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18-19 Columbus Blue Jackets: Here’s What You’ve Missed Football Fans

By Lansing Murphy

COLUMBUS, OH - SEPTEMBER 28: Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Oliver Bjorkstrand (28) celebrates with Columbus Blue Jackets center Alexander Wennberg (10) after scoring a goal in the third period of a game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Pittsburgh Penguins on September 28, 2018 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH. The Blue Jackets won 7-6. (Photo by Adam Lacy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH - SEPTEMBER 28: Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Oliver Bjorkstrand (28) celebrates with Columbus Blue Jackets center Alexander Wennberg (10) after scoring a goal in the third period of a game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Pittsburgh Penguins on September 28, 2018 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH. The Blue Jackets won 7-6. (Photo by Adam Lacy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Columbus Blue Jackets
COLUMBUS, OH – DECEMBER 13: Artemi Panarin #9 of the Columbus Blue Jackets celebrates his second period goal with his teammates during a game against the Los Angeles Kings on December 13, 2018 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Here’s what you’ve missed out on from the Columbus Blue Jackets season if you’ve been too focused on football.

Let’s be honest. Columbus and the entire state of Ohio are all-in on football. From high school football on Fridays, to the Buckeyes, Bobcats, and Bearcats on Saturdays, and the Browns and Bengals on Sunday, this is a football mad state. But now that Buckeyes have won the Rose Bowl, attention turns to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

If you’re one of those fans that is now shifting attention to the ice, welcome and were here to catch you up on what you’ve missed so far. The Jackets started out their season with a solid training camp and preseason action that only saw a relatively minor injury to Seth Jones during the Kraft Hockeyville game. Jones missed seven games but has come back with a vengeance since.

The season opened with backup Joonas Korpisalo in net in what would be come an early season theme of Korpi getting a decent chunk of starts over Sergei Bobrovsky. Contract turmoil with Bobrvosky forced the team to test their backup net minder as Bob’s future in Columbus was, and still is uncertain. Joonas started four of the first 10 games for the Jackets winning all of his starts.

The first 14 games of the season were not very inspiring. The Jackets were only 7-6-1 including a terrible 8-2 loss at Tampa and a 4-1 loss at Los Angeles that was in my eye, the low point of the season so far. In their first 14 games the Jackets had a .536 winning percentage. Since then the Jackets are 16-7-2, good for a .680 winning percentage that has the Jackets well in playoff contention.

The Jackets are still struggling as a team against the elite teams in the NHL. Six of their last nine losses have come against playoff teams including two losses against the Toronto Maple Leafs who are second in the NHL.

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