2019–20 Columbus Blue Jackets season

The 2019–20 Columbus Blue Jackets season is the 20th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 25, 1997.[1]

2019–20 Columbus Blue Jackets
Division	5th Metropolitan
Conference	8th Eastern
2019–20 record	33–22–15
Home record	20–12–4
Road record	13–10–11
Goals for	180
Goals against	187
Team information
General Manager	Jarmo Kekalainen
Coach	John Tortorella
Captain	Nick Foligno
Alternate captains	Cam Atkinson Boone Jenner Seth Jones
Arena	Nationwide Arena
Minor league affiliate(s)	Cleveland Monsters (AHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Oliver Bjorkstrand (21)
Assists	Pierre-Luc Dubois (31)
Points	Pierre-Luc Dubois (49)
Penalty minutes	Nick Foligno (62)
Plus/minus	Seth Jones Eric Robinson (+10)
Wins	Joonas Korpisalo (19)
Goals against average	Elvis Merzlikins (2.35)

The season was suspended by the league officials on March 12, 2020, after several other professional and collegiate sports organizations followed suit as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[2][3] On May 26, the NHL regular season was officially declared over with the remaining games being cancelled.[4]

The Blue Jackets advanced to the playoffs and defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in the qualifying round.[5]

Standings

Divisional standings

Metropolitan Division

Pos	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	RW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Washington Capitals	69	41	20	8	31	240	215	+25	90
2	Philadelphia Flyers	69	41	21	7	31	232	196	+36	89
3	Pittsburgh Penguins	69	40	23	6	29	224	196	+28	86
4	Carolina Hurricanes	68	38	25	5	27	222	193	+29	81
5	Columbus Blue Jackets	70	33	22	15	25	180	187	−7	81
6	New York Islanders	68	35	23	10	24	192	193	−1	80
7	New York Rangers	70	37	28	5	31	234	222	+12	79
8	New Jersey Devils	69	28	29	12	22	189	230	−41	68

Source: National Hockey League[6]

Eastern Conference

Pos	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	RW	GF	GA	GD	PCT	Qualification
1	Boston Bruins	70	44	14	12	38	227	174	+53	.714	Advance to Seeding round-robin tournament[7]
2	Tampa Bay Lightning	70	43	21	6	35	245	195	+50	.657
3	Washington Capitals	69	41	20	8	31	240	215	+25	.652
4	Philadelphia Flyers	69	41	21	7	31	232	196	+36	.645
5	Pittsburgh Penguins	69	40	23	6	29	224	196	+28	.623	Advance to 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs qualifying round[7]
6	Carolina Hurricanes	68	38	25	5	27	222	193	+29	.596
7	New York Islanders	68	35	23	10	24	192	193	−1	.588
8	Toronto Maple Leafs	70	36	25	9	28	238	227	+11	.579
9	Columbus Blue Jackets	70	33	22	15	25	180	187	−7	.579
10	Florida Panthers	69	35	26	8	30	231	228	+3	.565
11	New York Rangers	70	37	28	5	31	234	222	+12	.564
12	Montreal Canadiens	71	31	31	9	19	212	221	−9	.500
13	Buffalo Sabres	69	30	31	8	22	195	217	−22	.493
14	New Jersey Devils	69	28	29	12	22	189	230	−41	.493
15	Ottawa Senators	71	25	34	12	18	191	243	−52	.437
16	Detroit Red Wings	71	17	49	5	13	145	267	−122	.275

Source: NHL Eastern Conference Points percentage

Schedule and results

Preseason

The preseason schedule was published on June 18, 2019.[8] The September 29 game between the Blue Jackets and the St. Louis Blues was cancelled due to issues with the team's flight.[9]

2019 preseason game log: 2–3–1 (Home: 2–1–0 ; Road: 0–2–1)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Recap
1	September 17	Buffalo	1–4	Columbus		Kivlenieks	—	1–0–0	Recap
2	September 19	Columbus	1–4	Pittsburgh		Vehvilainen	15,649	1–1–0	Recap
3	September 21	Pittsburgh	1–3	Columbus		Korpisalo	13,637	2–1–0	Recap
4	September 22	Columbus	3–5	St. Louis		Merzlikins	16,672	2–2–0	Recap
5	September 25	Columbus	3–4	Buffalo	OT	Merzlikins	15,788	2–2–1	Recap
6	September 27	New Jersey	2–0	Columbus		Korpisalo	12,347	2–3–1	Recap
7	September 29	St. Louis	–	Columbus	Game cancelled due to a mechanical issue with St. Louis' aircraft.

