After enjoying their 5-1 win over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night, the Columbus Blue Jackets come home and are set to face two early season important tests. How these elements play out during the season will go a long way in determining if the Blue Jackets will make the playoffs.
The Blue Jackets host the Washington Capitals on Friday night. Then on Saturday night, they make the trip across I-70 to play the red-hot Pittsburgh Penguins.
If you look carefully enough, you can see what both of the tests are. The first test is a pair of games against their division. The second test is their first of 15 back-to-back games this season.
The Mighty Metro
The Blue Jackets open play on Friday with the fewest number of points in the Metropolitan Division. There is some nuance to this.
The Blue Jackets enter play on Friday having played the fewest number of games in the division with six. All other teams have played a minimum of seven games.
Although the Blue Jackets have the fewest number of points with six, they do not have the lowest points percentage in the division. That distinction belongs to the New York Rangers with their .444 points percentage. The Blue Jackets enter Friday at .500.
The Blue Jackets are coming off an impressive 5-1 win in Dallas. Why they do seem so far behind in the Metro? The top teams are off to incredibly hot starts.
Between the top-four teams in the Metro, the Devils, Hurricanes, Penguins and Capitals, they are a combined 23-6-0 to start the season. The Capitals enter Friday’s game in Columbus with a .714 winning percentage and are in fourth place. It’s very early. But this picture perfectly illustrates the importance of this first test.
The Blue Jackets have to take care of business against Metro division foes. This is especially true at home in Nationwide Arena. Given how fast the top of the division has started, the Blue Jackets have to win games just to keep up.
The only way teams are guaranteed a playoff spot is by finishing in the top-three in their division. Otherwise, it’s up to how the rest of the teams in the conference do in terms of wildcard positioning.
If the Blue Jackets hope to make the postseason, they have to play better against the teams in their division. Friday’s game against the Capitals takes on greater importance knowing that a trip to Pittsburgh awaits them in 24 hours against the 6-2-0 Penguins. This is where test number two comes into play.
Dreaded Back-to Backs
Every team in the NHL will face a high number of back-to-back games on their schedule. That’s what having the Olympics will do.
Teams that want to make the playoffs will have to manage these games when their energy levels are lower on the second night. How will the Blue Jackets adjust after struggling mightily for most of last season?
The Blue Jackets will face 15 sets of back-to-back games in 2025-26. The issue they ran into last season was falling behind early in those games. It will be up to Jet Greaves or Elvis Merzlikins to hold down the fort especially in the second game. Merzlikins is expected to start Saturday in Pittsburgh.
Games would be 2-0 or 3-0 before the first period was over. The Blue Jackets had to spend their time chasing the game after that. Emphasis will be placed on better starts and simpler plays to stay in these games.
As has been well documented, the Blue Jackets missed the playoffs by two points last season. An extra win here or an extra overtime loss there could have made all the difference in positioning. While the team will focus on the game in front of them, they must come into the second game ready to go against a rested team in the Penguins.
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As last season went on, the Blue Jackets got better in both division and back-to-back games. Much of that was due to teams out of the hunt or that had nothing extra to play for. Now we’ll see if they can carry on with that success against teams with all the incentive to accrue points early in the season.
At 3-3-0, the Blue Jackets are feeling good about themselves coming off two wins in a row. These two games against the Capitals and Penguins will provide a good litmus test to see where the team is at.
Division success. Back-to-back game success. If the Blue Jackets can progress enough in these two areas, that should give them the confidence to know that they can make the playoffs in 2025-26.
