Blue Jackets Fall Short in Playoffs

After another successful regular season which saw the Blue Jackets place second in the Metro Division behind only the New Jersey Devils, Columbus saw their Stanley Cup hopes dashed in the Conference Semifinals at the hands of their superior division rivals. Columbus fell behind 2-0 in the series, losing the first two games in New Jersey but then won their first home game at Nationwide Arena in convincing fashion, 5-2. However, a 3-0 shutout by Jacob Markstrom in the all important Game 4 swung the series to 3-1 in favor of New Jersey, creating a hole the Blue Jackets were unable to climb out of. Coach Todd McLellan stapled his 4th line to the bench, rolling only his top 9 forwards, which was a successful strategy in Game 5, but the lineup change ultimately fell short in Game 6 where the Devils were able to squeak out a 2-1 win to clinch the series. 

Perhaps the biggest question for the Blue Jackets is what happened to their top pairing in the playoffs. After a very successful season for Alex Pietrangelo and Quinn Hughes, the two seemed to be totally lost once the playoffs began. Finishing the playoffs with a team worst -13 in the postseason, Quinn Hughes might shoulder most of the blame for the Jackets' early exit.  Pietrangelo was the next closest player, finishing -7, most of which came while playing alongside Hughes, while all other Jackets defenders finished the playoffs with positive plus/minus ratings. The challenge for coach McLellan to find a spot in the lineup to shelter Hughes was a puzzle he was unable to solve. Different players saw time filling in on the top pairing alongside Pietrangelo, perhaps with the most success coming from Colin Miller. A UFA signing this offseason for the Jackets, Miller spent most of the year on the second and third pairings, but really stepped up defensively in a time of need for the Jackets. However he was unable to muster much in terms of offense alongside Pietrangelo, and that's something you need to see from your top pairing to succeed in the playoffs. 

While the defense was a point of weakness for Columbus, a majority of the Jackets stars at forward were able to contribute significantly in the postseason. A late season promotion saw Nazem Kadri added to the top line, and while the Jackets juggled their line to find a combo that would work, Kadri managed to lead Columbus by putting up 15pts in just 13 playoff games including 5 goals.  Patrick Kane and Max Pacioretty also put up a point per game, scoring 5 and 6 goals respectively. Perhaps the biggest disappointment at forward was team captain, David Krejci. Krejci has been a proven playoff player, bringing a Stanely Cup for the Jackets as the team's top line center, but was unable to produce this season only putting up 1 goal and 3 assists playing alongside Kadri and Pacioretty. 

Marc-Andre Fleury was good, not great, for Columbus posting a .909 SV% and a respectable 2.66 GAA.  He was able to keep the team in games but unfortunately wasn't able to steal any this year as he posted no shutouts in the playoffs, and only managed one game in keeping the opposing team below two goals. Backup goaltender Elvis Merzlikins did not get into a game for the Jackets this postseason, but with Fleury a UFA after the season, Merzlikins is the likely starter in Columbus moving forward and will likely get his shot next year if the Jackets continue their consistent success. 

In the end, New Jersey has proven to be too powerful for the East, knocking off their first round opponent the Tampa Bay Lightning in 6 games, the Jackets in 6 games, and then sweeping another strong contender in the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Devils are now on their way to the Stanley Cup finals where the team could come up against either the Arizona Coyotes, or possibly the ultimate showdown with Presidents Trophy winning Winnipeg Jets. Columbus wishes the Devils the best of luck in the finals and hopes to see the Cup return to the Eastern Conference!