To win in today’s NHL, a team needs to score goals. Not only does a team need players who shoot, it needs the playmakers who get the puck to the shooter. Consider this: in the modern history of the NHL, only twice has a player scored three goals in a game without any assists on […]

To win in today’s NHL, a team needs to score goals. And to score, they need players who can consistently put the puck past the opponents’ goaltenders, game in and game out. In the 20-year history of the Columbus Blue Jackets, only seven players have averaged more than one goal every three games during their […]

In the summer of 2021, the NHL’s newest team, the Seattle Kraken, will be formed through an expansion draft. This draft will use the same rules as those for the expansion draft that created the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017. Each existing team, except the Golden Knights, will lose one player. Each of those teams […]

The Columbus Blue Jackets fell into an early 2-0 hole, climbed out for a two-goal lead, then blew that lead with 1:38 left in the game, and lost in overtime. Playing from behind, trying to protect a lead, losing the lead, and heart break. Columbus lost in overtime for the second time this series and the third […]

For the first time this postseason, the Columbus Blue Jackets have lost two games in a row. To win this series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, they’ll need to win three straight. Until Game 4 of this series, dating back to the qualifying-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Blue Jackets have alternated wins […]

It’s now an uphill battle for the Columbus Blue Jackets after losing Game 3 by a score of 3-2 to the Tampa Bay Lightning. In this best-of-seven series, it takes four wins. And they now need three wins with only four games remaining. A lack of production from the power play was a key factor. An extended 5-on-3 […]

Since last Thursday, the Columbus Blue Jackets have played over 21 periods worth of hockey, with three overtime games (including Tuesday’s 5 OT marathon). This Thursday afternoon they stuck to regulation time – and stuck it to the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-1 to even their series at one game each. And they looked strong right […]

It’s the same series as the first round of last year’s playoffs – the Columbus Blue Jackets against the Tampa Bay Lightning. But these are two substantially different teams from those that met last year, when Columbus won all four games. The Blue Jackets lost top stars to free agency, while the Lightning brought in players […]

The Columbus Blue Jackets are in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for a team-record 4th consecutive season. They defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in the deciding Game 5, 3-0. They also shut out the Maple Leafs in Game 1 of the series. The Blue Jackets will open the playoffs in a best-of-seven series against the Tampa Bay Lightning – […]

Is a 3-0 lead the new “most dangerous lead in hockey”? For the second straight night, a team lost a three-goal lead, then lost the game in OT. This time it was the Toronto Maple Leafs beating the Columbus Blue Jackets to force a deciding Game 5 in their Qualifying Round series. The Blue Jackets had three […]

Shades of last year’s Game 1 vs. the Tampa Bay Lightning! Last night the Columbus Blue Jackets were down 3-0 (to the Toronto Maple Leafs this time) and finished with four straight goals, the last in OT. Pierre-Luc Dubois had a hat trick, only his second in his three-year NHL career. But while Columbus fans have […]

Reduced hockey-related revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic will result in a “flat” NHL salary cap for the 2020-21 season. With no increase from the previous year’s upper limit of $81.5 million per team, many teams in the league will be hard-pressed to keep their rosters intact. Retaining players currently under contract and key free […]

Among the four freshman joining the Notre Dame Fighting Irish hockey team for the 2020-21 season are two draft prospects. In the NHL Central Scouting Bureau’s final list for the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, Landon Slaggert is ranked #88 among North American Skaters, while Ryder Rolston, son of former NHL-er Brian Rolston, is ranked #102.  The Bureau’s […]

Reports out of Toronto say that Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe is preaching defense as he gets his players ready for the Qualifying Round. Say what? Isn’t that why former coach Mike Babcock was fired last November? Wasn’t Keefe hired as his replacement to install a more high-octane, attack-first approach? Reports at the time said Babcock […]

The Columbus Blue Jackets face the Toronto Maple Leafs in a best-of-five Qualification Round Series starting Aug. 2 to determine which team advances to the NHL’s 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. (The loser of the series has a 1-in-8 chance of getting the top pick in the upcoming Entry Draft.) The Blue Jackets’ top job in the series will […]

Let’s start by addressing the big difference between the 2019 NHL Playoff Columbus Blue Jackets and the 2020 postseason Blue Jackets: Lots of talent left coach John Tortorella’s team as free agents last summer. Nonetheless, I think a deep look into the Blue Jackets’ playoff performance last summer bodes well for this postseason. (Note that […]

The first-overall pick in the NHL’s 2020 Entry Draft will be determined in a second draft lottery. Much to the disappointment of the teams with the worst records in the 2019-20 regular season, a team that finished with a record of at least .500 will get the top selection. Only the top four teams in […]

Prior to the 2019-20 Stanley Cup Playoffs, we’ll see the so-called Qualification Round. Each winner of the eight best-of-five series (four in each conference) goes on to the actual playoffs. The loser of each series has an equal chance (12.5%) of getting the first-overall pick in the 2020 Entry Draft. Is it worth losing in […]

As the Columbus Blue Jackets prepare to meet the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2019-20 qualifying round, head coach John Tortorella faces what could be a very tough decision: which goalie starts? The best-of-five series will determine which team moves on to the Stanley Cup Playoffs . . . and which becomes a footnote.  Both […]

This summer, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Columbus Blue Jackets will meet in a pre-playoff “qualifying round” for the right to participate in the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. That best-of-five series will be the highlight of the teams’ history. Not only will it determine which one is a playoff team this year, but it […]