Columbus Blue Jackets Easiest Five Game Stretch of 18-19
Previewing the easiest five game stretch the Columbus Blue Jackets face in the 18-19 season.
Temperatures continue to dip and days are just a bit shorter. Fall is here and hockey is within our grasp. The Columbus Blue Jackets are almost back in our lives.
With the season just around the corner, we continue our breakdown of the Jackets 2018-2019 schedule with a look at the easiest five game stretch the team will face this year. This season, that quintet of matchups falls in the opening month of the season.
Over a ten day stretch in late October, the Jackets face their easiest stretch of games for the season and should easily rack up eight points. Starting on October 20th, the Columbus Blue Jackets host the Chicago Blackhawks at Nationwide Arena to start the stretch of five straight games against teams that missed the playoffs last season.
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Chicago finished last in the Central Division last year and their roster hasn’t changed much. Their defensive corps is a year older, as are Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. Yes, Corey Crawford will be healthy, but the Blackhawks don’t have the depth to match up with the Jackets who will roll three above average lines this season.
The Jackets will have last left the friendly confines of Central Ohio six days ahead of when they play this game, so they will be rested and sharp. This will be a good start to their easy five game stretch.
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Three nights later, the Jackets will again host another team that finished dead last in their division. Although they will be much improved, the Arizona Coyotes will still rely heavily on their youth and aren’t on the same level as the Jackets. The Coyotes will also be finishing up a tough four game road trip over eight nights that include games in Minnesota and Winnipeg.
The Yotes will be drained and out-classed on the ice that night. Another W in store for the Jackets.
The only road game in the series follows the game against Arizona when the Jackets fly to St. Louis for the toughest game of the five. The Blues should be drastically improved from last year after making some big offseason moves.
The Jackets will be on at least a two game winning streak and have some momentum. The Blues will be returning home after a three game Canadian road trip where they have to play the vaunted Maple Leafs and Jets. Although the Blues might have the talent to match up with the Jackets, the situation favors the CBJ in this game.
After an hour flight, the Jackets will be back home where they will host their third team in a week that finished dead last in their division last year. The Buffalo Sabres will look different with some new, young players such as Rasmus Dahlin and Casey Middelstadt joining the roster this year. This early in the year though, the youngsters and new acquisitions will still be acclimating to the league, and to each other. Carter Hutton is a big improvement in net but the Jackets will win this one.
To round out the easy five game stretch, the Jackets host the team I predict will finish dead last in the NHL this season. The Detroit Red Wings have a long season ahead of them this year and should be a nice win to cap off the Jackets easy five game stretch before the Jackets head to California three road games.
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Chicago, Arizona, St. Louis, Buffalo and Detroit all are great matchups for the Columbus Blue Jackets and should be easy points for the team to bank early in the season. This five game stretch will be the easiest the Jackets face all year long.