Columbus Blue Jackets 2010 Preview & Predictions

Columbus Blue Jackets 2010 Season Preview, Predictions Picks & Odds

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COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS

2009-10 record: 32-35-15
Shootout Record: 2-10
Division Finish: 5th, CentraL
Conference Finish: 14th, Western
Goals For: 216
Goals Against: 259

Columbus Blue Jackets 2010 Preview

The way back to the playoffs for the Blue Jackets is not too hard to find.

They must cut down on goals-against, which swelled to 259 last season second- worst in the conference and third-worst in club history.

after posting a 20-12-6 record when scoring first, third-worst in the League. And they have to start winning road games, having never finished above .500 on the road since joining the League in 2000.

This will be a year of reckoning for Columbus, which seemed on its way to Cup contention a couple of years ago, with 41 overall victories, a playoff spot and a team with young talent coming into its prime.

They enter 2010-11 having bid farewell to long-time coach Ken Hitchcock, with Scott Arniel taking the reins and leaders such as forwards Rick Nash and R.J. Umberger knowing they must light a fire under teammates and do more themselves. Both are quite aware that a loyal fan base, which had its hopes raised in 2009, deserves better. Umberger, who actually improved from 46 to 55 points as the team fell back.

The Jackets thought they had overcome one of their greatest bugaboos, an inability to generate points from Central Division games. But last season’s 7-9-8 record meant that the Blackhawks, Red Wings, Predators and Blues were all getting fat at the expense of Columbus, all four opponents winning 10 games or more within the confines of the Central.

Columbus teased through the first two months of the schedule, leaping to a record of 12-6-2, stealing big wins in unfriendly barns such as Vancouver and Washington. However, they followed that promising lift-off by winning only three regulation games of their next 24, leading to Hitchcock’s departure on Feb. 3. All season long, the team struggled to put away foes in the third period, with blown leads in the double digits at the end.

the end. Nash came back from a gold medal at the Olympics with Canada burdened by injuries, but he’ll be out to lead in scoring for a seventh year. He was closely tailed by Antoine Vermette, the late-season pickup from ’09 who continues to pay huge dividends for general manager Scott Howson.

There are a number of lesser known players who could end up having huge roles in the turnaround. They include defenseman Kris Russell, who played close to 20 minutes a game in his third full season and received an invite from Team Canada at the World Championship. Grant Clitsome made good use of two years in the AHL to arrive at season’s end and challenge for a starting job in his 11-game audition.

2010 Columbus Blue Jackets Offense:

Though Nash’s numbers slipped a bit because of his injuries, Vermette reached career highs with 27 goals and 65 points. Just as important, he was a whiz on the draw with 852 face off decisions to make top five in the League. Left winger Kristian Huselius reached 40 assists for the third time in the past four years, though his string of consecutive playoff appearances with Calgary and Columpus ended at four. Umberger made four Jackets with 20 goals and his next goal will be his 50th with the team. A pro since he was aged 13 in the Czech Republic, right winger Jakub Voracek took full advantage of a World Championship invite, playing a third- . line role, but ending up with a gold medal when the Czechs beat Russia.

2010 Columbus Blue Jackets Defense:

Russell was a plus player, one of the few on the team. The Jackets had used 11 men on the blueline at the end of the season, the four busiest being Anton Stralman, Fedor Tyutin, Jan Hejda and Rostislav Klesla, but none played a full season. Klesla, the team’s first pick at birth in 2000, fought a hip disorder at season’s end, but should be 100% at camp. Mike Commodore was supposed to take a lot of that load, but was injured and saw just 57 games. In addition, the team does like what it has seen from 2009 pick David Savard.

2010 Columbus Blue Jackets Goaltending:

Steve Mason found his second run through the League much tougher than the dream season of ’08-09. His 10 shutouts were halved and he posted 13 fewer victories. The nine overtime losses were difficult to digest as well, but he didn’t turn 22 until the end of the season and has plenty of time to get his career going again. The year before, he was swept in the playoffs, but a 45-save shutout against Detroit on the final night of the schedule might be a harbinger of better things this season. Mathieu Garon, who picked up a Cup ring in a bit part with Pittsburgh the year before, won 12 games to clear the 100 mark in his career. His .903 save percentage in 35 games just edged Mason.

Columbus Blue Jackets 2010 Special Teams

Columbus shouldn’t really be celebrating an 18.2% power play that put them in the middle of the pack, yet it was a major improvement from the League worst 12.2% that dogged them in ’08-09 in both the regular season and playoffs. Their first eight scorers had at least three power-play goals, led by Nash’s 10 to give him 71 in his career. The Jackets’ penalty kill had to be sharp after the team ranked fourth in times short-handed and generally responded welL Nash and Vermette had two shorthanded goals each.

Columbus Blue Jackets 2010 Season Predictions

Unfortunately, no one in the Central looks to be slowing down to allow Columbus to catch up. But new coaches usually spark a team and the arrival of Arniel should at least inspire some better efforts.

We predict that the Columbus Blue Jackets will finish 5th in the NHL Central.

Columbus Blue Jackets Betting

Columbus Blue Jackets Stanley Cup Odds: +10000
Columbus Blue Jackets Western Conference Odds: +5000

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