The Blue Jackets are answering the bell.
They've won their last seven games and, when the sun came up this morning, hold the No. 1 wild card position in the Eastern Conference. Have they saved their best hockey for the most important stretch of the season? It sure looks that way.
Not only are they getting the results, but they're playing a style of hockey that makes them really tough to beat when everyone's going. You can point to GM Jarmo Kekalainen's savvy additions at the trade deadline, which added depth in important areas and improved the balance both at forward and on defense. You can point to the resurgence of key players like Boone Jenner, who has goals in three straight games, and also Alexander Wennberg, who has anchored one of the Jackets' most productive lines of late.
Right now, they're in a good spot – but this week will put them to the test.
Tonight is a date with the Boston Bruins, a team that always proves troublesome for the Blue Jackets. The Bruins are one of the NHL's hottest teams and trying to chase down the Tampa Bay Lightning atop the Atlantic Division, though time is running out. This is a tough one...a real tough one, but the Blue Jackets have shown us lately that they're game for a fight.
Tomorrow they're at Madison Square Garden, a building that has hosted some of the weirdest games when the Blue Jackets and Rangers get together. The Rangers are out of the playoff race but they're still playing well, having beaten both Pittsburgh and St. Louis over the last week. They're a dangerous opponent, just like Ottawa, with nothing to lose.
Ah yes. Thursday.
Perhaps the biggest game of the season is an enormous swing potential. The Florida Panthers come to town (currently six points back of the Blue Jackets, but with three games in hand) looking to close the game and try to stay on the periphery. They've stumbled a couple of times recently but still have the momentum.
If it feels like a broken record for us to keep saying how (week) or (game) is important for the Blue Jackets, your instinct is correct. It's repetitive, but it's real. There's now 10 games remaining in the regular season and the margin for error is microscopic; if you lose, bounce back. If you win, keep winning. Do that and you'll be playing beyond the first week of April.
YOU SHOULD BE READING
- Cam Atkinson is now second in Blue Jackets history with four career hat tricks. He trails only some guy you may have heard of...Rick Nash.
- Is Sergei Bobrovsky a legitimate Vezina Trophy candidate? The numbers support his case for a third career Vezina before the age of 30.
Follow 1st Ohio BatteryFacebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube
