Florida goal-a-rama, part 2:  Jackets match the high-flying Lightning in regulation and OT, but fall in the shootout

 

https://www.jacketscannon.com/2017/11/4/16608126/recap-columbus-blue-jackets-steal-point-lose-5-4-in-so-tampa-bay-lightning

Sure its still real early in the season - but the CBJ are 9-4-1 and tied for 1st in points in the Metro with NJ.  Only Tampa Bay has more points in the East.

 

Injuries are starting to pile up.  Sedlak will likely be out another four weeks with an ankle injury; Cam Atkinson suffered a lower body injury a week ago and was placed on the IR today; Calvert suffered an upper body injury on a crunching 3rd period hit in the TB game and is day-to-day.  --  The Jackets won't be getting any help via a Matt Duchene trade either.  Colorado finally traded Duchene to Ottawa via a three-team deal that also involved Nashville.  The Avs got three prospects and three draft picks from the other two teams in the trade.

 

Columbus plays the Rangers at MSG tonight and Nashville back at NWA on Tuesday.  Then a Friday home game against Carolina and a Saturday road game against the Red Wings (where we get to see Detroit's brand new Little Caesars Arena).

If a team loses 3 key penalty killers like Sedlak, Calvert and Atkinson, and then commits 3 third-period penalties against the Rangers, that might be a problem.  It was.  All 3 of those third-period penalties got converted into power-play goals and sunk the CBJ in MSG last night.

 

Injury updates:  Calvert was added to the IR for his upper body injury and is out for 3-4 weeks.  Atkinson is still on the IR but is now listed as day-to-day and might be close to returning.  Rookie d-man Gabriel Carlsson was taken off the IR.

Going into last night's tilt at Detroit, the CBJ had lost three straight games by one goal plus an empty netter.  Those three losses plus a SO loss at TB gave the Jackets a four-game losing streak (0-3-1).  Not exactly the worst losing streak ever, but the worst of this young season.

 

The powerlessness of the CBJ power-play has seemingly infected the rest of the offense.  Goals have been hard to come by lately.  And at Detroit last night, the goals were also hard to come by.  A nifty Bjorkstrand to Panarin goal 1:07 into the game was the Jackets only goal in 60 minutes of regulation time.  Fortunately, Bob was stellar last night, shutting out the Red Wings until a tying goal in the third period.  --  A thrilling but scoreless 3-on-3 OT (where Bob made a couple dazzling game-saving saves) led to a shootout.  --  The shootout lasted nine rounds(!) before Jack Johnson got the game-winner on a sweet move against Wings goalie Jimmy Howard.

 

The Jackets needed "a win in the worst way" and they literally got it last night at Detroit, despite their offensive struggles.  The win puts the CBJ at 10-7-1, which is good enough for 2nd in the Metro and 4th in the East.  Next week is light with only a Tuesday game at Montreal and a Friday game back in C-BUS against the Rangers.

The CBJ won their second straight game in almost identical fashion.  Tuesday night's win at Montreal followed the pattern of Saturday's win at Detroit.  In Montreal, the Jackets scored early - 2:29 into the first on an Anderson goal - then hung on with a 1-0 lead most of the game, until surrendering a tying goal in the third period.

 

The only difference between the win at Detroit and the win at Montreal last night was that the CBJ didn't wait until a shootout.  The Jackets won it only 1:09 into OT on a sweet pass from Atkinson to Werenski that the 20-year-old phenom buried in the back of the net.  Below are a couple of links that show highlights from both games:

 

DETROIT:  https://www.1stohiobattery.com/columbus-blue-jackets-news/2017/11/1293/holy-bob-sergei-bobrovsky-makes-save-of-the-year-blue-jackets-win-in-overtime

 

MONTREAL:  https://www.1stohiobattery.com/columbus-blue-jackets-news/2017/11/1312/zach-werenskis-overtime-goal-sergei-bobrovskys-heroics-push-columbus-to-a-2-1-win-over-montreal

 

As good as having a two-game winning streak (and breaking that four-game losing streak of 0-3-1), the Jackets early season issues were on display in these two wins.  The power-play is still powerless, they needed Bob to make some superhuman saves, and they only scored one goal in regulation of both games.  Great to get those wins - but the way they won is unsustainable over the long run.

