Five Teams I REALLY Want The Columbus Blue Jackets To Beat In 2014!
42 games – that is all that is left of the Columbus Blue Jackets season after the ball drops and we ring in the new year. With 39 games at this very moment, and 1 more to play in the month of December (tonight vs the Avs), the Blue Jackets and the NHL will start the second half of the season in 2014.
The Blue Jackets sit in 6th place in the Metropolitan division, but are only 4 points behind the Flyers who currently occupy 3rd place. Even though the playoff race in the Metro division is close, Columbus still needs to step it up in 2014 to find themselves in the playoffs come the end of the regular season.
Of course I want the Blue Jackets to win every single game in 2014, but we all know that won’t happen – no team could do that. So after taking a look at the schedule, I picked 5 teams that I REALLY want the CBJ to beat in 2014, click next to follow along.
Sidney Crosby (87) – Artem Anisimov (42)
Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Team #1 – St Louis Blues
Game: Saturday January 4th, 2014
Matt Calvert (11) – Jaroslav Halak (41)
Mandatory Credit: Russell LaBounty-USA TODAY Sports
In mid December the Blue Jackets lost a heart-breaker to the Blues in OT 4-3. They have a shot at redemption early in 2014 though, they will travel to St Louis to face the Blues on the 4th of January.
The Blue Jackets old foe hasn’t lost a step, and they currently sit in 2nd place in the Central division – only 6 points behind the Blackhawks.
Tyutin, Johansen, and Anisimov all scored for Columbus. Tarasenko had 2, Stewert added 1, and Backes scored the game winner in OT for the Blues. Mike McKenna made 27 saves for the Blue Jackets, and Jaroslav Halak made 30 saves in the Blues victory.
See you soon St. Louis!
Team #2 – New York Rangers
Games: Monday January 6th, 2014 & Friday March 21st, 2014
Ryan Murray (27) – Rick Nash (61)
Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
Columbus meets the NYR two more times this season – a team that they have already played twice. Each team has played a home game so far in the season series, and both away teams have won the game. On November 7th the Rangers won by a score of 4 to 2 at Nationwide Arena, and on December 12th the Blue Jackets won by the same score at Madison Square Garden.
Curtis McElhinney earned the victory in New York, and Sergei Bobrovsky played in the loss in Columbus. Ironically enough it was the Rangers back-up, Cam Talbot who won in Columbus, and Henrik Lundqvist who lost in the “Big Apple”. Rick Nash only played in the game in December, and ended the evening a -2. Anisimov scored once against his former team in the two games played.
I would like nothing more than the Blue Jackets to win these two games and make it three wins and only one loss against the Rangers. The icing on the cake would be Columbus leaping over the Rangers in the standings and making the playoffs!
Team #3 – Chicago Blackhawks
Games: Thursday March 6th, 2014 & Friday April 4th, 2014
Corey Crawford (50) – Mark Letestu (10)
Mandatory Credit: Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports
The Chicago Blackhawks have the best record in the NHL right now and most likely will be the team to beat in the Western conference come playoff time. The Blue Jackets have not faced the Blackhawks yet this season, but will see them twice in 2014 – once at home and once away, like all Western conference teams.
The two teams met four times last season, and Columbus did not walk away with any wins. The Blackhawks won two games in regulation, one game in overtime, and one game in a shootout. Patrick Kane led the charge for the Hawks, in the four games played he registered four assists. Corey Crawford won three of the four games, and then back-up, Ray Emery, won one game for Chicago.
This season needs to be different, the Blue Jackets need to at least win one game against the reigning Stanley Cup Champions. Two wins would obviously be better though, so I am hoping for the best!
Team #4 – Pittsburgh Penguins
Game: Friday March 28th, 2014
Sidney Crosby (87) – Curtis McElhinney (31)
Mandatory Credit: Russell LaBounty-USA TODAY Sports
Luckily the Blue Jackets play five games against the Pittsburgh Penguins this season, because that means they have one more shot at beating them! The Pens have won all four match-ups so far this season – in Columbus, in Pittsburgh, it doesn’t matter where they play, the Pens have the Jackets number this season. The last meeting between the two teams is in Columbus, and it needs to be a victory for the Blue Jackets.
The Penguins have beat McElhinney three times this season, and Bobrovsky once – a total of 14 goals have been scored on Columbus. Marc-Andre Fleury and back-up goalie Jeff Zatkoff both have two wins for Pittsburgh and have only been scored on a combined six times. Sidney Crosby leads the Penguins with six points, while there is a four way tie between Johansen, MacKenzie, Nikitin, and Johnson with two points.
I WANT NOTHING MORE THAN COLUMBUS TO CRUSH PITTSBURGH IN THEIR FINAL MEETING THIS SEASON!
Team #5 – Florida Panthers
Game: Saturday February 4th, 2014, Saturday March 1st, 2014 & Saturday April 12th, 2014
Mark Letestu (17) – Brian Campbell (51)
Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
Confused? You may be asking yourself…”Why the Florida Panthers?”
The Florida Panthers are the only Eastern conference team that the Blue Jackets have not faced yet – and they will see each other three times in 2014. The second and main reason: Columbus will end the regular season in Florida facing the Panthers. If the playoff race is anything like last season, it could come down to the very last game, and I want Columbus to end the season victorious.
The Panthers have 35 points so far this season and are in 7th place in the competitive Atlantic division. In the last ten games the Panthers have won 6 and only dropped four, giving them a 15-20-5 record.
Winning all three games against the Panthers could definitely help move the Blue Jackets up in the standings, and coming out on top in the final game of the season could become an important event in the Blue Jackets road to the playoffs.