October 2018 Schedule Breakdown for the Columbus Blue Jackets

The season opener for the Columbus Blue Jackets is just one month away!

Just one more month until the Columbus Blue Jackets start the season against the Detroit Red Wings. The month of October starts with the road tilt in Michigan on October 4th.

The Jackets play 11 games in October with only four of those matchups coming on the road. The schedule is a fantastic soft start to the season as the CBJ only have three games the entire month against teams who made the playoffs last season. They also will play three out of the four teams that finished dead last in their division in the 17-18 season.

The schedule is set up perfectly for the Jackets to work out any kinks early in the season yet still rack up points against inferior opponents. Let’s take a look at each week’s matchups and how the schedule could play out.

Week One: October 4th-7th

The first week of the season only has two games in store for the Columbus Blue Jackets but it is a back-to-back. The Jackets have 16 back-to-backs this season, tied for the second most in the NHL. This should be the easiest of them all due to it being the opening game and because of the quality of their opponents.

The Jackets open at Detroit on the 4th and then head back to Columbus for the home opener on the 5th against the Carolina Hurricanes. Both teams have some bright youngsters on their respective teams, but lack solid goaltending or any depth down the lineup.

The Jackets and Red Wings both open their season up on October 4th in what should be a very winnable game for the CBJ. Last year the Jackets won all three of their matchups against Detroit.

Following the short flight back to the Capital City, the Jackets will host their first Metropolitan division opponent on the 5th. The 2018 edition of the Carolina Hurricanes will look much different than the 2017 version but different doesn’t mean better. The Canes will be traveling into Columbus late on the night of the 4th as well as they have their home opener against the Islanders the night before in Raleigh.

The Jackets will have a packed arena behind them and should win their second consecutive game of the year. Following the Hurricanes game, the Jackets will have three full days off until their next tilt.

Week One Prediction: 2-0-0

Week Two: October 8th-14th

Coming off of a three day break, the Jackets will be rested and ready for the Colorado Avalanche to visit Nationwide Arena. This will be your only chance to check out Nathan MacKinnon and the surprise Avs in Columbus.

It also will be the return of beloved Jacket Matt Calvert to Columbus. Expect a nice welcome back tribute from the club for Calvert and a nice round of applause for Ian Cole.

It will be the Av’s third game of the year as well and, like the Jackets, they will have had three full days off.

After the Tuesday game, the Jackets will have their first (mini) road trip of the year down to Florida to play the Panthers on Thursday and the Lightning on Saturday. These games will be the teams first true test as the Lightning are the favorites to win the Eastern Conference and Florida will be much improved as long as Roberto Luongo is healthy.

It will only be the Panther’s second game of the season as they will be coming off a five day break after their season opener. This should be an advantage for the Jackets as five days off early in the season isn’t ideal when you are trying to build chemistry and shake the off-season rust away.

Tampa is going to be a tough matchup though. A point agains the Lightning should be considered a solid result.

Week Two Predictions: 2-1-0

Week Three: October 15th-21st

The third week of October is a light one following five days off for the Jackets after their tilt with the Tampa Bay Lightning on the 13th. The Columbus Blue Jackets will travel home and wait until the 18th for their second Metro game of the year against the Flyers.

The Flyers will have just one day off before facing the Jackets in what will be Philadelphia’s seventh game of the season. The Flyers, after a surprising playoff appearance last year, won’t be surprising anyone in 2018. They are one of four teams that could win the Metropolitan Division.

The Jackets will get to stay in the Arch City for the rest of the week as they host the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday, the 20th. The Buckeye football team plays an away game against Purdue but there will still be a flock of Blackhawk fans in town. They won’t take over the arena, but there will still be a fair amount of black and red.

The Blackhawks should be improved from last year but the Jackets should still be favored in this matchup.

With just two games all week, two wins has to be the goal in week three.

Week Three Prediction: 1-0-1

Week Four: October 22nd-28th

Week four has the Jackets back to a normal Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday schedule. The CBJ will start the week with the unpredictable Arizona Coyotes coming to town. The ‘Yotes will join the Jackets as one of the younger teams in the NHL in 2018 and their level of play is tough to predict.

The Coyotes will be finishing up a four game road trip in seven nights. Expect the Jackets to be much sharper and quicker than the visitors from the desert.

Then the Jackets make a quick, one hour flight to St. Louis where they will take on the revamped Blues squad. After adding Ryan O’Reilly, Tyler Bozak, Patrick Maroon and graduating some top flight prospects, the Blues are looking like one of the most improved teams in the league. It will be the Blues first game at home following a three game Canadian road trip.

Back to Columbus after the Blues matchup for a Saturday showdown against the Buffalo Sabres. It will be Jackets fan’s first chance to check out top rookie Rasmus Dahlin in Nationwide Arena. The Saturday night game at home falls on a bye week for Buckeye football so expect a packed NWA.

Week Four Prediction: 2-1-0