The CBJ have broken out of an early November losing streak of 0-3-1 to go on a six-game winning streak:

 

-- 2-1 SO win at Detroit

-- 2-1 OT win at Montreal

-- 2-0 win vs NY Rangers

-- 3-2 win at Buffalo

-- 1-0 OT win vs Calgary

-- 5-2 win vs Ottawa

 

Although goals have still been hard to come by in most of those 6 games, the Jackets have been riding a good defense and a vezina-hot Bob during this winning streak.  No opponent has more than 2 goals during the streak and two were shut-outs (including a scoreless regulation game against Calgary last week that the CBJ won in OT).

 

Some signs of offense are starting to emerge.  The Jackets got a power-play goal in the Rangers win.  Panarin got 3 goals in 4 games during this streak.  And Atkinson got 2 goals in the Ottawa win.

And speaking of Atkinson, the team signed Cam to a seven-year contract extension:  https://www.jacketscannon.com/2017/11/16/16668686/cam-atkinson-signs-contract-extension

 

Atkinson was going to be a UFA at the end of this season.  With the seven-year extension, the 28-year-old right winger is under contract until 2024-25.  The seven-year extension is for $41.125 million with an AAV/cap hit of $5.875 million.  The new contract makes Atkinson the third highest paid player (behind Bobrovsky and Panarin) and the second highest paid skater (behind Panarin at $6.0mil and slightly ahead of Dubinsky at $5.850mil).

 

Can't argue with keeping Cam.  In his first four full seasons he's progressed in goals from 21 to 22 to 27 to 35 last season, and progressed in points from 40 to 62 last season.  At 28, the 7-year term is kinda troubling.  But with this being his big UFA contract in his prime, sometimes a team needs to add a year or two to buy down the AAV/cap hit - which is reasonable based on his past numbers.  If Atkinson stays healthy (crosses fingers) then this contract should not burden the team.

 

All in all, not bad for a 6th-round pick!

The CBJ finished November winning 7 of their last 8 games for the month and at the top of the Metro Division:

 

https://www.jacketscannon.com/2017/11/30/16717758/november-2017-month-in-review-columbus-blue-jackets

To start December, the Jackets won their first game, dropped the next two, then won the past two games to start this week at the top of the Metro Division again.  So far this season, the success of the CBJ has the defense.  Columbus has allowed the least goals of any Eastern Conference team.  The 5-on-5 offense has been near the top of the league.  The power play remains dead last in the league, but is showing some signs of life with a few PP goals in recent games.  Balancing out the power-play numbers are the penalty kill numbers, which is tied for 3rd in the league (as of this posting).

 

Offensively, the younger players and scoring in depth are the bright spots.  Second-year starter Josh Anderson leads the team with 11 goals.  Anderson has worked his way into the top line with Artemi Panarin and rookie center Pierre-Luc Dubois, the big surprise of the season so far.  Panarin leads the team with 26 points (7G-19A) and had a dazzling 5 assist game over the weekend.

 

Zach Werenski leads CBJ defensemen with 9 goals.  His linemate Seth Jones leads defenseman with 12 assists.  In the net, Bob has been at the top of his game most nights and Korpi has proven an adequate backup.  Overall the team defense in depth has been very encouraging.  Just look at tonight's opponent Edmonton for why.  Edmonton made the Western playoffs last season and came into 2016-17 with high expectations.  But the Oilers are second-to-last in their division with a 12-16-2 record.

 

The Jackets are first in their division with a 19-10-1 record.  Both the Jackets and Oilers have scored 86 goals in their 30 games going into tonight's match.  The defensive difference?  The Oilers have given up 99 goals, while the Jackets only 73.

 

So the CBJ are in very good shape at the top of the Metro.  But there is a feeling that the CBJ are still not playing at the top of their game yet.  Particularly on the offensive side, and from the veteran players.  The Panarin pickup has been a big win.  But other vets, like Dubinsky, Wennberg, Foligno, Jenner and Atkinson need to step it up scoring-wise.  Especially Atkinson, who has led the CBJ in goals over the past two seasons and sits at only 6 goals in 25 games this season.  Coach Torts sat Atkinson as a healthy scratch during their Saturday game as a "season reset" for him.

 

The positive aspect of this is that the CBJ aren't satisfied, despite leading the Metro.  And they probably shouldn't be since only 5 points separates 1st-place from 5th-place.  But if the veterans offense and the power-play start contributing to everything else that's going right, then watch out for the CBJ!

