We continue our preview of each month of the 2017-2018 season for the Columbus Blue Jackets with the shortest month of the year. Why February only has 28 days still confuse me.
January will be a point month for the Columbus Blue Jackets. February is going to be a survival month for the men in union blue.
February, even though it only has 28 days, will hold three more games than the month of January for the CBJ. And they are significantly tougher than the slate they will play in January.
10 of the 13 games will be against Metro Division opponents in the month of February. Not fun considering the Metro is undoubtedly the toughest division in the NHL. The other three games will be against playoff teams from 2017; Chicago, San Jose and Toronto.
How will the Jackets attack this stretch of games? They should be coming off an easy and short January motivated to attack the final two months of the seasons. But February and March were both rocky months in 2017. Another year of experience and growth should ensure that 2018 isn’ the same.
Columbus Blue Jackets
METRO CRAZY MONTH
Wow. 10 in 13 opponents from the division. February is a crazy make or break month in the division. We can’t overstate the value of these games. Even if four of those are against New Jersey and Philadelphia. Sorry Pucks and Pitchforks and Broad Street Buzz, you guys are going to be bad again.
The Jackets will play the Islanders twice in February as well. Both games will be in Brooklyn where the Jackets should come away with three points in two games.
These Metro games don’t worry anyone. But three games against the Washington Capitals will not be easy. The two time defending Presidents’ Trophy winners will still be a top notch squad.
The loss of Kevin Shattenkirk will not make this team drastically worse. Expect three tough games against one of the leagues best goalies in Braden Holtby.
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Fans can also get excited for the first visit the defending Stanley Cup Champions will make to Columbus. The Pittsburgh Penguins will visit on Sunday February 18th on what will be the most raucous crowd NWA will see up to that point. I expect the Columbus Blue Jackets and Pens to be fighting it out for the top spot in the division at this point. This game will be critical.
Lets not forget visits from Chicago and San Jose bracketing the month for some fun Western Conference matchups. February will be a decisive month especially in the division.
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Expect a solid showing and some good points to pick up against the bottom tier. How the Columbus Blue Jackets play against Pittsburgh and Washington will paint the picture for the 2017-2018 Jackets.