With three of their toughest games coming up this week, the Columbus Blue Jackets have a bitter start to their second half of the 2018-19 NHL season. The Metropolitan Division has proven in recent years to be the toughest they come. The last three Stanley Cup Championships have all been Metropolitan teams, despite one of them being repeat champions.
The odds are stacked against Columbus, who currently sits third in the division behind the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins. With the New York Islanders not trailing too far behind, the second half for the Jackets has to be where the team finds separation from two of the NHL’s hottest teams.