^ I guess I should be glad I got that recap done before last night's game.  Because that was a real off-night for the CBJ!

 

That ugly game got even uglier at the very end, when Dubinsky got into a fight in the final minutes.  That fight ended when Dubi got punched in the right eye and went down fast.  We learned today that he suffered a broken orbital bone and will be out for 6-8 weeks(!)

Good response game from the CBJ last night after Tuesday's 7-2 thumping.  6-4 win against a Metro rival to remain first in the division as well:

 

https://www.nhl.com/news/new-york-islanders-columbus-blue-jackets-game-recap/c-294026024

Tough 2-1 loss at Carolina on Saturday drops the CBJ to third in the Metro (tied for second in points w/ NJ with one extra game played).  Wow, the Metro Division is a rough division to be in this season.  Columbus is only two points above the playoff line - NY Rangers and NY Islanders at 39 points in 4th/5th place, and the back-to-back defending Stanley Cup champs Penguins are two points below the playoff line with 37 points.

 

If Columbus or anyone of NYR, NYI & PIT were in the Atlantic Division, they would all be above the Atlantic's third-place playoff eligible team Boston at 35 points.  It looks like its going to be one of those seasons for the Metro Division:  https://www.nhl.com/standings

Busy week for the CBJ up to Christmas Day next Monday:

 

- Tonight's game at Boston

- Wednesday hosting Toronto

- Thursday at Pittsburgh

- Saturday hosting Philadelphia

Well, the CBJ are in the thick of the season now.  Bad loss at Boston on Monday, then an encouraging win over Toronto on Wednesday.  Followed by the first regular-season game against divisional rivals Pittsburgh on Thursday.  This was also the first regular-season meeting against Pittsburgh since the hard-fought 2017 playoff series.  Both teams picked up where they left off with a version of Don Cherry-style Rockem Sockem Hockey!

 

CBJ vs PIT game highlights:  https://www.jacketscannon.com/2017/12/22/16809242/recap-hard-fought-columbus-blue-jackets-pittsburgh-penguins-holy-penalties-batman

 

The above link shows some video of how PIT prevailed with some Crosby/Malkin goonery and some home-cooking from the officials (check out some video in the comments section too).  Although Crosby and Malkin did most of the instigating, the refs came down harder on the Jackets.  A dust-up at the end of the second period got Jenner ejected and gave PIT a five-minute major power-play to start the third.  PIT got one goal during that power-play to tie it up 1-1.

 

Another dust-up in the third led to a 4-on-4.  During that 4-on-4, Panarin was called for a really ticky-tack faceoff violation that gave PIT a 4-on-3 power play.  PIT scored to lead 2-1.  Fortunately, the Jackets got their own 4-on-3 power play less then a minute later, when PIT committed a too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty.  The Jackets tied it back up 2-2 on a Panarin PP goal.

 

The game went scoreless for the rest of regulation and OT, and Pittsburgh won the shootout.  Although it would have great to get a second road point, having the CBJ leave PIT with one road point - after giving up their only goals on a five-minute major and 4-on-3 power play - seemed pretty OK for a mid-season match.

 

The CBJ will play PIT again in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, Dec. 27 - the first game after the NHL's Christmas Break.

The CBJ lost via shootout against PIT on 12/21.  But they balanced that with a shootout win over PHI on 12/23.  Nice way to enter the NHL's Christmas Break.  Columbus only one point behind NJ for 1st in the Metro, tied with WAS for 2nd in points, and 3rd via tiebreak.  Fortunately, the CBJ are also four points up on NYR and NYI, who hold the East's Wild Card spots.

 

Unfortunately, those good feelings got a dose of post-Christmas blahs when the team disclosed that both Cam Atkinson and Alex Wennberg will be out 4-6 weeks with injuries.  Wennberg didn't play the 12/23 game and was diagnosed with a back injury.  Atkinson got hit in the foot/ankle area with a shot near the midpoint of the 12/23 game.  Although Atkinson stayed in the game and logged 22 minutes(!), he was noticeably effected by the injury.  The team disclosed that Cam suffered a fractured foot.

 

These latest injuries add to the mounting number of injured players for the CBJ:

• Super soph d-man Zach Werenski hasn't played the past 3 games with an undisclosed injury.

• Fellow d-man Ryan Murray has been out all of December with a broken hand suffered while blocking a shot.  Murray's injury was said to sideline him for 4-6 weeks, so he might be close to returning.

