Columbus Blue Jackets Point Production Against Metro’s Bottom Tier
The Columbus Blue Jackets have high hopes of a playoff run this season. That is contingent on them producing against the bottom tier of the Metropolitan Division again.
The Columbus Blue Jackets 2017-2018 season expectations vary from winning a playoff round to hoisting the Stanley Cup. Either way, the season will be a bust if the Jackets don’t get to the playoffs.
In the toughest division in the NHL, beating the teams you are supposed to is vital. That means beating up on Philadelphia, New Jersey and Carolina. That’s what the Jackets did last season. They went 8-3-1 against those teams for 17 out of a possible 24 points.
The problem for the Jackets this season is that all three of those teams got better in the offseason. Can they repeat their dominance of the bottom tier this season? .708 point percentage is going to be tough to duplicate.
Columbus Blue Jackets
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These bottom teams all undoubtedly improved. The Philadelphia Flyers no longer have Steve Mason, so they are instantly better. Claude Giroux and Jacub Voracek both had a down year, which will likely not repeat this season. Unless something drastic goes wrong, this team will be better than last. Rising youngsters like Travis Konecny and Ivan Provorov will help the Flyers along as well.
I’m not saying the Flyers will make the playoffs, but they will certainly not have the second pick in the draft next season. The Jackets went 3-1-0 against the Flyers last season. A repeat of 3-1-0 will be tough. 2-1-1 is more realistic, but still a fine result.
New Jersey also took some steps forward in the offseason. First overall pick Nico Hischer will help the Devils and make an impact in his first season. The defense didn’t get better, but probably won’t be as bad as it was last year because of the netminder.
Cory Schneider is an above average goalie and his numbers will likely return to a more normal level next season. Schneider’s goals against average (GAA) ballooned to 2.82 from a career 2.28 average. His save percentage also plummeted from .924 in 15-16 to .908 last season. Look for Schneider to rebound to his above league average numbers New Jersey is used to and help the Devils pick up a few more wins next season.
The Jackets went 3-1-0 against the Devils as well last season. A similar 2-1-1 post against the Devils would be fine and is a likely goal.
Surging Storm in Carolina
Let’s talk about a strong Hurricane that will do damage in the northern United States and Canada. The Carolina Hurricanes are going to be a force this season. The team is young, strong on the blue line and finally has a solid goalie. Add in some young stud scorers and you have a team that might make the playoffs for the first time since 2009.
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The Jackets last season went 2-1-1 against the lowly Hurricanes, who have been a bottom feeder (along with the Jackets) for years. But both teams seem to be seeing a resurgence due to a strong and youthful defensive corps. Noah Hanifin, Jaccob Slavin, Justin Falk and Brett Pesce are all younger than 25 and can really get after it. Throw in a competent goalie in Scott Darling and Carolina is set for big things.
Scorers like Sebastian Aho, Jeff Skinner and Victor Rask all played really well down the stretch and will have a ton of momentum heading into this season. Aho was one of the best rookies in a stud rookie class last year and was often overlooked due to the play of Matthews, Marner, Laine and Werenski. The offense will get even better than it was last season.
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I see the Hurricanes as a legit contender for the playoffs and the Jackets’ competition to secure a divisional spot in the playoffs. Again, another 2-1-1 year would be great but I see a 1-1-2 season series more likely.
If the Jackets slide just a bit against these divisional opponents, it could make the path the playoffs even more difficult than it already is. The bottom of the Metro getting better is compounded by the fact the top of the division is still very good.
No team is going to fall of a cliff this season from the top except the Rangers if Henrik Lundqvist bottoms out completely. A strong performance by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Metro division is vital to repeating playoff appearances for the first time in franchise history.