Schedule starts easy, gets tougher
CHICAGO — The Blue Jackets have a relatively favorable schedule to start the regular season, but they pay for it in the stretch run.
As the franchise looks to make back-to-back postseason appearances for the first time, the Blue Jackets play nine of their first 14 games against opponents that missed last season’s Stanley Cup playoffs. That includes a season-opening game at home against the New York Islanders on Oct. 6.
The club will never be gone too long from Nationwide Arena — its longest road trip is just three games. The Blue Jackets have a trio of threegame trips, including two in a busy and demanding month of March. They open that month with a West Coast swing through Los Angeles, Anaheim and San Jose, and end it with a Western Canadian trip to Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver.
The Blue Jackets don’t see the two-time defending Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins — the team that ousted them from the postseason in the opening round — until Dec. 21. Sidney Crosby and the Penguins make two regular-season visits to Nationwide Arena, Feb. 18 and April 5.
The Jackets get their first look at Detroit’s new venue, Little Caesars Arena, on Nov. 11. The club travels to Las Vegas for its first meeting with the Golden Knights on Jan. 23, with local fans getting a chance to see the expansion team with William Karlsson at Nationwide on March 6.
The Blue Jackets will play back-to-back games 17 times — two fewer than a season ago when they were tied for the most with the Buffalo Sabres. They play 17 home games on Friday and Saturdays.
Bob finds perspective
When Sergei Bobrovsky won the Vezina Trophy in 2013, he was a supernova.
In his first year with the Blue Jackets after being traded by Philadelphia, Bobrovsky, 24, took the NHL by storm and nearly dragged Columbus into the playoffs.
But when he held the Vezina again on Wednesday in Las Vegas, it felt different, Bobrovsky said.
“Now I realize how tough it is to be here,” the goaltender said.
After that first Vezina win, Bobrovsky endured three seasons of chronic groin injuries and fought off questions about his long-term viability as Columbus’ No. 1 goalie.
Bobrovsky, though, said he never lost faith that he could once again play at a high level.
“I had great people around me who believed in me and inspired me,” Bobrovsky said. “They tell me I can do whatever.
“It’s been tough. I went through the injuries. I went through the ups and downs, and in these circumstances I really appreciate the organization, that they give me a chance, that they have trust and belief in me.”
Karlsson will miss Jackets teammates
Karlsson said the Blue Jackets called him in his native Sweden on Wednesday afternoon to tell him that he was being claimed by the Vegas Golden Knights in the NHL expansion draft.
“I’m going to miss the boys,” Karlsson said of his former Blue Jackets teammates. “We had a lot of young guys on the team, so we built a lot of friendships and we had a lot of fun. That’s something I’m going to miss.
“I had two good years in Columbus. I made a home. But it’s a good chance for me in Vegas. I’m excited. (It) should be a fun town to live in.”
The Blue Jackets didn’t want to part with Karlsson, their third-line center and top penalty-killer. But Vegas was going to take somebody, and the Jackets didn’t want them to snatch right wing Josh Anderson, goaltender Joonas Korpisalo or defenseman Jack Johnson, who all were exposed to Vegas.
Local ties
Two players with local ties could get drafted this weekend. Powell native Carson Meyer, a right winger playing at Miami University, and incoming Ohio State freshman Tommy Nappier, a goaltender who played in the United States Hockey League last season, could hear their names called on Saturday.