• Dubinsky's broken face suffered on 12/12 has him out 6-8 weeks, so he might be out until February.

• Wennberg and Atkinson's injuries might sit them out until mid-February.

 

The Jackets have backfilled on defense pretty well with Nutivaara, Harrington and 20-year-old rookie Gabriel Carlsson.  But these offensive losses will be harder to fill.  Especially down the middle, with the loss of centers Wennberg and Dubinsky.  Winter is here and the CBJ must endure.

^ All that injury news has me feeling down.  I need cheering up.  How about a link to a video of a Flyers fan getting "escorted" from NWA by security?

 

 

Yes.  That works.

The Black & Blue Jackets are back in PIT for tonight's game (what again?).  Then its a Friday trip to Ottawa (where it will probably be even colder than it is in Ohio!).  Then a New Year's Eve game back at Nationwide against Tampa Bay (the top team in the NHL) to close out 2017.

 

As the CBJ limp into PIT for another road game there after a shootout loss on 12/21, Columbus is still in a decent spot standings-wise.  However, the Pens sit near the bottom of the Metro with an 18-16-3 record.  But PIT is still only 3 points below the East's playoff line, so its not ideal but not so bad either for the Pens.

 

Now you might think that winning the last two Stanley Cups would give Pens fans some comfort that their team could pull it together and push for the playoffs in 2018.  After all, there are still 45 games remaining in the season ... and did I mention that the Pens won the last two Stanley Cups?  But to read Pens fans twitter feeds, you'd think that the end times were nigh.

 

PIT lost their final game before the Christmas Break to Dallas 4-0 ... and Pens fans are melting down!  Below is a link to a funny compilation of Pens fans twitter rants that call for firing the head coach, firing the GM, trading the starting goaltender, trading everyone except for Crosby and Malkin, to trading everyone on the team and tanking!!!

 

The Black & Blue Jackets nearly gave Pens Nation a collective heart attack in PIT last night.  But a third period collapse ruined what was a great start for the CBJ and the Pens managed another SO-win.

 

Very nice game for some of the non-injured Jackets.  Panarin got two goals, while Jenner and Milano - two slumping players the team will need to step up - each got a goal.  But the team looked tired late in the third period and morphed into "Jackets-of-season's-past", blowing a two-goal lead with 5+minutes to go.

 

Nothing wrong with another road point - but the CBJ had this game won.  The only time PIT led this game was on the final score!  Hopefully this collapse doesn't have any lingering effects:

 

https://www.jacketscannon.com/2017/12/28/16824148/recap-columbus-blue-jackets-blow-late-lead-in-loss-to-penguins

 

https://www.1stohiobattery.com/columbus-blue-jackets-news/2017/12/1559/blue-jackets-collapse-late-lose-in-shootout-against-pittsburgh-penguins

The CBJ have hit the mid-winter blahs a bit early.  After starting a stellar 16-8-1 thru October and November, the Jackets dropped to 6-7-2 in December:  https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/1/1/16838820/december-2017-month-in-review-columbus-blue-jackets

 

The Jackets Cannon recap shows the reason for the fall off - defense and goaltending.  After ranking 5th and 6th in goals allowed during the first two months, the Jackets dropped way down to 30th in the league during December.  Giving up 7 goals twice and 5 goals during final two games of the month will tend to do that!  After previously playing at the top of his game, Bob had a month to forget in December - going 4-6-2 with a .891 save percentage and 3.46 goals against average.

 

The good news is that Columbus is still tied for 3rd in points in the Metro and still 3 points above the Eastern playoff line going into tonight's game.  Another bit of good news is that the CBJ only play 10 games during January - a light part of the schedule that comes as the Jackets face a number of injuries to key players.  The way the Jackets play in January could determine if they're still above the playoff line when those players return in February, or if they'll need to rally for a playoff push from behind in the standings.

The first two games of 2018 were a brief western road swing of Dallas on Tuesday and Colorado on Thursday.

 

-- The good news is that the CBJ have rediscovered their defense and Bob has rediscovered his Vezina-quality play.  The Jackets gave up only three total goals in those two road games.

-- The bad news is that the CBJ haven't rediscovered their offense and scored only two goals in those two road games.

