The Columbus Blue Jackets have had a solid start to the season, going 5-3-1 through their first nine games. As of Oct. 31, they sit fifth in the Metropolitan Division standings in both points (11) and points percentage (.611). In spite of this, they actually are in a playoff spot due to the slow start of many teams in the Atlantic Division. In fact, they would currently be sitting third in the Atlantic, ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs. While it is far too early to start predicting playoffs, it is a welcome change of pace for the Blue Jackets to not be sitting at the bottom of the standings at the end of October.
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The Blue Jackets haven’t made the playoffs since the shortened 2019-2020 season, where they went 33-22-15 and beat the Maple Leafs in the play-in round, just to lose to the Stanley Cup-winning Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round. Since then, the Blue Jackets’ best season was the 2021-2022 season where they went 37-38-7. After a few rough seasons, this team and its fans are desperate for some success. So what about this season has been different so far? Is their early season success sustainable? Here are two reasons why the Blue Jackets have started hot, and a look at whether they can keep it up.
Franchis-Record Scoring
The Blue Jackets have continued to set records for most goals scored to start the season in franchise history. So far, they have scored 35 goals with a 3.89 goals-per-game average. That’s four goals more than the previous record of 31, which has happened in three previous seasons. So is this team really that dominant offensively? Well, yes and no. They are currently sitting first in the NHL in shooting percentage at 14.21%. While certainly impressive so far, there are concerns about how sustainable this is. For instance, their 2-0 win against the New York Islanders had one goal from a lucky deflection off of a skate and the other was scored on an empty net.
FIRE THE CANNON!
The Blue Jackets are on the board thanks to a Damon Severson goal!#CBJ pic.twitter.com/EI92Qi1THx
— FanDuel Sports Network Columbus (@FanDuelSN_CBUS) October 31, 2024
Per MoneyPuck, the Blue Jackets are last in the league in expected goals for at 2.63. That means they are scoring goals at a significantly higher rate than expected. This could be attributed to the fortunate schedule the Blue Jackets have started with. Five of their nine games have…
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