2018–19 Columbus Blue Jackets season explained

The 2018–19 Columbus Blue Jackets season was the 19th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 25, 1997.^[2] On April 5, 2019, the Blue Jackets clinched a playoff spot after a 3–2 shootout win over the New York Rangers.^[3]

The Blue Jackets won their first ever playoff series by sweeping the Presidents' Trophy winners, the Tampa Bay Lightning, in the First Round of the playoffs.^[4] However, the Blue Jackets were not able to carry their success into the Second Round, and they were eliminated by the Boston Bruins in six games.

Schedule and results

Preseason

The preseason schedule was published on June 15, 2018.^[5]

2018 preseason game log: 3–5–0 (Home: 2–2–0 ; Road: 1–3–0)
	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Recap
1	September 17	Buffalo	4–1	Columbus			9,845	0–1–0	Recap
2	September 18	Chicago	1–4	Columbus			10,422	1–1–0	Recap
3	September 21	Columbus	0–3	St. Louis			15,190	1–2–0	Recap
4	September 22	Columbus	3–7	Pittsburgh			17,190	1–3–0	Recap
5	September 23	St. Louis	5–1	Columbus		Bobrovsky	11,758	1–4–0	Recap
6	September 25	Columbus	4–2	Buffalo		Korpisalo	—	2–4–0	Recap
7	September 28	Pittsburgh	6–7	Columbus		Bobrovsky	13,976	3–4–0	Recap
8	September 29	Columbus	1–4	Chicago		Korpisalo	20,594	3–5–0	Recap
Notes: Game was played at Clinton Arena in Clinton, New York.

Regular season

The regular season schedule was released on June 21, 2018.^[6]