 

It was still good enough for a 2-1 win at Dallas.  But then they dropped the next one 2-0 at Colorado.  BJORKSTRAND! scored both of the team's goals in Dallas, which is great for Bjorky.  But if the CBJ wants to keep their current playoff spot, they'll need some other players to chip in.  Or else they could change the team name to the Columbus Fighting Bjorkstrands.

 

Starting tonight, Columbus has a pair of back-to-backs coming up with extended downtime after that.  CBJ hosts Florida tonight, then at Toronto on Monday.  Then Thursday at Buffalo and back Friday in C-BUS to host Vancouver.  Then off five days until Thursday 1/18 hosting Dallas.  Then off four days until Tuesday 1/23, when the Jackets travel to the hottest spot in the NHL - VEGAS!!!

January is turning out to be the month of living dangerously for the CBJ.

 

- On Sunday, the Jackets blew a late 2-1 lead to Florida but eked out a shootout win (after an 8-round SO):  https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/1/7/16861212/recap-blue-jackets-survive-for-so-victory-over-panthers-3-2

 

- On Monday, the Jackets stunned Maple Leaf fans in Toronto with two late third-period goals that sent the game in overtime, where the CBJ won it:  https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/1/8/16866794/recap-just-enough-left-toronto-maple-leafs-columbus-blue-jackets-wowza

 

Those two nail-biting wins pushed Columbus temporarily into 2nd-place in the ultra-close Metro Division.  The CBJ will finish out this week at Buffalo on Thursday and back in C-BUS hosting Vancouver on Friday.

Some CBJ news from yesterday:

 

-- 23-year-old defenseman Seth Jones was named to his second straight NHL All-Star Game:  https://www.nhl.com/bluejackets/news/columbus-blue-jackets-jones-asg-011018/c-294848516

 

-- Wennberg is off the IR and back on the roster for tonight's game after missing eight games with a back injury:  https://www.nhl.com/bluejackets/news/columbus-blue-jackets-activate-wennberg-january-10/c-294844362

 

-- Injured players Dubinsky and Murray are able to go through a full team workout.  Although they're still both on the IR, it's a good sign that they're getting closer to returning:  https://www.nhl.com/bluejackets/news/columbus-blue-jackets-practice-notes-011118/c-294850236

The Jackets are in the middle of the league mandated five-day “bye week".  This means that no team activities can take place for the CBJ until Wednesday afternoon prior to their next game hosting Dallas on Thursday.

 

Which is probably a good thing for the players, since the team skidded into this "bye week" with back-to-back losses against two of the league's bottom-dwellers (Buffalo & Vancouver).  So no Torts bag-skate practice until Wednesday afternoon!

 

Despite the Jackets' recent troubles, they enter their "bye-week" at second in the Metro and four points above the East playoff line.

Very nice rundown of the upcoming CBJ schedule from the Jackets Cannon.  Looks at the rest of January and the months after the All-Star Weekend of Jan. 27-28 -- February - 2/26 trade deadline - March - plus three games in April to close out the regular season:

 

https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/1/14/16857210/looking-ahead-at-the-rest-of-the-way

IMO, this team is precariously close to missing the playoffs.  The vets have mostly been a joke this season - the team is being carried by Panarin, PLD, Anderson, Jones, Werenski, and Bobrovsky.  Bjorkstrand is a streaky player in his first full season.  The rest?  DISAPPOINTMENTS.  They still have time to get it together but they've been outscored 7-2 the last 5 periods by the #29 and #30 teams in the league.  That's pathetic.

^ Can't disagree with most of that.  I said earlier that January seemed like a "treading water month" with all the injuries to key offensive players.  But the Jackets definitely need to start trending better going forward when those players return.

 

Amazingly, the CBJ are still 3rd in the Metro and two points above the playoff line going into tonight's game.  But there is one potentially troubling aspect to their good-looking 25-18-3 record.  So far, 14 of the CBJ's 46 games have ended up tied after 60 minutes.  But the CBJ's OT/SO record is 11-3.  And those three losses only came in the shootout round (4-3 in SO's).  The Jackets are an astounding 7-0 in the three-on-three overtime:  http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20180115/blue-jackets-win-almost-every-time-theres-overtime

 

Now, it could be argued that the CBJ's best skill players (Panarin, PLD, Anderson, Jones, Werenski, and Bobrovsky) are well suited to generating a 7-0 OT record.  But although 3-on-3 OT results aren't as random as shootout results are, it still involves some degree of luck.  If the Jackets had gone a more even-handed 4-3 instead of 7-0 in OT's, they would have three less points in the standings.  Enough to be below the Eastern playoff line instead of above it!

