Final Score: Sabres 1 – Blue Jackets 4 Final Score: Blackhawks 4 – Blue Jackets 5
Game Summary
I was unable to watch the Buffalo game and didn’t have time before the Chicago game to watch the replay so I decided to double down and do both in what is the last Post Battle of the season.
The Jackets finished the season 34-40-8 for a total of 76 points. The team really hurt themselves by winning their last three games. Had they lost out they would have been looking at a top three spot. Now odds are they are going to be picking 5th or 6th, barring some lottery luck. It’s a good spot but very disappointing for a team that hasn’t been in contention all season and just won a bunch of meaningless games.
The Jackets made team history against the Sabres. Brandon Saad scored his 30th goal of the season. He and Boone Jenner both have 30 marking the first time ever the franchise has had two 30 goal scorers in the same season. The best part of this is both players are under 23. They are only beginning to crack the surface.
tic-tac-top shelf pic.twitter.com/uoJsqorNcw
— NHL Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) April 9, 2016
Against Chicago Saad was out to remind Hawks fans just what they traded away. He tallied a goal and an assist. That goal extends his career high to 31 and sets new career high in points with 55. He finished the year hot with five points in the last three games.
Also having a big game against Chicago was Alexander Wennberg. Wennberg scored a goal and added two assists. His third three point game of the season. He like Saad also had a fantastic finish to the year. In the last six games of the season Wennberg had eight points. He’s really emerged this season. He scored eight goals and had 32 assists on the season; those are both double what he had last year. He's still so young and has plenty of room to grow; he's going to be a very good player.
#CBJ take a 4-3 lead courtesy of @wenniss! pic.twitter.com/UuNXvpuCf5
— NHL Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) April 10, 2016
The big goal out of all these was scored by Scott Hartnell. Hartnell had an up and down year. He dealt with numerous healthy scratches, and was the subject to trade rumors. But through it all he still managed to have a great year scoring 23 goals, capped off with his 300th career goal tonight against Chicago.
.@Hartsy43's 300th! #CBJ pic.twitter.com/bRwylBkWzo
— NHL Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) April 10, 2016
Finally I would like to thank everyone for reading. I know it can be hard to follow a team doing so poorly but I appreciate everyone that took the time to read and comment over the season. I really enjoyed my first season writing here, interacting with many new people. I will continue to bring the best coverage of the Jackets that I can into the off-season, and hope for a better season next year.
Stat of the Night
Stats courtesy of HockeyStats.ca, War On Ice, and Hockey Reference.
You can follow me on Twitter @PaulBerthelot