Regular season

The regular season schedule was published on June 25, 2019.[10]

2019–20 game log
October: 5–5–2 (Home: 3–3–1 ; Road: 2–2–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 4 Toronto 4–1 Columbus Korpisalo 18,776 0–1–0 0 Recap 2 October 5 Columbus 2–7 Pittsburgh Merzlikins 18,595 0–2–0 0 Recap 3 October 7 Buffalo 3–4 Columbus OT Korpisalo 14,518 1–2–0 2 Recap 4 October 11 Anaheim 2–1 Columbus Korpisalo 15,368 1–3–0 2 Recap 5 October 12 Columbus 3–2 Carolina Korpisalo 16,224 2–3–0 4 Recap 6 October 16 Dallas 2–3 Columbus Korpisalo 14,683 3–3–0 6 Recap 7 October 18 Columbus 2–3 Chicago OT Merzlikins 21,518 3–3–1 7 Recap 8 October 19 NY Islanders 3–2 Columbus OT Korpisalo 15,276 3–3–2 8 Recap 9 October 21 Columbus 4–3 Toronto OT Korpisalo 18,898 4–3–2 10 Recap 10 October 24 Carolina 3–4 Columbus OT Korpisalo 15,398 5–3–2 12 Recap 11 October 26 Columbus 4–7 Philadelphia Korpisalo 17,840 5–4–2 12 Recap 12 October 30 Edmonton 4–1 Columbus Korpisalo 14,193 5–5–2 12 Recap
November: 6–6–2 (Home: 5–3–0 ; Road: 1–3–2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 13 November 1 Columbus 3–4 St. Louis OT Merzlikins 18,096 5–5–3 13 Recap 14 November 2 Calgary 3–0 Columbus Korpisalo 13,618 5–6–3 13 Recap 15 November 5 Vegas 2–1 Columbus Korpisalo 15,435 5–7–3 13 Recap 16 November 7 Columbus 3–2 Arizona Korpisalo 12,115 6–7–3 15 Recap 17 November 9 Columbus 2–4 Colorado Korpisalo 18,070 6–8–3 15 Recap 18 November 12 Columbus 2–3 Montreal SO Merzlikins 20,758 6–8–4 16 Recap 19 November 15 St. Louis 2–3 Columbus OT Korpisalo 18,505 7–8–4 18 Recap 20 November 19 Montreal 2–5 Columbus Korpisalo 14,118 8–8–4 20 Recap 21 November 21 Detroit 4–5 Columbus Korpisalo 14,417 9–8–4 22 Recap 22 November 23 Columbus 3–4 Winnipeg Merzlikins 15,325 9–9–4 22 Recap 23 November 25 Ottawa 0–1 Columbus Korpisalo 14,730 10–9–4 24 Recap 24 November 27 Philadelphia 3–2 Columbus Korpisalo 14,975 10–10–4 24 Recap 25 November 29 Pittsburgh 2–5 Columbus Korpisalo 17,402 11–10–4 26 Recap 26 November 30 Columbus 0–2 NY Islanders Merzlikins 13,433 11–11–4 26 Recap
December: 7–3–4 (Home: 4–2–1 ; Road: 3–1–3) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 27 December 3 Arizona 4–2 Columbus Korpisalo 14,455 11–12–4 26 Recap 28 December 5 NY Rangers 3–2 Columbus Korpisalo 15,785 11–13–4 26 Recap 29 December 7 Columbus 1–4 Florida Merzlikins 11,640 11–14–4 26 Recap 30 December 9 Columbus 5–2 Washington Korpisalo 18,573 12–14–4 28 Recap 31 December 12 Columbus 0–1 Pittsburgh OT Korpisalo 18,415 12–14–5 29 Recap 32 December 14 Columbus 3–4 Ottawa OT Korpisalo 11,020 12–14–6 30 Recap 33 December 16 Washington 0–3 Columbus Korpisalo 16,602 13–14–6 32 Recap 34 December 17 Columbus 5–3 Detroit Korpisalo 17,639 14–14–6 34 Recap 35 December 19 Los Angeles 2–3 Columbus OT Korpisalo 17,117 15–14–6 36 Recap 36 December 21 New Jersey 1–5 Columbus Korpisalo 17,188 16–14–6 38 Recap 37 December 23 Columbus 3–2 NY Islanders Korpisalo 13,917 17–14–6 40 Recap 38 December 27 Columbus 1–2 Washington OT Korpisalo 18,573 17–14–7 41 Recap 39 December 29 Chicago 3–2 Columbus SO Merzlikins 18,544 17–14–8 42 Recap 40 December 31 Florida 1–4 Columbus Merzlikins 18,977 18–14–8 44 Recap
