesterday.

 

The Blue Jackets paid a steep price to protect unprotected players Josh Anderson, Jack Johnson, and Joonas Korpisalo.  Columbus sent this year's 1st round pick (24th overall), a 2019 2nd round pick, and David Clarkson (who is "retired" more or less for the remainder of his contract) to "steer" Vegas towards Karlsson or Matt Calvert.

 

Definitely a steep price to protect those players.  But it was in line with what the Islanders and Jets paid Vegas for similar deals.  Plus getting Clarkson's $5.25 million cap hit off the books is huge going forward.  Would have preferred Calvert go to Vegas instead of "Wild Bill".  But I'm otherwise okay with this.

Last night was a big night for winning awards by the CBJ:

 

- Coach John Tortorella wins the Jack Adams Award (Coach of the Year)

 

- Nick Foligno wins the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award

 

- Sergei Bobrovsky wins the Vezina Trophy (Best Goaltender)

 

(Plus, it was really fun seeing how much Bob looks like his father!)

 

34661685513_5b0483ddba_z_d.jpg

That Saad-for-Panarin deal really came as a surprise.  I'm hopeful this will be a good deal for the CBJ.  If Saad was at the "very good" level, Panarin is at the "great" level.  For the same $6 million cap hit, we traded a 50-55 point player in Saad for a 75-point player in Panarin.

 

The only downside is that Saad's contract expires in four seasons (2021), whereas Panarin's contract expires in two seasons (2019).  And that was the reason Chicago made the trade.  The Blackhawks have their big contracts tied up in Kane and Toews until 2023 and won't be able to afford Panarin when his price goes up in two seasons.  The Saad contract gives them control of a productive player for longer.  They made a similar trade on the defensive side yesterday as well:  https://capfriendly.com/teams/blackhawks

 

Columbus doesn't have the same cap problem as Chicago.  Plus, we really could use an elite-level scorer to elevate our lineup.  The risk is that Panarin could walk after two seasons if someone outbids Columbus.  And Bobrovsky's contract expires in two seasons as well, which is another big price to pay.  So there could be a reckoning for the team in 2019:  https://capfriendly.com/teams/bluejackets

 

But in the short-term, there's nothing not to love about acquiring Panarin.  He'll make the offense better and allow Columbus to keep up with Pittsburgh and all the other top Eastern teams over the next two seasons.  And if he and Bob prove they're worth the money, I think the front office will find a way to keep one or both of them after 2019.

Columbus traded away their 1st-round pick to Vegas in the expansion draft and lost their 2nd-round pick to Vancouver as league-mandated compensation for hiring Torts.  So it looked like a long wait for the Jackets to make their first pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft with the 86th overall spot in the 3rd-round.

 

But the CBJ moved back into the 2nd-round with another trade with Vegas.  They traded 20-year-old 6'2"-223 RW prospect Keegan Kolesar to Vegas for the 45th overall spot in the 2nd-round.  Kolesar was drafted by the Jackets in 2015 69th overall in the 3rd-round.  Since then Kolesar has had two very good seasons for Seattle in the WHL Junior League and helped lead them to the WHL Championship this season.

 

With the newly acquired 45th overall pick, the Jackets went a bit off-the-board and choose a French center, Alexandre Texier.  France is not known as a hotbed of NHL-level talent.  But the CBJ scouts felt that they found an undervalued player that had a higher upside than Kolesar.  Time will tell if they were right.

 

One of the 6th-round picks was of local interest when Columbus-area prospect Carson Meyer was selected at 179th overall.  Meyer played RW for Miami University last season and will be a sophomore next season for the RedHawks.

 

CBJ 2017 ENTRY DRAFT RECAP:

https://www.1stohiobattery.com/columbus-blue-jackets-news/2017/06/630/columbus-blue-jackets-extend-qualifying-offers-to-wennberg-anderson-zaar-and-schroeder-dont-offer-yevenko-and

 

Pending RFA's Wennberg and Anderson were extended qualifying offers to retain their negotiating rights.  Both are likely to sign multi-year deals with the team.  Jordan Schroeder is a forward acquired from Minnesota in a minor-league player swap the same day as the Saad-for-Panarin deal.  Zaar will be playing in Sweden next season, but this qualifying offer retains his rights.