2018–19 game log
October: 6–5–0 (Home: 3–4–0 ; Road: 3–1–0) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 4 Columbus 3–2 OT 19,515 1–0–0 2 Recap 2 October 5 3–1 Columbus 18,306 1–1–0 2 Recap 3 October 9 2–5 Columbus Bobrovsky 11,694 2–1–0 4 Recap 4 October 11 Columbus 5–4 Korpisalo 14,394 3–1–0 6 Recap 5 October 13 Columbus 2–8 Bobrovsky 19,092 3–2–0 6 Recap 6 October 18 3–6 Columbus Bobrovsky 13,492 4–2–0 8 Recap 7 October 20 4–1 Columbus Bobrovsky 17,005 4–3–0 8 Recap 8 October 23 4–1 Columbus Bobrovsky 11,458 4–4–0 8 Recap 9 October 25 Columbus 7–4 Korpisalo 17,068 5–4–0 10 Recap 10 October 27 4–5 Columbus OT Korpisalo 15,642 6–4–0 12 Recap 11 October 30 5–3 Columbus Bobrovsky 14,288 6–5–0 12 Recap
November: 9–3–2 (Home: 4–0–1 ; Road: 5–3–1) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 12 November 1 Columbus 4–1 15,879 7–5–0 14 Recap 13 November 3 Columbus 1–4 Bobrovsky 18,230 7–6–0 14 Recap 14 November 4 Columbus 2–3 OT 16,727 7–6–1 15 Recap 15 November 6 1–4 Columbus Bobrovsky 14,159 8–6–1 17 Recap 16 November 9 Columbus 2–1 Bobrovsky 18,506 9–6–1 19 Recap 17 November 10 5–4 Columbus SO Korpisalo 18,384 9–6–2 20 Recap 18 November 12 Columbus 2–1 Bobrovsky 17,543 10–6–2 22 Recap 19 November 15 3–7 Columbus Korpisalo 14,872 11–6–2 24 Recap 20 November 17 Columbus 4–1 Bobrovsky 13,040 12–6–2 26 Recap 21 November 19 Columbus 2–4 Bobrovsky 19,134 12–7–2 26 Recap 22 November 23 2–4 Columbus Bobrovsky 18,656 13–7–2 28 Recap 23 November 24 Columbus 2–4 Korpsialo 18,602 13–8–2 28 Recap 24 November 26 Columbus 7–5 Bobrovsky 17,510 14–8–2 30 Recap 25 November 29 2–4 Columbus Bobrovsky 15,210 15–8–2 32 Recap
December: 8–5–1 (Home: 4–4–1 ; Road: 4–1–0) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 26 December 1 Columbus 2–3 13,917 15–9–2 32 Recap 27 December 4 9–6 Columbus Bobrovsky 14,885 15–10–2 32 Recap 28 December 6 Columbus 4–3 OT Bobrovsky 19,428 16–10–2 34 Recap 29 December 8 4–0 Columbus Bobrovsky 18,501 16–11–2 34 Recap 30 December 11 3–2 Columbus 14,689 16–12–2 34 Recap 31 December 13 1–4 Columbus Bobrovsky 15,087 17–12–2 36 Recap 32 December 15 2–1 Columbus OT Bobrovsky 16,171 17–12–3 37 Recap 33 December 17 0–1 Columbus Bobrovsky 15,008 18–12–3 39 Recap 34 December 20 1–2 Columbus Bobrovsky 15,595 19–12–3 41 Recap 35 December 22 Columbus 4–3 Bobrovsky 19,311 20–12–3 43 Recap 36 December 23 Columbus 3–0 Bobrovsky 12,872 21–12–3 45 Recap 37 December 27 Columbus 4–3 OT Korpisalo 18,006 22–12–3 47 Recap 38 December 28 4–2 Columbus Bobrovsky 18,963 22–13–3 47 Recap 39 December 31 3–6 Columbus Bobrovsky 18,549 23–13–3 49 Recap
January: 5–6–0 (Home: 3–2–0 ; Road: 2–4–0) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 40 January 4 Columbus 2–4 15,346 23–14–3 49 Recap 41 January 5 Columbus 4–3 OT Bobrovsky 15,213 24–14–3 51 Recap 42 January 8 Columbus 0–4 Bobrovsky 19,092 24–15–3 51 Recap 43 January 10 3–4 Columbus OT 17,065 25–15–3 53 Recap 44 January 12 Columbus 2–1 OT Korpisalo 18,506 26–15–3 55 Recap 45 January 13 5–7 Columbus Bobrovsky 17,417 27–15–3 57 Recap 46 January 15 1–4 Columbus Korpisalo 16,377 28–15–3 59 Recap 47 January 18 4–1 Columbus Korpisalo 18,892 28–16–3 59 Recap 48 January 19 Columbus 1–2 Bobrovsky 19,054 28–17–3 59 Recap 49 January 29 5–4 Columbus Bobrovsky 16,615 28–18–3 59 Recap 50 January 31 Columbus 3–4 Bobrovsky 15,321 28–19–3 59 Recap
February: 8–5–0 (Home: 3–4–0 ; Road: 5–1–0) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 51 February 2 4–2 Columbus 16,681 28–20–3 59 Recap 52 February 5 Columbus 6–3 15,398 29–20–3 61 Recap 53 February 7 Columbus 4–2 Bobrovsky 15,319 30–20–3 63 Recap 54 February 9 Columbus 4–3 Bobrovsky 18,301 31–20–3 65 Recap 55 February 12 0–3 Columbus Bobrovsky 15,701 32–20–3 67 Recap 56 February 14 3–0 Columbus Bobrovsky 16,531 32–21–3 67 Recap 57 February 16 Columbus 5–2 Bobrovsky 22,196 33–21–3 69 Recap 58 February 18 5–1 Columbus Korpisalo 16,411 33–22–3 69 Recap 59 February 19 Columbus 2–3 Bobrovsky 20,858 33–23–3 69 Recap 60 February 22 Columbus 3–0 Bobrovsky 13,918 34–23–3 71 Recap 61 February 23 0–4 Columbus Bobrovsky 19,025 35–23–3 73 Recap 62 February 26 5–2 Columbus Bobrovsky 18,776 35–24–3 73 Recap 63 February 28 3–4 Columbus OT Bobrovsky 17,169 36–24–3 75 Recap
March: 9–6–1 (Home: 5–2–0 ; Road: 4–4–1) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 64 March 2 4–0 Columbus 18,628 36–25–3 75 Recap 65 March 3 5–2 Columbus Bobrovsky 16,091 36–26–3 75 Recap 66 March 5 Columbus 2–1 SO Bobrovsky 12,085 37–26–3 77 Recap 67 March 7 Columbus 0–3 18,611 37–27–3 77 Recap 68 March 9 1–4 Columbus Bobrovsky 19,146 38–27–3 79 Recap 69 March 11 Columbus 0–2 Bobrovsky 11,827 38–28–3 79 Recap 70 March 12 4–7 Columbus Bobrovsky 16,554 39–28–3 81 Recap 71 March 15 0–3 Columbus Bobrovsky 18,832 40–28–3 83 Recap 72 March 16 Columbus 1–2 OT Korpisalo 17,565 40–28–4 84 Recap 73 March 19 Columbus 2–4 Bobrovsky 18,288 40–29–4 84 Recap 74 March 21 Columbus 1–4 Korpisalo 18,347 40–30–4 84 Recap 75 March 24 Columbus 5–0 Bobrovsky 17,805 41–30–4 86 Recap 76 March 26 0–4 Columbus Bobrovsky 17,928 42–30–4 88 Recap 77 March 28 2–6 Columbus Bobrovsky 18,641 43–30–4 90 Recap 78 March 30 Columbus 5–2 Bobrovsky 17,751 44–30–4 92 Recap 79 March 31 Columbus 4–0 Bobrovsky 17,990 45–30–4 94 Recap
April: 2–1–0 (Home: 0–1–0 ; Road: 2–0–0) Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 80 April 2 6–2 Columbus 18,890 45–31–4 94 Recap 81 April 5 Columbus 3–2 SO Bobrovsky 17,341 46–31–4 96 Recap 82 April 6 Columbus 6–2 18,425 47–31–4 98 Recap
Legend:

Playoffs

See main article: 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Blue Jackets faced the Tampa Bay Lightning in the First Round of the playoffs,^[7] and swept the series in four games, marking the first time in franchise history the team won a playoff series.^[8]

The Blue Jackets faced the Boston Bruins in the Second Round of the playoffs,^[9] where they fell to the Bruins in six games.^[10]

2019 Stanley Cup playoffs
Eastern Conference First Round vs. (A1) Tampa Bay Lightning: Columbus won 4–0 Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series Recap 1 April 10 Columbus 4–3 Tampa Bay 19,092 1–0 Recap 2 April 12 Columbus 5–1 Tampa Bay Bobrovsky 19,092 2–0 Recap 3 April 14 Tampa Bay 1–3 Columbus Bobrovsky 19,224 3–0 Recap 4 April 16 Tampa Bay 3–7 Columbus Bobrovsky 19,328 4–0 Recap
Eastern Conference Second Round vs. (A2) Boston Bruins: Boston won 4–2 Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series Recap 1 April 25 Columbus 2–3 Boston OT 17,565 0–1 Recap 2 April 27 Columbus 3–2 Boston 2OT Bobrovsky 17,565 1–1 Recap 3 April 30 Boston 1–2 Columbus Bobrovsky 19,337 2–1 Recap 4 May 2 Boston 4–1 Columbus Bobrovsky 19,431 2–2 Recap 5 May 4 Columbus 3–4 Boston Bobrovsky 17,565 2–3 Recap 6 May 6 Boston 3–0 Columbus Bobrovsky 19,219 2–4 Recap
Legend:

Player statistics

As of May 6, 2019^[11]

Goaltenders

Regular season^[14] ! Player! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

	62	61	3,556:40	37	24	1	153	2.58	1,756	.913	9	0	0	2
	27	21	1,360:34	10	7	3	67	2.95	651	.897	0	0	0	0

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Blue Jackets. Stats reflect time with the Blue Jackets only.
^‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Blue Jackets only.
Bold/italics denotes franchise record.

Transactions

The Blue Jackets have been involved in the following transactions during the 2018–19 season.

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
	To Detroit Red Wings 5th-round pick in 2019	To Columbus Blue Jackets MTL's 6th-round pick in 2018	[16]
	To Chicago Blackhawks Jordan Schroeder	To Columbus Blue Jackets Jean-Francois Berube	[17]
	To Arizona Coyotes Jacob Graves Conditional 6th-round pick in 2019	To Columbus Blue Jackets Ryan MacInnis	[18]
	To Pittsburgh Penguins Blake Siebenaler	To Columbus Blue Jackets Conditional 7th-round pick in 2019	[19] [20]
	To Ottawa Senators Vitalii Abramov Jonathan Davidsson Conditional 1st-round pick in 2019 Conditional 1st-round pick in 2020	To Columbus Blue Jackets Julius Bergman Matt Duchene	[21]
	To Ottawa Senators Anthony Duclair 2nd-round pick in 2020 2nd-round pick in 2021	To Columbus Blue Jackets Ryan Dzingel CGY's 7th-round pick in 2019	[22]
	To New Jersey Devils 5th-round pick in 2022	To Columbus Blue Jackets Keith Kinkaid	[23]
	To New York Rangers Julius Bergman 4th-round pick in 2019 7th-round pick in 2019	To Columbus Blue Jackets Adam McQuaid	[24]
	To Winnipeg Jets Alex Broadhurst	To Columbus Blue Jackets Future considerations	[25]

Free agents

Date	Player	Team	Contract term	Ref
			3-year	[26]
			1-year	[27]
		to Colorado Avalanche	3-year
			1-year	[28]
			1-year	[29]
			5-year	[30]
		from Boston Bruins	3-year	[31]
			2-year	[32]
			1-year	[33]
		from Chicago Blackhawks	1-year	[34]
		to Straubing Tigers (DEL)	Unknown	[35]
		to Lugano (NL)	1-year	[36]
		from RPI Engineers (ECAC)	2-year	[37]
		from Djurgårdens IF (SHL)	1-year	[38]

Signings

Date	Player	Contract term	Ref
		4-year	[39]
		1-year	[40]
		3-year	[41]
		3-year	[42]
		1-year	[43]
		2-year	[44]
		3-year	[45]
		1-year	[46]
		3-year	[47]
		2-year	[48]
		3-year	[49]
		3-year	[50]
	Elvis Merzlikins	1-year	[51]
		2-year	[52]
		1-year	[53]

Draft picks

See also: List of Columbus Blue Jackets draft picks. Below are the Columbus Blue Jackets' selections at the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on June 22 and 23, 2018, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.

Round		Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	18	Liam Foudy	C	Canada	London Knights (OHL)
2	49	Kirill Marchenko	LW	Russia	Mamonty Yugry (MHL)
3	80	Marcus Karlberg	RW	Sweden	Leksands IF J20 (SuperElit)
6	1591	Tim Berni	D	Switzerland	GCK Lions (NLB)
6	173	Veini Vehvilainen	G	Finland	Karpat (Liiga)
7	204	Trey Fix-Wolansky	RW	Canada	Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL)

Notes:

1. The Detroit Red Wings' sixth-round pick went to the Columbus Blue Jackets as the result of a trade on June 23, 2018, that sent a sixth-round pick in 2019 to Detroit in exchange for this pick.^[54]

