So you’ve clinched a playoff spot. Now what?
This is uncharted territory in many ways for the Blue Jackets, who traditionally have left it late when it comes to clinching a playoff spot.
The franchise had to rally each of its previous times it clinched a postseason berth. In 2008-09, Columbus was 14-16-4 on Christmas Day and had been shut out in two consecutive games before rallying to earn the team’s first playoff appearance with a 4-3 shootout win April 8 in game No. 80 on the year at Chicago.
In 2013-14, it took until game No. 80 again to cement postseason action. That season, the CBJ was 17-19-4 when the calendar flipped before another furious stretch was capped April 9 with a 3-1 win at Dallas – a game that started with Columbus up 1-0 when it was postponed nearly a month after Rich Peverley’s cardiac incident in the initial playing.
In 2009, Columbus lost its two games after clinching its playoff berth. In 2014, Columbus went 1-1, leaving the team 1-3 all-time after a bid has been sealed.
OK, this is of course a small sample size, which is kind of the point. Clinching a playoff berth with weeks and not days to go – with 11 games to go instead of two – is a big ole [File not found] in Blue Jackets annals.
So, what do you over the last 11 games? Not much changes, of course, but does the edge come off a bit? Will the carrot at the end of the stick – a chance to clinch the Presidents Trophy and home ice throughout the playoffs, not to mention an easier first-round series be enough to keep the team focused?
This is, of course, where an excellent coach comes into play, and the Blue Jackets seem to have one in John Tortorella. The 2004 Stanley Cup champ with Tampa Bay said he was “thrilled” the Jackets have qualified for the playoffs but was not exactly doing backflips after Sunday’s clincher, instead delivering the message that Sunday’s victory was not the end of the road but merely just a milepost.
“It just gives us an opportunity to talk about it,” he said in New Jersey. “We are in. We can talk about that, but to me, it’s just the start of the road. You work that hard throughout a year, the amount of games you have to play, it gives you an opportunity to start your journey.”
It likely helps for a couple of reasons to clinch as early as the Blue Jackets have. First, clinching with double digits in games to play likely gives the team the chance to digest its accomplishment and refocus before the postseason starts.
In addition, the Blue Jackets have a big goal still on the horizon. Columbus is tied with Washington at 100 points with each having 11 games to play; meanwhile, fellow Metro foe Pittsburgh is just a point behind having played the same number of games.
The team that emerges with the most points will earn the right to have home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs, not to mention the chance to take on the second wild card – likely a young Toronto team – in the opening round. Meanwhile, the No. 2 team will host No. 3 in the first round.
“We talked about it a little bit here,” Brandon Dubinsky said. “If you win the Presidents Trophy, obviously you get (home ice) throughout no matter who you face. I’ve been in a few Game 7s, some at home and some on the road when I was in New York, and the road ones are hard to win. I think the home record is a lot better.
“It’s an advantage. You get to start the series at home, and if it comes down to it you get the extra game at home.”
As most know, Columbus began each of its previous series – a sweep at the hands of Detroit in 2009 and a six-game series vs. Pittsburgh – as the lower seed and the road team.
In fact, as most also know, this has been the best season in franchise history, not to mention one that has come on the heels of one of the most disappointing. That drive has pushed the team all season, and captain Nick Foligno doesn’t expect anything to change even though the postseason is now assured.
“What a difference a year makes is the comment a lot of people make,” Foligno said. “Not to reflect too much because we’re in it right now, but I’m proud of the guys and the way they’ve handled themselves this year. The challenge that we got in the offseason, I think it’s just carried on and just gave us a focus and a game plan all year long that we stuck to.”
There is also the matter of the schedule when it comes to keeping the team focused. After Wednesday’s game with Toronto, Columbus heads to Washington to face the Capitals in a game that will likely give the winner a leg up when it comes to the division title.
Then there’s the stretch in early April in which the Jackets host the Caps on April 2 before traveling to take on Pittsburgh two days later. That stretch might very well determine how the division and playoff structure is decided.
In other words, there’s plenty to play for, and Tortorella doesn’t expect his team to
“We play the games the way you’re supposed to play the games,” he said. “We practice the way we’re supposed to practice. We prepare the way we’re supposed to prepare. … One of the greatest things they’ve accomplished this year is the process of keeping it flatlined – not getting too low, not getting too high. Keep it in perspective.
“This is just the start of it, and we’ve earned the right to start. I feel really good about it and they should too.”