 

Gigantic free-agent Russian defensive enforcer Yevenko and washout 2012 31st-overall pick Swedish goaltender Dansk were not extended offers.

 

https://www.1stohiobattery.com/columbus-blue-jackets-news/2017/06/626/blue-jackets-2015-draft-pick-vladislav-gavrikov-signs-two-year-deal-with-new-russian-club

 

One player the Jackets were hoping to add to next season's roster was Russian defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov.  Since the Jackets drafted him in the 6th-round of 2015, Gavrikov has blossomed into a top defender in the KHL.  The Jackets were hoping to persuade the 21-year-old to make the jump to the NHL next season.  However, he announced that he signed a two-year deal to stay in the KHL instead.

On Saturday's opening of free-agency, the Jackets signed two veteran defensemen on two-way deals to serve as AHL players and NHL injury call-ups:

 

- https://www.1stohiobattery.com/columbus-blue-jackets-news/2017/07/652/columbus-blue-jackets-sign-veteran-defenseman-andre-benoit-to-a-one-year-two-way-contract

 

- https://www.1stohiobattery.com/columbus-blue-jackets-news/2017/07/650/columbus-blue-jackets-sign-free-agent-defenseman-cameron-gaunce-to-a-two-year-contract

But the bigger rumored deal of the day never materialized.  The CBJ were reported to be trying to acquire 26-year-old, two-time All-Star center Matt Duchene from Colorado.  Columbus was reported to be offering former #2 overall pick 23-year-old defenseman Ryan Murray plus either a future #1st-round pick and a prospect, or another position player for Duchene:

 

https://www.1stohiobattery.com/columbus-blue-jackets-news/2017/06/645/columbus-blue-jackets-have-a-trade-offer-on-the-table-for-center-matt-duchene-per-report

 

http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20170702/blue-jackets-try-to-work-out-deal-for-matt-duchene

Update on the Duchene trade situation from today's Dispatch - CBJ "won't go crazy" or rush to make a trade:

 

http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20170702/blue-jackets--gm-kekalainen-says-he-wont-go-crazy-rush-to-make-trade

 

The Blue Jackets have by no means closed the door on making trades or signing free agents.  But general manager Jarmo Kekalainen signaled Sunday that he would have no problem carrying his current roster into the 2017-18 season.

 

That’s another way to say Kekalainen won’t gut his roster of young talent to land center Matthew Duchene via trade from the Colorado Avalanche, and he isn’t going to break the bank to land a big-name free agent.

 

“We have until the (trade) deadline next spring,” Kekalainen told The Dispatch. “We’re always trying to improve our team, but we’ve always said we’re not going to go crazy and mortgage the future to try and get a short-term fix. We feel like our window is just starting to crack open. We’re a young team. We don’t see any reason to try and go crazy. We don’t want to be kicking ourselves two or three years from now.”

  • 4 weeks later...

The NHL's U.S. national broadcast schedule for the upcoming season has been released.  If you thought that the Blue Jackets breakout season and high hopes for next season meant that you'd see more than one national broadcast for the CBJ in 2017-18, please let NBC/NBCSN disabuse you of that notion:

 

https://www.1stohiobattery.com/columbus-blue-jackets-news/2017/07/788/the-columbus-blue-jackets-will-make-one-1-appearance-on-nbcs-national-tv-broadcasts-in-2017-18

 

Fortunately, things are looking up at the local level.  Local ratings on FSO reached record highs last season.  They sold out 11 of their final 26 regular-season home games.  And the front office says they have already passed the 10,000 season ticket holder mark for next season (an increase of 1000 from last season):

 

http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20170729/blue-jackets--big-season-boosts-ticket-sales-sponsorships

 

https://www.1stohiobattery.com/columbus-blue-jackets-news/2017/07/787/columbus-blue-jackets-season-ticket-numbers-swell-to-over-10000-tickets

Blue Jackets tapping BrewDog beer in multi-year deal

 

brewdog-bless-america.png?w=738

 

The Columbus Blue Jackets’ newest acquisition is more craft beer.

 

The team Wednesday announced a multi-year partnership with Canal Winchester-based BrewDog USA Inc., which will put the Scottish brewery’s craft brews on tap at two mobile stations within Nationwide Arena during hockey games and special events at the facility.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/08/02/blue-jackets-tapping-brewdog-beer-in-multi-year.html

"You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers

It seems a little early for a 2017-18 CBJ Season Preview with the start of training camp still about a month away.  But the Blue Jackets are today's NHL.com team-of-the-day.  And they've got a bunch of CBJ articles posted there.  So enjoy:

 

https://www.nhl.com/news/2017-18-columbus-blue-jackets-season-preview/c-290604070?tid=290471364

 

https://www.nhl.com/news/2017-18-blue-jackets-fantasy-hockey-preview/c-290598790?tid=290471364

 

https://www.nhl.com/news/2017-18-blue-jackets-numbers-stats-analysis/c-290609358?tid=290471364

 

https://www.nhl.com/news/columbus-blue-jackets-prospect-watch/c-290604074?tid=290471364

 

https://www.nhl.com/news/2017-18-blue-jackets-breakdown-key-factors/c-290604052?tid=290471364

  • 4 weeks later...

It's now about two weeks until the start of training camp.  Barring a Duchene trade (which seems unlikely) the Jackets had two roster deals they need to make going into this season: (1) Re-sign RFA center Alexander Wennberg; (2) Re-sign RFA forward Josh Anderson.

 

Now they have only one roster deal they need to make!  Columbus just signed the 22-year-old Wennberg to a new six-year, $29.4 million contract:

 

http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20170901/blue-jackets-wennberg-signs-six-year-294-million-contract

 

https://www.jacketscannon.com/2017/9/1/16244356/columbus-blue-jackets-lock-up-alexander-wennberg-with-new-contract

^It's a hell of a steal for a center who looks to be a 60+ point guy through his prime.

Very Stable Genius

  • 4 weeks later...

After sitting out training camp and having his agent threaten all manner of unpleasantness (i.e. holding out into the regular season, playing in Europe) RFA forward Josh Anderson is signing a three-year deal with the CBJ.  And at an AAV of $1.85-million, its a good deal for the team:

 

https://www.jacketscannon.com/2017/10/2/16406990/reports-josh-anderson-to-sign-with-columbus-blue-jackets-after-all

 

http://nhl.nbcsports.com/2017/10/02/report-blue-jackets-anderson-agree-to-terms-on-three-year-deal/

36864680353_4fb81a1ddb_o_d.png

 

It's time for the 2017-18 season to start!!!  The CBJ regular-season begins tonight at Nationwide Arena against the NY Islanders and continues tomorrow at Chicago.

 

Jackets fans (and most analysts) have high hopes for this season.  Last season saw franchise records in wins (50) and points (108).  They finished 3rd in the super-tough Metro Division, which was good enough for 4th-overall in the Eastern Conference (both franchise highs).  Unfortunately, because of the way the NHL playoff slots are allotted, the Jackets faced the 2nd-overall finisher Pittsburgh Penguins and got bounced in the opening round to the eventual Stanley Cup winner.

 

With a strong returning roster, the Jackets are looking to build upon last season's playoff appearance and record-setting regular-season.  This was the third ever playoff appearance by the CBJ.  The last two times the Jackets made the playoffs - 2009 and 2014 - were followed by harsh regression seasons.  After the 2009 appearance, the Jackets failed to reach the playoffs the next four seasons, bottoming out in 2012.  After the 2014 appearance, the Jackets missed the playoffs the next two seasons, bottoming out in 2016 before last season's strong 2016-17 rebound.

 

So some fans might be forgiven for wondering if this time is different.  But at the risk of using that phrase, if does appear that "this time its different".  This season's team roster is as strong, and possibly stronger, as last season's.  They've got a two-time Vezina-winning goaltender back in the net, a strong offense with combination of veterans and young talent, and a strong defense with veterans and young talent.  CBJ management has built a well-balanced roster to give to the experienced but fiery Coach Tortorella.

 

One never knows how injuries and the competition will affect the upcoming season.  But all the trendlines are heading in the right direction for the CBJ.  As one hockey analyst put it - "The window is opening for Columbus, and I don't know when it closes"!

