The Opening Week Presser Oct. 4th – Oct. 6th: The Columbus Blue Jackets start the season with a win against Detroit. But fall at home to Carolina.
Hockey is finally back and the Columbus Blue Jackets opening week was mired with injury news. On the ice, the team went 1-1 in their two matchups.
RESULTS:
CBJ @ DET: 3-2 (OT) W
CAR @ CBJ: 3-1 L
STATS:
Goals: Cam Atkinson, Josh Anderson, Artemi Panarin, Brandon Dubinsky.
Assists: Panarin (2), Pierre-Luc Dubois, Dubinsky, Anthony Duclair, Nick Foligno, Markus Nutivaara, David Savard.
SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK: Artemi Panarin is back to his scoring ways. Starting the 2018 season like he ended it, Panarin is putting up points just like the Jackets need. Against Detroit, if Panarin isn’t on the ice, simply put they don’t win that game. His flashy skill and his ability to make his line mates better is important going forward, especially as the injuries are going to mount up.
SHADOW OF THE WEEK: It’s no secret that Gabriel Carlsson has looked very slow out of the gate and cannot carry the weight of the team on the back end. Until Seth Jones returns, Carlsson needs to pick up his game as everyone else on the defensive side has played well under the pressure. When Jones returns, I see Carlsson going back down to the AHL.
Columbus Blue Jackets
UPCOMING GAMES:
October 9th: COL @ CBJ
October 11th: CBJ @ FLA
October 13th: CBJ @ TBL
QUESTION & ANSWERS:
Q: How bad will the Dubinsky injury affect the team?
A: Hard to say, Dubinsky has been on fire in the first two games of the season, Sedlak will have big shoes to fill these next 4-6 weeks.
Q: How will the Jackets fare in their first road trip of sizable distance in Florida?
A: The Jackets matchup very well with the Panthers and have found success against Florida’s south team, but against Tampa Bay the Jackets are outmatched especially with injuries.
QUESTIONS UNANSWERED:
Q: What’s wrong with Wennberg?
Q: What will the Jackets record look like when Dubinsky gets back?