Blue Jackets are playing with fire – and they’re just getting started

Nobody expected much from the Columbus Blue Jackets this season. Along with going through tragedy off the ice, the team in Ohio’s capital was expected to finish near the bottom of the league standings once again.

However, the Blue Jackets have been playing pretty well in the early going. After a 6-1 dismantling of a shorthanded Edmonton Oilers side on Monday night, Columbus is 4-3-1, with their nine points keeping them in the Wild Card conversation as we approach November. The Blue Jackets’ .563 winning percentage is good for fifth in the Metropolitan Division and seventh in the Eastern Conference.

With players such as Sean Monahan, Kirill Marchenko and Zach Werenski among the players leading the charge, Columbus has scored 33 goals in their eight games, good for eighth in the NHL.

On Tuesday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk discuss what has worked for the Blue Jackets, and whether it is sustainable for the rest of the season.

Tyler Yaremchuk: They’re being driven by this top line that is looking absolutely dominant. Sean Monahan, Kirill Marchenko and Yegor Chinakhov have been outstanding…they’ve combined for 27 points.

Frank Seravalli: I’ve got a bold prediction for you, I don’t think the Columbus Blue Jackets finish in last place in the division. That whole conversation has changed. The [Philadelphia] Flyers have 32nd-place goaltending and I don’t see that changing anytime soon…I don’t think the Pittsburgh Penguins are out of the woods, either.

Look, this Blue Jackets team has played with fire. They compete, and I think maybe the most exciting part about their structure that Dean Evason has put in place—and perhaps discounted the coaching change that has come with this team—is that they’re really just starting to scratch the surface with some of their young guys. You see the impact of [Owen] Sillinger and [Adam] Fantilli. Hey, David Jiricek is working his way through the lineup. There’s some exciting things happening in Columbus.

You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…