The Columbus Blue Jackets have not only broken the near-record breaking losing streak, but look to make it three games in a row tonight against Detroit. But, with the losing streak now broken, the topic of conversation becomes “have the Jackets played themselves out of the playoffs before December even hits?” Well, while I can’t look into a crystal ball, I can look into the upcoming schedule and tell you what we know about the teams the Jackets play the rest of the way.
The Jackets road to redemption here in November starts tonight, as they face a Detroit team that’s averaging 2.6 goals per game (17th in the league) but are third in the NHL on the penalty kill. While the point differential (21 compared to just 13 for CBJ), the Jackets have had the Wings number for the past several years. Hopefully that can continue tonight.
Boston is doing just about what you’d expect Boston to be doing to open the year, but their numbers aren’t eyepoping. Their biggest strength is the power play (ninth in the league at 22%), and we all know how much 1.) Columbus loves to take stupid penalties and 2.) how bad their PK has been during the losing streak. But, with the tide turning on the losing streak, maybe the PK is the next thing to shape up.
The team, currently, directly above Columbus in the Metro division standings. They love to score (averaging just over three goals per game, third most in the NHL) and are fifth on the power play. If there’s one thing they’ll have to learn quickly after playing Boston, it’s how to stop power play goals from happening, and with Philly, hopefully they’ll just outscore them.
My mother taught me that if I don’t have anything nice to say, then I shouldn’t say anything at all. All I’ll say about the Jets is this – they do kill an awful lot of penalties (sixth in the league) but also give up a lot of goals (fourth in the league).
Not gonna lie. I know we’re a couple of weeks away from this game, but still, this game scares me. However, they lost 5-0 to Arizona on Friday, so it’s not impossible for the Jackets to pull something off. Vancouver is averaging just under three goals per game, so Bob and the defense will have to once again play stellar. They also give up a lot of goals, which is good for the CBJ top line.
The Predators began the season as the hottest team in hockey, but have cooled down a bit. However, what hasn’t cooled down is that they don’t allow very many goals. Actually, they’re second in the league in goals against. If Bob and Pekka are the goalies to close out the month, it’ll be a classic.
If everything goes according to the CBJ plan, and they make up lost time from the losing streak, they can end the month with a 12-10-1 record. However, that’s highly unlikely (but, then again, so was the nine game losing streak, right?) so I see more of a 9-12-3 record once December rolls around, which by all means isn’t bad, all things considered. Believe it or not, Columbus hasn’t quite played themselves out of a playoff spot yet, and it’s going to be key to make sure they close out the month strong.