Columbus Blue Jackets: Jones and Werenski vs Karlsson and Burns
Tonight four of the league’s top defenseman will be on the ice as the Columbus Blue Jackets travel to San Jose.
There will be an impressive display of defensive talent on the ice tonight in San Jose as the Columbus Blue Jackets start their California road trip. On the blue line alone there are four Norris Trophy caliber defenseman including two that have already won the award.
The Columbus Blue Jackets boast two of the top four defenseman under the age of 25. Both Zach Werenski and Seth Jones have established themselves as All-Star defenseman. Jones finished fourth in Norris voting last season and is going to win the trophy sooner rather than later.
On the other side of the ice, the San Jose Sharks are led by Brett Burns and blockbuster offseason acquisition Erik Karlsson. The two of them have six All-Star appearances and three Norris Trophies. Karlsson is widely considered the best defenseman in the game and Burns isn’t too far behind him.
Columbus Blue Jackets
I would be remise if I didn’t mention Marc-Edouard Vlasic as well. The often overlooked defenseman is the best third blue liner in the NHL.
While Karlsson and Burns only play alongside each other on the power play, the matchup tonight will be a clash of dominate d-men. While I think we can all agree that Erik Karlsson and Brett Burns are a better duo, it isn’t by much.
Zach Werenski and Seth Jones both ended the season tied for second in goals by a defenseman last year, outscoring both Burns and Karlsson. Thats impressive considering Z was playing with one shoulder and Brett Burns shoots the puck approximately seven million times per season.
The Sharks combo has scored 22 points in 24 games while the Jackets pair have nine points in 15 games. While the duo of Karlsson and Burns are outscoring Jones and Z so far this season, Jones is just getting back into the rhythm of the game. Jones will only be playing in his fifth game of the year tonight against San Jose.
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By the end of the year, the Z and Jones will be right there with Burns and EK65. Also by the end of the year the average age of the Jackets duo will be 22.5 years old while the 32.5 years old. The Sharks pair is a shade better right now but the Jackets future on the blue line is much brighter. By this time next year, we are going to be talking about Z and Jones as the best pair in the NHL and perhaps with some hardware to prove it.