GAME 79: BLUE JACKETS (44-29-5) AT CANUCKS (29-40-9)
Location:Rogers Arena, 4 p.m., Saturday
TV:Fox Sports Ohio/Fox Sports Go (Jeff Rimer, Jody Shelley); Sportsnet 360
Radio:97.1 FM & BlueJackets.com (Bob McElligott)
VANCOUVER, B.C. - The numbers are kind of staggering, when you take a closer look at what the Blue Jackets have done this month.
Entering the finale of a three-game road trip through Western Canada on Saturday, they're looking for a sweep with a victory against the Vancouver Canucks - which would be their 13th win out of 16 games in March.
Since being swept in a road back-to-back by the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks on Mar. 1-2, Columbus has since reeled off a 10-game winning streak, won 12 of its past 13 games (12-1-0) and added 24 points in a 26-day span.
The Jackets have also scored 59 goals in their past 15 games, which is a new franchise record for a single month, and have one game left before April begins. They've won six straight road games, as well, and have gotten a hat trick in four of their past five road games - something that hadn't been done since the Pittsburgh Penguins had four in four road games Nov. 18-Dec. 5, 1991.
And yet, the only numbers that truly matter this late in the season are point counts in the standings - which find the Blue Jackets (93 points) still clinging to third place in the Metropolitan Division by a single point over the Philadelphia Flyers (92 points).
"Everybody else is winning," Columbus coach John Tortorella said. "It's going to go right down to the end. I know you have to talk about playoffs, because that's what we're trying to get into, but we have to take it one day at a time. So, I'm very pleased in us fighting along here and getting points, but you just don't push yourself through. You don't create a gap. So, you've just got to go about your business."
That now means scoring goals in bunches, after the Jackets spent the middle months of the season searching high and low for offensive production. They've gone from scrapping for one or two goals a game to averaging 3.9 goals in their past 15 games.
Columbus has scored at least four goals in 10 of those 15 contests, including its past two and five of the past six - going 5-1-0. The Blue Jackets have also made strides with their overall goal differential, which was in the red dating back to January and is now solidly in the green (plus-15).
Regardless, they haven't clinched a ticket to the Stanley Cup Playoffs and have just four games left to seal one of those up. After playing the Canucks, the Jackets will host the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday and Penguins on Thursday before concluding the regular season April 7 in Nashville.
"We're excited for what's to come," defenseman Zach Werenski said. "We have four games left, in a pretty good spot right now. Obviously, other teams we need to lose are winning, but we're doing our job too. It's another thing we can control, and it's been awesome these past couple weeks. We're just going to have to keep it rolling in the playoffs."
Preview: Good numbers piling up, but Blue Jackets can't breathe easy yet
Still locked in tight division and wild-card races, Columbus can't overlook Canucks.