Team is actually 6-0 in OTs.  5-3 in shootouts.

 

Which means...they're 14-18 in regulation.  Not a good sign.

Team is actually 6-0 in OTs.  5-3 in shootouts.

 

That'll teach me to rely on the standings from ESPN, which showed the CBJ as 4-3 in shootouts:  http://www.espn.com/nhl/standings

 

But I see that the NHL.com standings does show 5-3 in shootouts:  https://www.nhl.com/standings/2017/conference

 

Also, from the Dispatch article: "The Jackets are 11-3 in overtime games overall; 6-0 in games decided in overtime and 5-3 in the shootout."

 

 

Which means...they're 14-18 in regulation.  Not a good sign.

 

But 6-0 or 7-0 in OT, that is the point I was going for.  Potentially troubling.

Yes, an amazing OT stat.  But...playoff games don't go down to 3-3 in OT.  They're decided at 5 on 5 (+ or - with penalties, obviously).  The Jackets are 14-18 in games decided in that fashion.

The first game after the league-mandated bye-week saw the CBJ win on the back of some great goaltending.  However, the great goaltending back was not Bob's.  Instead, the coaching staff decided to go with their gut and chose Bob's backup Joonas Korpisalo, who had spent the bye week in Cleveland goaltending for the Monsters.

 

The surprise move worked, as Korpi nearly had a shutout last night - until Dallas scored a goal with only 2:05 remaining that tied the game and sent it into overtime.  And since overtime is Jackets time in 2017-18, the CBJ won - this time via the shootout round:  https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/1/19/16908074/korpisalo-stands-tall-panarin-delivers-for-shootout-victory

 

The CBJ are now 12-3 in OT/SO games overall (6-0 in games decided in overtime and 6-3 in the shootout).

 

The team follows this game with a four-day break in the schedule before a western road trip at Vegas next Tuesday and Arizona next Thursday.  Then another four-day break for the NHL All-Star game.  Because you can't have too many breaks in January, right?

The CBJ play their first game in Vegas tonight.  If you've been following my posts in the NHL thread, you'll know that the expansion Golden Knights are playing nothing like a typical expansion team.  VGK is first in the entire Western Conference with a 31-11-4 record and was first in the entire league with 66 points before TB got a win last night for 67 points.

 

One of the definitive strengths for Vegas is their unbelievable 18-2-2 home record.  Some have wondered if this dominant home record might be part of a "Vegas Effect" for visiting teams.  Which made me think of this NSFW clip from the classic hockey movie 'Slap Shot':

 

On a less comical note, here are some CBJ injury updates:

 

-- Atkinson (broken foot) is practicing with the team again and looks close to returning to the lineup.

-- Dubinsky (broken face) is also practicing with the team but still probably needs at least a week more of face healing before returning.

-- Milano (torn oblique muscle) was injured earlier in January and is likely out 4-6 weeks.

-- Murray was reported practicing with the team earlier this month and being close to returning from his broken hand injury suffered while blocking a shot.  But now its being reported that Murray has been shut down with a back injury.  This guy just can't catch a break from the injury bug.  He started his CBJ career with season-ending shoulder injury, then a hand injury, then season-ending ankle surgery, another hand injury, and now a back injury - all by age 24!

The brief pre-ASG two-game western road swing started badly for the CBJ in Vegas but ended well in Arizona.  After seeing why the amazing expansion Vegas Golden Knights are atop the Western Conference (VGK is no fluke) the Jackets got to face the team at the bottom the West - the Arizona Coyotes.

 

The CBJ eked out a 2-1 win over the Yotes on some terrific goaltending from Bob and a game-winning goal from Cam Atkinson on his first game back after missing 11 games with a broken foot (plus a great pass from Wennberg to set up Cam):  https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/1/26/16935340/recap-yes-we-cam-columbus-blue-jackets-arizona-coyotes-cam-atkinson-alexander-wennberg

 

Getting a one-goal win over the worst-in-the-west Yotes might not seem like much - but in this season's Metro Division, two points in the standings in big.  How big?  That ARI win took the CBJ from a wild-card spot to 2nd in the Metro.  But despite how good that looks, the CBJ are only two points above the eastern playoff line:  https://www.nhl.com/standings/2017/wildcard