January: 9–2–0 (Home: 4–1–0 ; Road: 5–1–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 41 January 2 Columbus 2–1 Boston OT Merzlikins 17,850 19–14–8 46 Recap 42 January 4 San Jose 3–2 Columbus Merzlikins 18,874 19–15–8 46 Recap 43 January 6 Columbus 4–2 Los Angeles Merzlikins 14,964 20–15–8 48 Recap 44 January 7 Columbus 4–3 Anaheim Merzlikins 16,153 21–15–8 50 Recap 45 January 9 Columbus 1–3 San Jose Merzlikins 17,085 21–16–8 50 Recap 46 January 11 Columbus 3–0 Vegas Merzlikins 18,400 22–16–8 52 Recap 47 January 14 Boston 0–3 Columbus Merzlikins 17,349 23–16–8 54 Recap 48 January 16 Carolina 2–3 Columbus Merzlikins 17,900 24–16–8 56 Recap 49 January 18 New Jersey 0–5 Columbus Merzlikins 18,680 25–16–8 58 Recap 50 January 19 Columbus 2–1 NY Rangers Kivlenieks 17,423 26–16–8 60 Recap 51 January 22 Winnipeg 3–4 Columbus Merzlikins 18,425 27–16–8 62 Recap
February: 4–5–6 (Home: 3–3–2 ; Road: 1–2–4) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 52 February 1 Columbus 1–2 Buffalo OT Kivlenieks 17,650 27–16–9 63 Recap 53 February 2 Columbus 4–3 Montreal Merzlikins 21,302 28–16–9 65 Recap 54 February 4 Florida 0–1 Columbus OT Merzlikins 17,811 29–16–9 67 Recap 55 February 7 Detroit 0–2 Columbus Merzlikins 18,978 30–16–9 69 Recap 56 February 8 Colorado 2–1 Columbus Merzlikins 19,022 30–17–9 69 Recap 57 February 10 Tampa Bay 2–1 Columbus OT Merzlikins 17,131 30–17–10 70 Recap 58 February 13 Columbus 3–4 Buffalo OT Kivlenieks 16,923 30–17–11 71 Recap 59 February 14 NY Rangers 3–1 Columbus Merzlikins 18,888 30–18–11 71 Recap 60 February 16 Columbus 3–4 New Jersey SO Merzlikins 16,514 30–18–12 72 Recap 61 February 18 Columbus 1–5 Philadelphia Merzlikins 18,273 30–19–12 72 Recap 62 February 20 Philadelphia 4–3 Columbus OT Merzlikins 18,365 30–19–13 73 Recap 63 February 22 Columbus 3–4 Nashville SO Merzlikins 17,549 30–19–14 74 Recap 64 February 24 Ottawa 3–4 Columbus OT Korpisalo 17,518 31–19–14 76 Recap 65 February 25 Columbus 4–5 Minnesota Kivlenieks 17,057 31–20–14 76 Recap 66 February 28 Minnesota 5–0 Columbus Korpisalo 18,955 31–21–14 76 Recap
March: 2–1–1 (Home: 1–0–0 ; Road: 1–1–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 67 March 1 Vancouver 3–5 Columbus Korpisalo 18,378 32–21–14 78 Recap 68 March 4 Columbus 2–3 Calgary OT Korpisalo 18,696 32–21–15 79 Recap 69 March 7 Columbus 1–4 Edmonton Korpisalo 17,085 32–22–15 79 Recap 70 March 8 Columbus 2–1 Vancouver Merzlikins 18,871 33–22–15 81 Recap
Cancelled games # Date Visitor Home 71 March 12 Pittsburgh Columbus 72 March 14 Nashville Columbus 73 March 16 Columbus Boston 74 March 19 Washington Columbus 75 March 21 Columbus Toronto 76 March 23 Columbus New Jersey 77 March 24 Columbus NY Rangers 78 March 27 Columbus Tampa Bay 79 March 28 Columbus Dallas 80 March 30 NY Islanders Columbus 81 April 2 Tampa Bay Columbus 82 April 3 Columbus Carolina
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Playoffs

