Question: Will the Blue Jackets make the playoffs this season?
Todd Cordell: Yes I think the Blue Jackets will make it. Five points out is probably more than most people realize considering the amount of teams ahead of them, but there is still plenty of season left, and with Sergei Bobrovsky back they have a chance every night.
Take Saturday vs San Jose, for example. The Jackets were still missing plenty of bodies and didn't play overly well, but their top forwards got Bobrovsky a couple goals of support and he did the rest making 36 saves in a 2-1 win.
Artem Anisimov just returned and Brandon Dubinsky + Matt Calvert don't seem far off, so help is on the way. Factor in how well their top guys in Ryan Johansen, Scott Hartnell, Nick Foligno and co. have played and Columbus can still make some noise this season.
It'll be tough, but I think they get in.
Ryan Wilson: No I had the Blue Jackets finishing 2nd in the Metro Division this year. Much like the Blue Jackets I did not plan for the incredibly poor injury luck they have suffered from. Here is a excerpt from Elliotte Friedman's 30 thoughts from last October about teams trailing in the playoff race early in the year:
Just three of 32 NHL teams at least four points out of a playoff spot on Nov. 1 recovered to make the playoffs from 2005-06 to 2011-12 (Sources say no hockey was played by that date in 2012-13).
The Blue Jackets are currently 5 points back. I believe the Penguins and Islanders are locks, that leaves the Blue Jackets to jump above the Rangers, Devils, and Capitals. Tall task. If Bob gets Vezina caliber hot they could do it, but I clearly have my reservations.
Michael Stuart: Yes Yes, the Columbus Blue Jackets will make the playoffs. Why? I have three reasons.
1) The Eastern Conference is wide open. At this stage of the game, few teams can be considered ‘locks’ for the post-season action. In the Metropolitan Division specifically, there are questions about every team that isn’t the Pittsburgh Penguins. There’s still plenty of time for the Blue Jackets to leapfrog teams like Philadelphia, Washington, New York, and Carolina.
2) Injuries. Look at the individual statistics page for Columbus players. Look at how many of those players have missed a significant chunk of time this season. Columbus has been far from healthy. As their roster gets back to full strength, they’ll be more competitive.
3) Possession. Despite all those injuries, the Blue Jackets’s Corsi percentage is hovering right in that 49-50% range. That plus the fact that they’re dealing with a league-worst PDO at 5v5 (per War on Ice) tells me that Columbus is bound to get better before this season comes to an end.
For those reasons, I think we’ll see the Blue Jackets in the playoffs next spring.
James Tanner: Unlikely Columbus is in danger of being too far out to make it. They have 65 games to play and if they went 35-25-5 they would have 88 points and still miss the playoffs.
Last year 93 points was the cut-off to get in, and that means a record approximating 35-20-10 for them to make it.
So basically, for Columbus to make the playoffs this year, they will have to immediately start playing like one of the NHL's top teams and keep it up the rest of the way. I guess it could happen, but it seems unlikely given the way they've played so far.
Tim Chiasson: Yes The Blue Jackets have now won two straight games and have Sergei Bobrovsky back. Without Bobrovsky they went 1-6-1 and plummeted to the basement of the Eastern Conference.
It's still early in the season and a string of wins can shoot you up the standings in no time.
With Bobrovsky in the cage the Blue Jackets have a chance to win every night. This team plays with as much heart as anyone in the league and they find ways to win when the goalie gives them a chance.
I liked this team to make the post-season, like a lot of people did, before the season began and I'm sticking with them.
Ed Stein: No I like this team, but the aren't making the post-season. All the injuries have put them behind the eight ball in the east. Even if they were to pick it up right now, the teams ahead of them are pretty good too. If three teams currently above the playoff line were to fall out (unlikely) the Jackets are still in a dog fight with the Rangers, Devils, Flyers, Caps and Panthers to get into the playoffs.
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What say you? Will the Jackets get into the playoffs this year, or will injuries and their slow start prevent them from doing so?
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