Columbus Blue Jackets Winning Streak Hits Six
By Frank Walker
At this point in the season most talk around the league is about either teams making their final playoff push or seeing how many losses they accumulate in a quest for McDavid. The Columbus Blue Jackets winning streak of six games has gone largely un-noticed. They are 9-1-0 in their last ten. A team that had just beat the Canucks, Flames, Ducks, Blackhawks, and Blues would normally receive more notice. After a year that has seen more injuries than any other team in Blue Jackets history it has been encouraging to the fan base to see the team play up to it’s potential.
For the first time all season the team has had two of it’s emotional leaders, Brandon Dubinsky and Boone Jenner, on the ice together for a few games in a row. The team has shown much more energy and as a result their backcheck, a staple of last year’s playoff team, is in great form.
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The continued development of young talent has been on display during this hot streak. Cam Atkinson, with his first twenty goal season, is maturing into a legitimate top six forward. Rookies, such as Alexander Wennburg and Marko Dano, are making leaps and bounds in their development. Even a young defenseman taken off of waivers, Kevin Connauton, is developing into a solid defender who can wind up the big slapshot from the point.
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Add in that the trade for Scotty Hartnell has turned into a major plus for this organization. Hartnell has not only contributed 25 goals and 29 assists but has played a major role in showing this young team how to be a pro and has strongly assisted in the overall development of one of the youngest teams in the league.
Goaltender Segei Bobrovksy has returned from injury and shown his worth. At times he has stood on his head to keep the team in games. Other times he has provided the emotional kick that gets the defence in gear to get the Blue Jackets working.
The final beacon of hope shining for the fans is that general manager Jarmo Kekalainen is growing into his role. Some fans have expressed frustration at the trade of James Wisniewski, but Connauton, mentioned above, is developing into a player that can fill that same position. In the very few games that he has played with the team William Karlsson, acquired in that same trade, is showing a lot of promise. Two of the three first round picks that Kekalainen took in his first draft, Wennburg and Dano, are starting to play up to their potential.
For Blue Jackets fans the 2014-2015 season has been a frustrating one. For them, hopefully the Columbus Blue Jackets winning streak is a sign of things to come.