Columbus Blue Jackets Organization Week Ahead: Road Trips and Injuries
By William Espy
The Columbus Blue Jackets and Cleveland Monsters both have a three game week, that should be filled with difficulty.
At the NHL level, the Columbus Blue Jackets have a busy week ahead of them with three games in five days before a four day break. This starts on Tuesday at Nationwide Arena against the Colorado Avalanche who have been surging with Hart Trophy nominee Nathan MacKinnon.
On Tuesday, the Blue Jackets travel to Florida to take on the Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning in what should be a fairly difficult road trip. Both teams are off to a decent start, with Florida have one of two possible points and Tampa having both of the points they could’ve possibly won.
A note on the Florida Panthers however, they recently lost goaltender Roberto Luongo to injury and a time frame has not yet been established.
Meanwhile in the AHL, the Columbus Blue Jackets affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters start their week on Monday against the reigning Calder Cup champion Toronto Marlies and fan favorite Pierre Engvall.
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Following that, they face a back to back against the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins who are the affiliate of the Penguins who’s name causes Columbus fans to steam in hatred. The games against the Penguins take place on Thursday and Saturday both at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
State of the Union Blue:
For the Cleveland Monsters, they should be going for at least four points out of the next three games. The 2-0-0 Monsters showed their offensive prowess on Friday and Saturday against the Rockford IceHogs posting a total nine goals in two games to start the year along with a solid goaltending performance.
The Columbus Blue Jackets are currently 1-1-0 through the first two games of the season. They are still dealing with two significant injuries to Seth Jones and Brandon Dubinsky and need some depth players to step it up. Realistically a successful run through the the next three games would be four points out of a possible six.
Dubinsky out 4-6 Weeks. Just Great.. dark. Next
Stay tuned to UnionAndBlue.com for continuing coverage of the Jackets, Monsters, and prospects for the week ahead.