Columbus Blue Jackets Beat Panthers, Climb Toward Top Spot
The Columbus Blue Jackets (45-18-6) continue to push for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division and the entire NHL with a win over the Florida Panthers (30-28-11) Thursday night.
With a win over the Florida Panthers Thursday, the Columbus Blue Jackets captured their 45th overall win of the season. The win was also the 26th on home ice at Nationwide Arena, setting a new franchise record for single-season home victories. The 2016-2017 season continues to be a record-breaking one for the CBJ.
Florida thought they struck first early in the first period, but the officials overturned the Jonathan Huberdeau goal after seeing Sergei Bobrovsky had been interfered with. The Panthers would go on to break the scoreless tie nonetheless near the end of the first with a Jonathan Marchessault goal.
The Jackets were finally able to respond and put one on the board when rookie sensation Zach Werenski flicked one past James Reimer 15:51 in the second period. The goal was the 11th of the season and 44th total point of his historic rookie campaign.
Related Story: Werenski Breaks CBJ Rookie Record
The other youngster Josh Anderson wasn’t comfortable with being left out, however, and put another in the net by deflecting the puck off a Jack Johnson slap shot. That marked Anderson’s 15th goal of the year and his first since returning from injury.
The final period was scoreless yet tense as most close games usually are with our Columbus Blue Jackets. Regardless of the butt-clenching, the Blue Jackets held on until the horn to win 2-1. The win marked the 38th of the season for Vezina hopeful Sergei Bobrovsky. He stopped 33 shots in the win and improved his career record against Florida to 9-1-2.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
| Blue Jackets | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Panthers | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Chasing the Caps
With the CBJ win and a 2-1 overtime loss by the Washington Capitals to the Nashville Predators, the Jackets are now just two points away from tying the Caps with 98 points. Both teams are on the road Saturday as the Jackets head to Brooklyn to take on the New York Islanders while the Capitals fly south to play the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Washington and Tampa Bay haven’t played each other since Dec. 23, a game where the Capitals shut out the Lightning, 4-0. A few weeks before that, the two teams met for the first time of the season in a game won by the Lightning in overtime 2-1.
Columbus and the Isles are a little more familiar being in the same division and all. They also faced off a little under three weeks ago in the Jackets’ first game back from the bye week. The Islanders were no match in that game, losing 6-0 in Columbus.
Related Story: CBJ Chase for Presidents' Trophy
Playoff Race
Now with 96 points, the Jackets are in second place in the Metropolitan. The Pittsburgh Penguins are one point behind Columbus and face off against the drowning New Jersey Devils. To stay in front of the Pens, we need New Jersey to actually win a game. It can come in regulation or OT (due to CBJ owning tiebreaker), but it’d be a whole lot nicer in regulation.
The New York Rangers are currently sitting in fourth in the Metro but hold the first Wild Card spot with 90 points. The Rangers play tonight against the Panthers, who should be quite tired from their road back-to-back.
Related Story: CBJ Back-To-Back Needs Improvement
With 78 points, the Toronto Maple Leafs currently have the final Eastern Conference Wild Card position. They are one point ahead of the Islanders (that means NYI is playing with a purpose against the CBJ) and the Lightning (that means TBL is playing with a purpose against WSH).
In the Atlantic Division, the Montreal Canadiens hold first with 86 points. That’s one point ahead of the Ottawa Senators and four points ahead of the Boston Bruins. Montreal and Ottawa play each other in Canada’s capital Saturday while Boston has some time off before they play Toronto on the road on Monday.
On to Brooklyn
The New York Islanders are going to come ready to go for the Columbus Blue Jackets Saturday. They will be defending their slushy home ice and trying to keep pace with the rest of the Wild Card combatants. That being said, let’s 6-0 them again.