Columbus Blue Jackets April Outlook and Possible First Round Matchups

The Columbus Blue Jackets close out the regular season with three games in the month of April.

The Detroit Red Wings visit the Columbus Blue Jackets on April 3 for the third meeting between the two teams. On April 5, the Blue Jackets will play their final game at Nationwide Arena in 2017-18 against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

After this game, the Jackets will head to Tennessee and face the Nashville Predators. Hopefully then, the focus will shift to the first round of the playoffs.

Potential round one matchups

Due to the current NHL playoff format, the Columbus Blue Jackets will most likely play a team from the Metro in round one if they make the playoffs.

Related Story: Offseason Moves Around the Metro

Don’t be surprised if the Blue Jackets are facing the Penguins in round one again this season. If it isn’t the Penguins, there’s a high chance it’ll be the Washington Capitals.

Some believe that the Capitals window to win a Stanley Cup with their current group is closing. They do, however, still have significant odds to win the 2018 Stanley Cup, according to Bovada.

It would be interesting to see which team would come through in a series against the Capitals. The Blue Jackets could definitely win a series against them, but the Capitals would be motivated.

At this point, anyone would be a better matchup than the Penguins. Not only because they are the two-time defending Stanley Cup champs, but the Blue Jackets have played them in their last two playoff appearances.

A sleeper team to keep an eye on in the Metro is the Carolina Hurricanes.

There’s some buzz going around that they’ll be this year’s breakout team. If they do, they’re a candidate to play the Blue Jackets in round one of the playoffs.

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No matter who the Jackets play, they need to win a series this year. The pieces are finally all coming together, and the experience gained last year helps tremendously.