The battle of Pennsylvania wrapped up last night, with the Philadelphia Flyers downing the Pittsburgh Penguins 1-0 in overtime; winning the series 4 games to 2. As the Blue Jackets and their frustrated fans watched from far away, I couldn't help but wonder what could have been for this iteration of the CBJ.
That first round matchup between the second and third place team in the Metropolitan Division, was exactly where this Blue Jackets team should have been. With 11 games left in their season, they sat in second place and controlled their own destiny.
They found themselves in that position after beating the Flyers in Philadelphia on March 24th. That win left the Jackets at 38-22-11 (87 points), 7 points ahead of the Flyers; who had 12 games remaining.
At that time, it sure felt like the final nail in the coffin for Philadelphia. The Jackets beat them all three times they played them this year, and had plenty of separation to essentially write the Flyers out of the playoff race.
On the ice, the Jackets were the better team. Since we're talking about the battle of Pennsylvania, it's also worth noting that the Jackets were 2-0-2 against the Penguins this year. They proved they could play with-and beat-these teams. They were primed for a playoff run, if they could just get in.
Of course, that did not happen. We all know how this finished up. The Jackets stumbled down the stretch, winning just 2 of their last 11 games and finishing the season with 92 points. Meanwhile, the Flyers picked up 18 of a possible 24 points down the stretch, earning the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Now, they are moving on to the second round after stifling the Penguins' offense and allowing just 11 goals in 6 playoff games. It's hard to look at this series and not see the Blue Jackets having a similar result. Just look at the two rosters side by side.
The Blue Jackets should be the team moving on to the second round.
No matter how you stack up the Flyers against the Blue Jackets, the Jackets have the advantage. They had the better team, as the outcome of the season series would indicate.
That's the most disappointing part, and it's the reason Rick Bowness' post-game presser after the final game of the regular season hit home with so many of us. The talent was there. This was on the players, and they could not get it done. When the games got tough, they collapsed.
Hopefully, next season they will come back better prepared, and motivated to get over the hump. They were good enough to win at least one playoff series this year. It's a shame they didn't realize it until it was too late.
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