January 2018 Schedule Outlook for the Columbus Blue Jackets
December was a month to forget for the Columbus Blue Jackets. What does January hold in store?
The Columbus Blue Jackets enter the heart of winter sitting barely in a playoff spot. A forgettable December saw the CBJ go 6-7-2 in their 15 games including some terrible embarrassing losses that have the fanbase questioning what exactly this team is.
In a long, arduous season rough patches are to be expected but with the preseason expectations and the December the team had in 2016, this was a tough month for sure. January posses an opportunity to get out of the doldrums and move forward towards April in a good position.
Already off to a good start with last nights victory over the Dallas Stars, John Tortorella and company face 14 more games in the month of January. Oddly enough this month holds no games against the Metro Division unlike December which saw eight of the fifteen within the division. The Jackets went 3-3-2 in those eight games for a .500 record.
Following the Stars game the Jackets headed to Colorado where they will complete the first of three small road trips in January. They will also head to the shores of Lake Eire and Ontario to face the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres on the 8th and 11th respectively.
Following some time at home they will then travel out west for a quick two game swing where they will play in Las Vegas for the first time. The historic matchup will be the first time the Jackets see William Karlsson after they dealt Vegas so much to ensure that Josh Anderson is taken. For those keeping track at home Karlsson leads the Golden Knights with 20 goals in 38 games.
Vegas has been stellar at home and leads the Western Conference so far in what is by far the biggest surprise in the 2017-2018 NHL season. The Jackets will try to avoid the “Vegas Flu” on the 23rd and then play the lowly Arizona Coyotes on the 25th.
January = Points
January has to be a month in which the Jackets rack up a chunk of points. At the time of writing, only three of the remaining nine games in January are against teams in the playoffs. The Jackets have already beaten the Stars on the road so their match ups against playoff teams is off to a good start.
Playing teams like Arizona, Colorado, Vancouver, and Buffalo mean opportunities to build up points before the murderers row that will be February and March.
January also sees a lot of time off for the Jackets as they only play 10 times in the month. This should bode well for a team that is already decimated by injuries and can not afford any more missed man games.
If the Columbus Blue Jackets come out of January with 15 points, they will position themselves very well for the final ten weeks of the season. Five road games and four home games remain ahead for them in January as they look to put December behind them.