2017-18 CBJ ROSTER PREVIEW:

 

https://www.nhl.com/bluejackets/news/columbus-blue-jackets-opening-night-roster-2017/c-291537722

 

https://www.jacketscannon.com/2017/10/5/16425232/this-columbus-blue-jackets-roster-has-changed-and-thats-a-good-thing-embrace-change

 

First Line:  Artemi Panarin - Alexander Wennberg - Cam Atkinson

 

Panarin is a young star that the CBJ acquired from Chicago for Saad.  He will join Wennberg, who broke out with 46 assists last season, and Cam, who had a career-high 35 goals last season.  This line should be a legit top scoring line that top teams need.  They've looked dangerous during the preseason games and seem to have good chemistry together.  The better this line is, the better the team will be.

 

Second Line:  Sonny Milano - Nick Foligno - Oliver Bjorkstrand

 

This line is a bit of a surprise.  Foligno is not a natural center (although he did play some there last season and looked fine).  But because a Duchene trade couldn't be swung with Colorado, and because Boone Jenner is injured to start this season, Foligno will get a shot at the 2C to begin the season.  Another surprise is having two youngsters - 22-year-old Bjorkstrand and 21-year-old Milano - paired with the team captain.  But both youngsters are uber-talented and have earned their spots - Bjorkstrand last season at Cleveland and with the CBJ later, Milano at Cleveland and during this preseason.

 

Third Line:  Pierre-Luc Dubois - Brandon Dubinsky - Matt Calvert/Josh Anderson

 

Dubinsky, last season's 2C, has been dropped to the 3C.  Which is probably a better fit for a his physical shutdown style of play.  Dubi played in the final preseason game after sitting out the rest of the pre- games due to off-season wrist surgery recovery.  It's very possible that Dubi's late-season fade last year was due to this injured wrist - and he could be in for a rebound year. -- 19-year-old PLD is the 2016 1st-round, 3rd-overall pick that the CBJ are grooming to be the future 2C.  He's not quite ready for that now.  However, he is a big bodied player who has looked comfortable at the wing during the preseason.  -- Eventually, Josh Anderson will fill out at RW on this line.  But he's starting this season on a conditioning assignment with Cleveland because of his contract holdout of training camp.  Matty Ice will fill in until then. -- After Josh's return, this line will be fearsomely huge with PLD (6'3"-202), Dubi (6'2"-210) and Anderson (6'3"-220).

 

Fourth Line:  Matt Calvert/Zac Dalpe - Lukas Sedlak - Markus Hannikainen

 

This might be the one weakness of the offensive side, depth.  This is a classic fourth line of hustlers and grinders.  So you won't see much scoring here.  24-year-old Sedlak had a strong year at 4C in his first NHL season last year.  Calvert filled out the fourth line much of last season as well.  Hannikainen was an injury-replacement or 13th-forward for most of last season.  Zac Dalpe is a 27-year-old waiver wire pickup from late last season that impressed during the training camp enough to earn a spot as this season's extra-forward.

 

Defense:

Zach Werenski - Seth Jones

Jack Johnson - David Savard

Ryan Murray - Gabriel Carlsson

Scott Harrington - Markus Nutivaara

 

Very little change from last season's defensive lineup.  And that's good:

-

- 23-year-old Jones has looked every bit the all-around top-line d-man the Jackets hoped they'd be getting from Nashville in the Johansen trade two seasons ago.

- 19-year-old Werenski had a phenomenal rookie season and looks like a superstar-in-the-making.  Paired with Jones, they are a legit top-line d-pair.

- Veterans Johnson and Savard paired to be formidable second d-line and hope to continue that this season.

- Former 1st-round pick Murray and Nutivaara were the 3rd-line pairing for much of last season.  20-year-old rookie Carlsson broke into that pairing late last season after Nutivaara was injured.  It looks like Carlsson is getting the first look on the bottom-pairing with Murray to start this season.

- Harrington will be an extra roster d-man.  Nutivaara was sent to Cleveland to begin this season, but will likely see some NHL roster time as a injury replacement call-up.

