Columbus Blue Jackets Organization Week Preview: One to Forget
The Columbus Blue Jackets organization had a very rough week on all accounts and they’re looking to rebound this week.
The Columbus Blue Jackets and Cleveland Monsters both had a week to learn from and, in the long run, forget.
With the Monsters going 1-2-0 over the past week, the two losses to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins showed the Monsters’ weaknesses. If goaltending isn’t perfect, or almost perfect, it seems as if there’s little chance for the Monsters to win. The offense seems to disappear when the defense and goaltending struggle.
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Meanwhile in Columbus, Sergei Bobrovsky‘s rough start to the season continued. Despite the Blue Jackets going 2-1-0 this week, the ending of the week was certainly not ideal. Giving up eight goals to the Tampa Bay Lightning killed the team’s momentum and possibly the confidence, undoing most of the week’s work.
Next week, the Cleveland Monsters start a five game road trip in Utica on Friday to take on the Comets and potentially they’ll face former Monster Ivan Kulbakov. The next night they take on the Binghamton Devils.
The two division games will be very important for the Monsters. Utica is currently 2-2-0 and fourth in the North division. Binghamton is 3-1-0 and as a result they’re currently leading the North.
In the state’s capital, the Columbus Blue Jackets return home for the start of a three game home-stand. Thursday they face the division rival Philadelphia Flyers who are off to a 2-3-0 start.
Saturday they will take on a former division rival prior to the realignment, the Chicago Blackhawks. Joel Quenneville‘s squad has yet to fail to record a point through five games. Chicago is currently 3-0-2 which is good enough for second in the Central Division.
This won’t be a walk in the park for either the Columbus Blue Jackets nor the Cleveland Monsters, but it’s a very important week for both.