Columbus Blue Jackets December 2018 Schedule Analysis
Week Three: December 17th-23rd
December rolls on with the six game home stand wrapping up with games on Monday the 17th and Thursday the 20th.
The Pacific Division trend continues as the Vegas Golden Knights come to town on the 17t. The fourth opponent in a row from the same division is an odd scheduling quirk and it brings the defending Western Conference champs to town. If I were a statistician, I would go to this game to get a front row view of what regression looks like in real life.
The Jackets get two days off before they host the Devils at home. The game starts a run of four straight Metro games. All against teams not named Pittsburgh or Washington. This stretch which goes from week three to four is critical for the Jackets to put some distance on them and the middle pack of the division.
After hosting the Devils the Jackets travel to Philadelphia for a Saturday afternoon bout. It will be the second game in Philly in 16 days.
The team will then take the train over to Newark for the first back-to-back of the month. The Devils will host the Jackets in their second matinée in as many days. These games are huge. These three games between the Devils and Flyers could help separate the Jackets from the two surprise playoff teams from last season. They will be focused an I expect a big week from the Jackets heading into Christmas.