 

One bit of CBJ ASG news.  Zach Werenski was added to Metro team roster for the All-Star Game to replace teammate Seth Jones, who will miss this weekend's events in Tampa due to illness:

 

https://www.nhl.com/bluejackets/news/zach-werenski-2018-honda-nhl-all-star-game/c-295333360

CBJ start the post-ASG schedule and finish out January with a SO loss to Minnesota (overtime was not Jackets time last night):  https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/1/31/16953018/dubinsky-returns-wild-beat-blue-jackets

 

Dubinsky returned to the lineup after missing 18 games - which gets the CBJ lineup close to full strength (Milano and Murray are still out).  So this next month of games should be key to the Jackets playoff picture:

-

- Out of February's 13 games, 10 are against Metro Division opponents.

- Only 5 points separate 2nd-place Pittsburgh from last-place Carolina.

- Those 7 Metro teams are fighting for 4 available playoff spots.

- The Trade Deadline is February 26.

CBJ January recap linked below from the Jackets Cannon.  The 5-4-1 record seems much better than the angst surrounding the team last month.  Although three of those wins were via OT/SO.  And a 2-4-4 or 3-4-3 record would've looked much worse:

 

https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/2/1/16958308/january-2018-month-in-review-columbus-blue-jackets

 

To begin February, the CBJ hosts San Jose tonight and travels to NYC to face NYI tomorrow night.

Despite dropping their two weekend games, the CBJ are still clinging to a wild-card spot.  But if they don't get some points from the home-and-away games against the best-in-the-Metro Washington Capitals tonight and Friday, the CBJ might not keep that wild-card spot.

 

Jackets really need to turn around their recent trend.  Since the Buffalo loss on 1/11, the CBJ are 2-5-1.

The CBJ dropped a couple low scoring games against the Caps - then saw their offense explode for a 6-1 win over the Devils.  Saturday's win over NJ broke a five-game losing streak (0-4-1) but couldn't keep the Jackets above the Eastern playoff line:

 

 

The current Metro/Wild Card standings show a seven-team log jam vying for the Metro 2nd, Metro 3rd, WC1 & WC2 spots.  With 25+ games remaining, its going to be a real sprint to the finish.  The Blue Jackets sprint speeds up next week with a back-to-back road swing at NYI on Tuesday and Toronto on Wednesday.  Then a weekend home swing hosting Philadelphia on Friday and Pittsburgh on Sunday.

Win at NYI on Tuesday followed by a loss at TOR on Wednesday leaves the CBJ one point below the playoff line going into this weekend's home games against PHI and PIT.

 

The CBJ are really starting to pour on the shots-on-goal.  They've had 50+ SOG in the past three games:

 

- 50 in Saturday's 6-1 win vs. NJ

- 51 in Tuesday's 4-1 win vs. NYI

- 57 in Wednesday's 6-3 loss vs. TOR

 

They need to do better at converting those SOG's into goals.  But if they can keep this up, they might get some much needed points against two teams ahead of them in the standings this weekend.

Over the weekend, the CBJ had a chance to grab four points from two Metro teams ahead of them in the standings.  They only managed to get one point - via a 2-1 OT loss vs. PHI on Friday.  They followed that with an embarrassing 5-2 loss to PIT on Sunday - for a full recap and rabble rabble go to https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/2/18/17026334/recap-i-dont-know-what-i-expected-pittsburgh-penguins-columbus-blue-jackets.

 

Amazingly, the Jackets are still only one point below the playoff line.  But with only 23 games remaining for the CBJ, the season is slipping away.  They're still in the hunt for the second wild card spot, but it will take much better than the 2-6-2 pace they've played over the past 10 games to get it.  Two more Metro opponents upcoming - Tuesday at NJ and Thursday at PHI:

 

The Jackets roster nearly got fully healthy - both Milano and Murray came off the IR this weekend and were sent to Cleveland for conditioning games.

 

Then during Sunday's game, Kukan was injured in the first period and didn't return.  Then Foligno was injured in the second and didn't return.  No word on Kukan, but the team announced that Foligno will be out 1-2 weeks due to a lower body injury:

 

http://nhl.nbcsports.com/2018/02/19/slumping-blue-jackets-lose-nick-foligno-for-1-2-weeks/

Kukan placed on IR; Dalpe and Murray recalled to Columbus:

 

https://www.nhl.com/bluejackets/news/columbus-blue-jackets-roster-moves-dean-kukan-zac-dalpe-ryan-murray-february-19/c-296125378

"Test Tube" is back!