Main article: 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs

The Blue Jackets defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in the qualifying round in five games.[11]

The Blue Jackets are facing the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round.[12]

2020 Stanley Cup playoffs
Eastern Conference Qualifying Round vs. (8) Toronto Maple Leafs: Columbus won 3–2 # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Series Recap 1 August 2 Columbus 2–0 Toronto Korpisalo 1–0 Recap 2 August 4 Columbus 0–3 Toronto Korpisalo 1–1 Recap 3 August 6 Toronto 3–4 Columbus OT Merzlikins 2–1 Recap 4 August 7 Toronto 4–3 Columbus OT Merzlikins 2–2 Recap 5 August 9 Columbus 3–0 Toronto Korpisalo 3–2 Recap
Eastern Conference First Round vs. (2) Tampa Bay Lightning: Tampa Bay leads 2–1 # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Series Recap 1 August 11 Columbus 2–3 Tampa Bay 5OT Korpisalo 0–1 Recap 2 August 13 Columbus 3–1 Tampa Bay Korpisalo 1–1 Recap 3 August 15 Tampa Bay 3–2 Columbus Korpisalo 1–2 Recap 4 August 17 Tampa Bay – Columbus 5 August 19 Columbus – Tampa Bay 6 August 21 Tampa Bay – Columbus (if necessary) 7 August 22 Columbus – Tampa Bay (if necessary)
Legend:   Win   Loss

Player statistics

As of August 9, 2020

Skaters

Regular season[13] Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM Pierre-Luc Dubois 70 18 31 49 −2 49 Gustav Nyquist 70 15 27 42 4 16 Zach Werenski 63 20 21 41 9 10 Oliver Bjorkstrand 49 21 15 36 8 12 Nick Foligno 67 10 21 31 −3 62 Seth Jones 56 6 24 30 10 20 Cam Atkinson 44 12 14 26 2 6 Boone Jenner 70 11 13 24 −14 36 Alexander Wennberg 57 5 17 22 −5 16 Emil Bemstrom 56 10 10 20 −10 8 Vladislav Gavrikov 69 5 13 18 1 18 Sonny Milano^‡ 46 5 13 18 −5 22 Riley Nash 64 5 9 14 6 10 Alexandre Texier 36 6 7 13 3 10 Eric Robinson 50 7 5 12 10 12 David Savard 68 0 11 11 −3 35 Kevin Stenlund 32 6 4 10 2 8 Nathan Gerbe 30 4 6 10 −7 22 Markus Nutivaara 37 3 6 9 2 4 Ryan Murray 27 2 7 9 −9 4 Scott Harrington 39 1 7 8 −3 16 Jakob Lilja 37 2 3 5 5 2 Dean Kukan 33 1 4 5 −9 12 Josh Anderson 26 1 3 4 −8 17 Stefan Matteau 9 2 1 3 0 5 Andrew Peeke 22 1 2 3 1 4 Devin Shore^† 6 1 1 2 −2 0 Ryan MacInnis 10 0 1 1 1 0 Liam Foudy 2 0 1 1 1 0 Calvin Thurkauf 3 0 0 0 0 0 Gabriel Carlsson 6 0 0 0 −1 2 Kole Sherwood 3 0 0 0 0 2 Marko Dano 3 0 0 0 −1 2

Playoffs[14] Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM Cam Atkinson 5 2 3 5 4 4 Pierre-Luc Dubois 5 3 1 4 2 0 Nick Foligno 5 1 2 3 4 8 David Savard 5 0 3 3 4 2 Seth Jones 5 1 1 2 2 0 Zach Werenski 5 1 1 2 2 4 Alexandre Texier 5 0 2 2 2 0 Liam Foudy 5 1 0 1 0 0 Boone Jenner 5 1 0 1 1 4 Alexander Wennberg 5 1 0 1 2 0 Vladislav Gavrikov 5 1 0 1 4 4 Gustav Nyquist 5 0 1 1 1 2 Markus Nutivaara 2 0 0 0 −1 0 Ryan Murray 4 0 0 0 −3 0 Eric Robinson 5 0 0 0 0 0 Dean Kukan 4 0 0 0 0 5 Oliver Bjorkstrand 5 0 0 0 −3 0 Riley Nash 5 0 0 0 −1 0 Scott Harrington 1 0 0 0 −1 0 Nathan Gerbe 1 0 0 0 0 0 Emil Bemstrom 3 0 0 0 0 2

Goaltenders

Regular season[15]

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Joonas Korpisalo	37	35	2,125:54	19	12	5	92	2.60	1,030	.911	2	0	1	0
Elvis Merzlikins	33	31	1,815:08	13	9	8	71	2.35	919	.923	5	0	0	0
Matīss Kivlenieks	6	4	284:50	1	1	2	14	2.95	137	.898	0	0	0	0

Playoffs[16]

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Joonas Korpisalo	4	4	206:36	2	1	5	1.45	114	.956	2	0	0	0
Elvis Merzlikins	2	1	122:45	1	1	4	1.96	74	.946	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.