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2018-2019 NHL Attendance . ESPN.com . November 7, 2021.
2. Book: National Hockey League. The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2014. 2013. Diamond Sports Data, Inc.. 49. 978-1-894801-26-3.
3. Web site: Rosen . Dan . Blue Jackets clinch playoff berth, recover against Rangers . NHL.com . April 7, 2019 . April 5, 2019.
4. Web site: Merz . Craig . Blue Jackets sweep Lightning in Game 4 for first playoff series victory . NHL.com . April 17, 2019 . April 16, 2019.
5. Web site: Blue Jackets Announce 2018 Preseason Schedule . NHL.com . June 21, 2018 . June 15, 2018.
6. Web site: Columbus Blue Jackets announce 2018-19 regular season schedule . NHL.com . October 1, 2018 . June 21, 2018.
7. Web site: Schedule set for Blue Jackets-Lightning series in Stanley Cup Playoffs . NHL.com . April 7, 2019 . April 7, 2019.
8. Web site: Svoboda . Jeff . GAME 4 FINAL: Blue Jackets 7, Lightning 3 . NHL.com . April 17, 2019 . April 16, 2019.
9. Web site: Second Round Schedule Set Between Columbus and Boston . NHL.com . April 25, 2019 . April 24, 2019.
10. Web site: Kalman . Matt . Bruins advance to conference final powered by Rask, defense . NHL.com . May 7, 2019 . May 6, 2019.
11. Web site: Columbus Blue Jackets Stats - 2018-2019. NHL.com. April 7, 2019.
12. Web site: 2018–19 Regular season – Columbus Blue Jackets Stats – Skaters . NHL.com . April 7, 2019.
13. Web site: 2018–19 Playoffs – Columbus Blue Jackets Stats – Skaters . NHL.com . April 16, 2019.
14. Web site: 2018–19 Regular season – Columbus Blue Jackets Stats – Goalies . NHL.com . April 7, 2019.
15. Web site: 2018–19 Playoffs – Columbus Blue Jackets Stats – Goalies . NHL.com . April 16, 2019.
16. Web site: 2018 NHL Draft Notes. NHL.com. June 25, 2018. June 23, 2018.
17. Web site: RELEASE: Blackhawks acquire Schroeder. NHL.com. June 29, 2018. June 27, 2018.
18. Web site: Columbus Blue Jackets acquire Ryan MacInnis from Arizona. July 18, 2018. July 19, 2018.
19. Web site: Blue Jackets trade Siebenaler to Penguins for 2019 conditional pick . NHL.com . February 12, 2019 . February 11, 2019.
20. Web site: Penguins acquire defenceman Blake Siebenaler from Blue Jackets . Sportsnet.ca . February 12, 2019 . February 11, 2019.
21. Web site: Blue Jackets acquire Matt Duchene and Julius Bergman from Senators . NHL.com . February 22, 2019 . February 22, 2019.
22. Web site: Blue Jackets acquire Ryan Dzingel, pick from Senators . NHL.com . February 23, 2019 . February 23, 2019.
23. Web site: Blue Jackets acquire Keith Kinkaid from New Jersey . NHL.com . February 25, 2019 . February 25, 2019.
24. Web site: Blue Jackets Acquire Adam McQuaid From NY Rangers . NHL.com . February 25, 2019 . February 25, 2019.
25. Web site: Blue Jackets trade Broadhurst to Jets . NHL.com . February 26, 2019 . February 25, 2019.
26. Web site: Avs Add Depth On First Day Of Free Agency. nhl.com. July 1, 2018.
27. Web site: Columbus Blue Jackets sign defenseman Adam Clendening. nhl.com. July 1, 2018.
28. Web site: Columbus Blue Jackets sign defenseman Tommy Cross. nhl.com. July 1, 2018.
29. Web site: Lightning sign defenseman Cameron Gaunce to one-year contract. NHL.com. July 1, 2018.
30. Web site: Penguins Sign Defenseman Jack Johnson to a Five-Year Contract . Pittsburgh Penguins . July 1, 2018 . July 1, 2018.
31. Web site: Columbus Blue Jackets sign center Riley Nash. nhl.com. July 1, 2018.
32. Web site: Columbus Blue Jackets sign defenseman Dillon Simpson. nhl.com. July 1, 2018.
33. Web site: Wings move quickly on first day of free agency. Detroit Red Wings. Dana. Wakiji. July 1, 2018. July 1, 2018.
34. Web site: Blue Jackets sign Anthony Duclair to one-year deal. sportsnet.ca. July 5, 2018.
35. Web site: JEFF ZATKOFF – EIN STANLEY-CUP-SIEGER FÜR DIE STRAUBING TIGERS. straubing-tigers.de. July 9, 2018. German.
36. Web site: ECCO IL DIFENSORE STRANIERO DELL'HCL: TAYLOR CHORNEY. hclugano.ch. July 9, 2018. Italian.
37. Web site: Columbus Blue Jackets Sign Michael Prapavessis to Two Year ELC. unionandblue.com. September 27, 2018.
38. Web site: Blue Jackets sign Jakob Lilja . NHL.com . June 18, 2019 . June 15, 2019.
39. Web site: Blue Jackets Sign Forward Boone Jenner To Four-Year Contract Extension. NHL.com. July 5, 2018.
40. Web site: Blue Jackets Defenseman Ryan Murray Accepts Club Qualifying Offer. nhl.com. July 15, 2018.
41. Web site: Blue Jackets sign forward Oliver Bjorkstrand to three-year contract. nhl.com. July 15, 2018.
42. Web site: Blue Jackets Sign Liam Foudy To Three-Year Entry Level Contract. NHL.com. August 5, 2018.
43. Web site: Blue Jackets bring back Letestu, sent to AHL. tsn.ca. September 27, 2018.
44. Web site: Blue Jackets sign Zac Dalpe to a two-year, two-way contract extension . NHL.com . March 4, 2019 . February 27, 2019.
45. Web site: Blue Jackets sign Fix-Wolansky to entry level contract . NHL.com . March 15, 2019 . March 15, 2019.
46. Web site: Blue Jackets sign 2014 third round pick Elvis Merzlikins . NHL.com . March 21, 2019 . March 20, 2019.
47. Web site: Blue Jackets sign Peeke to entry level contract . NHL.com . April 1, 2019 . April 1, 2019.
48. Web site: Blue Jackets sign Vladislav Gavrikov . NHL.com . April 14, 2019 . April 13, 2019.
49. Web site: Blue Jackets sign Tarasov to entry level contract . NHL.com . May 7, 2019 . May 4, 2019.
50. Web site: CBJ sign Bemstrom to entry level contract . NHL.com . May 15, 2019 . May 14, 2019.
51. Web site: Blue Jackets sign Merzlikins to one-year NHL contract . NHL.com . May 16, 2019 . May 15, 2019.
52. Web site: Blue Jackets sign Veini Vehvilainen . NHL.com . June 5, 2019 . June 4, 2019.
53. Web site: Blue Jackets sign Hannikainen to one-year extension . NHL.com . June 18, 2019 . June 17, 2019.
54. Web site: 2018 NHL Draft, Round 6: Blue Jackets select defenseman Tim Berni. June 23, 2018. June 23, 2017.