 

https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/2/25/17050660/blue-jackets-re-acquire-mark-letestu

 

http://nhl.nbcsports.com/2018/02/25/trade-blue-jackets-welcome-back-a-familiar-face-in-mark-letestu-in-three-way-deal/

 

The CBJ re-acquired Mark Letestu for their playoff run in a three-team deal.  The Preds acquired Letestu from the Oilers for a player.  Then the Jackets acquired Letestu from the Preds for a 2018 4th-round pick.  Nice deal for the Jackets.

The Blue Jackets eked out two one-goal wins this week (2-1 at NJ on Tuesday and 3-2 over CHI on Saturday) and dropped another one-goal game (2-1 at PHI on Thursday).  But that was good enough to vault Columbus over the playoff line going into Monday's Trade Deadline:

 

The CBJ has started out Trading Deadline Day with a trade for defenseman Ian Cole:

 

http://nhl.nbcsports.com/2018/02/26/trade-columbus-adds-blue-line-depth-acquires-ian-cole/

 

https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/2/26/17053248/columbus-blue-jackets-trade-nick-moutrey-third-round-pick-for-ian-cole

 

The Jackets acquired Ian Cole from Ottawa (after Ottawa acquired Cole from PIT in the Brassard deal on Friday) from 22-year-old AHL forward Nick Moutrey and a 2020 3rd-round pick.  Combined with yesterday's Letestu trade, the team has added some solid veteran depth on the offensive and defensive side without giving up much in return.

The CBJ are ending Trading Deadline Day with a trade for Thomas Vanek:

 

https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/2/26/17054900/columbus-blue-jackets-trade-for-thomas-vanek-vancouver

 

The Jackets acquired some offensive help by acquiring the 34-year-old Vanek from Vancouver for forwards Jussi Jokinen (who was put on waivers after scoring just 1 point in 14 games with the CBJ) and 22-year-old Tyler Motte (who was sent to Cleveland after scoring just 5 points in 31 games with the CBJ).  Vanek had 17 goals and 24 assists for 41 points in 61 games for Vancouver this season.  I'm surprised the Canucks didn't get more from the Jackets for him.

The Jackets were big dealers on Trading Deadline Day - adding Vanek and Letestu to the offense and Cole to the defense.  The Jackets also had a home game against Washington to finish out Monday.  Letestu and Cole drew into the reworked CBJ lineup, while Vanek's CBJ debut would have to wait until the usual work visa issues get finalized.

 

Don't know if it was the new players or just the positive vibes of seeing team management making moves to try to improve the roster, but the Jackets played with an energy last night - crushing the Caps 5-1:  https://www.jacketscannon.com/2018/2/26/17056524/highlight-recap-blue-jackets-punish-washington-capitals

 

Letestu centered the fourth line and got a goal.  Cole was on the third d-line with Savard and formed a solid 'Beard Brothers' pairing.  Monsters call-up Sonny Milano got the Jackets pivotal 2nd goal of the night on a beauty spinning shot.  Fun time!

With last night's win, the Jackets slightly solidify their WC2 spot.  With 19 games remaining, PHI, WAS & PIT have separated themselves from the rest of Metro.  NJ is fairly solidly in the WC1 spot and made a move to improve their roster yesterday.  NYI & CAR are slumping and did not help their rosters yesterday.  FLA is making a late run for the wild card and holds four games-in-hand over the CBJ going into today's schedule:

 

It's a good thing the Jackets added some offensive players on Deadline Day, because they just lost a big piece of their offense to injury.  Late in Monday's win over Washington, forward Josh Anderson was hip checked into the air and landed hard on the ice.  The Jackets announced today that Anderson has a sprained knee and will miss about four weeks.  Anderson has 18 goals this season, tied with Panarin for most on the team:

 

http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20180227/blue-jackets--josh-anderson-injured-out-four-weeks

So, the CBJ lost Anderson for most of the regular season.  But captain Nick Foligno was activated off the IR after missing four games because of a knee injury suffered against Pittsburgh on Feb. 18.

 

The CBJ start their California road trip today.  These three tough road games could make-or-break the Jackets playoff hopes:

-

- Tonight at L.A.

- Friday at Anaheim

- Sunday at San Jose