Roster

Updated August 1, 2020[17][18]

#	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace
77		Josh Anderson	RW	R	26	2015	Burlington, Ontario
13		Cam Atkinson (A)	RW	R	31	2008	Riverside, Connecticut
52		Emil Bemstrom	RW	R	21	2017	Eisenstadt, Austria
28		Oliver Bjorkstrand	RW	R	25	2013	Herning, Denmark
53		Gabriel Carlsson	D	L	23	2015	Örebro, Sweden
6		Adam Clendening	D	R	27	2018	Niagara Falls, New York
17		Brandon Dubinsky	C/LW	L	34	2012	Anchorage, Alaska
18		Pierre-Luc Dubois	C	L	22	2016	Ste-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec
71		Nick Foligno (C)	LW	L	32	2012	Buffalo, New York
19		Liam Foudy	C	L	20	2018	Toronto, Ontario
44		Vladislav Gavrikov	D	L	24	2015	Yaroslavl, Russia
24		Nathan Gerbe	LW	L	33	2018	Oxford, Michigan
4		Scott Harrington	D	L	27	2016	Kingston, Ontario
38		Boone Jenner (A)	C	L	27	2011	London, Ontario
3		Seth Jones (A)	D	R	25	2016	Arlington, Texas
80		Matiss Kivlenieks	G	L	23	2017	Riga, Latvia
70		Joonas Korpisalo	G	L	26	2015	Pori, Finland
46		Dean Kukan	D	L	27	2015	Zürich, Switzerland
23		Stefan Matteau	LW	L	26	2020	Chicago, Illinois
90		Elvis Merzlikins	G	L	26	2014	Riga, Latvia
27		Ryan Murray	D	L	26	2012	Regina, Saskatchewan
20		Riley Nash	C	R	31	2018	Consort, Alberta
65		Markus Nutivaara	D	L	26	2015	Oulu, Finland
14		Gustav Nyquist	LW	L	30	2019	Halmstad, Sweden
2		Andrew Peeke	D	R	22	2016	Parkland, Florida
50		Eric Robinson	LW	L	25	2018	Bellmawr, New Jersey
58		David Savard	D	R	29	2009	Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec
74		Devin Shore	C	L	26	2020	Ajax, Ontario
11		Kevin Stenlund	C	R	23	2015	Stockholm, Sweden
42		Alexandre Texier	C	L	20	2017	Grenoble, France
10		Alexander Wennberg	C	L	25	2013	Stockholm, Sweden
8		Zach Werenski	D	L	23	2015	Grosse Pointe, Michigan

References

1. National Hockey League (2013). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2014. Diamond Sports Data, Inc. p. 49. ISBN 978-1-894801-26-3.
2. "NHL statement on coronavirus". NHL.com. March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
3. Fernandez, Gabriel (March 12, 2020). "Coronavirus live updates: NHL suspends season; MLB to halt spring training; NCAA conference tourneys canceled". CBSSports.com. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
4. Gulitti, Tom (May 26, 2020). "NHL plans to return with 24 teams competing for Stanley Cup". NHL.com. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
5. "Blue Jackets shut out Maple Leafs in Game 5 of Cup Qualifiers, win series". NHL.com. August 9, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
6. "NHL Hockey Standings". www.nhl.com. National Hockey League.
7. Rosen, Dan (May 26, 2020). "Return to Play: Eastern Conference". NHL.com. National Hockey League. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
8. "Blue Jackets announce 2019 preseason schedule". NHL.com. June 18, 2019. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
9. "Blues-Blue Jackets preseason game cancelled". NHL.com. September 29, 2019. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
10. "Blue Jackets announce 2019-20 regular season schedule". NHL.com. June 25, 2019. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
11. "Stanley Cup Qualifiers schedule". NHL.com. NHL.com. July 10, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
12. "Stanley Cup Playoffs first-round schedule". NHL.com. August 9, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
13. "2019–20 Regular season – Columbus Blue Jackets Stats – Skaters". NHL.com. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
14. "2019–20 Playoffs – Columbus Blue Jackets Stats – Skaters". NHL.com. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
15. "2019–20 Regular season – Columbus Blue Jackets Stats – Goalies". NHL.com. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
16. "2019–20 Playoffs – Columbus Blue Jackets Stats – Goalies". NHL.com. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
17. "Columbus Blue Jackets Roster". National Hockey League. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
18. "Columbus Blue Jackets Hockey Transactions". The Sports Network. Retrieved October 3, 2017.