Away we go.
Not even six months ago, the Columbus Blue Jackets were shaking hands with the eventual Stanley Cup champions at center ice in Nationwide Arena. Eliminated in six games after winning the first two on the road, the Blue Jackets were in shock – both in how it happened, and at how quickly their momentum had evaporated.
It made for a long summer, but that summer is now over. The Blue Jackets begin anew and open the 2018-19 campaign tonight at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, albeit without their best defenseman and a slew of questions and uncertainty over their heads.
PROJECTED LINEUP
The Blue Jackets are expected to align thusly:
Panarin – Dubois – Atkinson
Foligno – Wennberg – Bjorkstrand
Jenner – Dubinsky – Anderson
Milano – Nash – Duclair
Werenski – Savard
Murray – Nutivaara
Kukan – Carlsson
STORYLINES
- Obviously, the Blue Jackets need to start this season on the right foot. They've got a back-to-back that concludes tomorrow in their home opener against Carolina at Nationwide Arena, and then are off until Tuesday when they host the Colorado Avalanche. You don't want to go into next week searching for momentum – they'll want to establish it right away.
- Special teams! Yes, we're going to be keeping a watchful eye on the power play and penalty kill. The Blue Jackets have too much talent under their umbrella to stumble the way they did last season.
- Balance. How will John Tortorella deploy his lineup, aside from the heavy minutes promised to the No. 1 line of Panarin, Dubois and Atkinson? He's going to need quality minutes and production from the other three lines, or else the Blue Jackets will be awfully easy to defend.
