The Blue Jackets Big Jump


The Blue Jackets have become one of the best teams this year and no one has seemed to take notice.

As we approach the holiday season, we really start to see the NHL standings become more stagnate and harder to climb for teams currently looking in. Each team in the league right now is looking at their season and thinking how can we continue our success, or what can we change to turn this season around. One team taking the Leage by storm without anyone taking notice is the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Its commonly known that in the NHL, there is an unwritten rule that if a team is in a playoff spot by December 1st, then its likely that they will keep that spot and make the playoffs in April. In 2015 on December 1st, 12 out of the 16 teams currently in the playoffs, finished and made the playoffs. In 2014 it was 13 out of the 16, and in 2013, it was 13 out of 16. These are 75%, 81%, and 81%, pretty good odds for a very early predictor. This season the NHL is already seeing a divide form in the league. For Columbus this is great news, as they are looking for their first playoff success since 2014.

Columbus currently holds the last Wild Card slot in the east, but not because of the points they have. The closest Eastern team is New Jersey who sit 8 points away from Columbus, and have played 2 more games than them. Columbus in fact has currently played the least amount of games at 27. Columbus is currently riding a 6-game win streak and have gone 7-1-2 in their last 10.

Columbus’s spectacular play can be accredited to many different players, but most recently it has been Sam Gagner. As of right now Sam Gagner is the best value signing of the offseason of any team. Gagner signed a one-year contract worth $650,000 and he has already surpassed his season totals from last year in only half the games played. Gagner has put up 11 goals and and 8 assists, while being one of five Blue Jackets over 19 points.

The other Blue Jacket that has kept the team competitive is Sergei Bobrovsky. He has not lost a game since November 26th, and hasn’t lost two in a row since October 27th. Bobrovsky GAA is a tiny 1.98 and his save percentage is at .932. He ranks in the top 10 of all goaltending statistical categories, and even leads the league in wins.

The reason the Blue Jackets are so low in the standings is because they are playing in the best division in hockey. The Metropolitan Division currently has five teams with 38 points or more. Currently ahead of the Blue Jackets are the Flyers, Capitals, Rangers, and Penguins. The Blue Jackets are only 3 points out of first place and could easily leapfrog several teams with a win.

The Blue Jackets are playing fantastic hockey but are being overshadowed by the Penguins explosive play and the Flyers win streak. The Blue Jackets have the scoring and goaltending to continue this play all the way through the regular season.

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