 

Goalies:

Sergei Bobrovsky

Joonas Korpisalo

 

Not much needs to be said here.  Two-time Vezina-winning goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (aka Bob) will lead the way and get the vast majority of the starts, if everything goes well.  It's not quite Bob or bust this season though, as promising 23-year-old goalie Korpisalo has taken over the backup spot.  Korpi has looked quite good at times and should be able to keep Bob from being overworked during the regular season.

Sure it's just opening night and there's still 81 games to go in the regular season -- but MY OH MY, what a dominating 5-0 win last night over the Islanders:

 

https://www.jacketscannon.com/2017/10/7/16440170/blue-jackets-open-the-season-with-a-big-win-over-the-islanders

 

https://www.1stohiobattery.com/columbus-blue-jackets-news/2017/10/1072/gifs-of-the-game-blue-jackets-steamroll-islanders-in-opening-night-win

 

CBJ goes up 1-0 only 1:07 into the first period; is up 2-0 at the first intermission; and is up 5-0 at the second intermission!

-

- The five goals were scored by five different players

- Milano scored his first NHL goal

- PLD scored his first NHL goal in his NHL debut

- Panarin gets 3 assists

- Wennberg gets 2 assists

- Bob gets a 29-save shutout and sets the franchise-record for most shutouts

The CBJ won't be going undefeated this season:  https://www.jacketscannon.com/2017/10/8/16442880/recap-cant-win-em-all-chicago-blackhawks-beat-columbus-blue-jackets-fml

 

Fairly ugly 5-1 loss last night in Chicago.  But a few points to consider:

-

- CBJ were on the road in the second leg of back-to-back games, while the Blackhawks played two nights previous.

- The defending Stanley Cup champion Penguins got blitzed 10-1 against these same Blackhawks when the Pens were on the same road leg of back-to-back games as the Jackets were last night.

- Chicago was playing their primary goalie Corey Crawford while Columbus turned to backup Joonas Korpisalo for this game because of the back-to-back nights.

 

Blue Jackets look to rebound on Tuesday at Carolina.  Then a Friday home game at Nationwide against the New York Rangers.  Then a quick Minnesota-Manitoba road swing featuring games at Minnesota on Saturday and at Winnipeg on the following Tuesday.  (Another Saturday road game for the second leg of back-to-back games again?  So the NHL couldn't schedule a Sunday or Monday game for Minny since the CBJ would be in the area until Tuesday for the Winnipeg game? ... just sayin)

Nice rebound win in Carolina last night with a 2-1 OT victory - or to recap: It’s Always Sonny in Columbus

 

21-year-old rookie Sonny Milano has scored in all three of the Jackets games to start this season.  But he saved his best for last night at Carolina.  Milano scored the only CBJ goal in regulation, and then scored the GWG in final minute of OT!  After the Jackets killed off an overtime penalty, it was a wild 3-on-3 finish that saw Carolina miss on a 3-on-1 rush that then led to Milano's breakaway game-winner:

 

  • 4 weeks later...

October month in review:  https://www.jacketscannon.com/2017/11/1/16588838/october-month-in-review-columbus-blue-jackets-milano-panarin-werenski-jones-wennberg-power-play 

 

 

It's been a very good start for the CBJ.  This 8-4-0 start is the best ever October for the franchise.  (Which shows the troubles that past CBJ teams have had with slow starts.)  This October record is also good enough to be only one point out of first in the Metro Division.

But the Jackets still have room for improvement.  Starting with a power play that is powerless.  The CBJ power play currently sits 31st in the league.  (And for those of you in the know, the NHL currently has 31 teams!)  Also, 4 of those 8 wins came via OT (3) or SO (1).  Which could either indicate clutch play or good luck.

 

But on the positive side, the defense and penalty kill are both sixth in the league.  5-on-5 play has been good.  And some of the star talent (like Bobrosky, Panarin and Wennberg) has only been good but not great yet.  Scoring in depth has carried the team so far.  The defensive side has been rock-solid from the top pairing of Jones and Werenski to the middle pairing of Savard and Johnson to even the much maligned Murray.

 

The Jackets start November with a pair of Sunshine State road games at Florida tonight and at Tampa Bay on Saturday.

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