October 31, 2026
October 31, 2026
2016-2017 Columbus Blue Jackets: Marching On
Ever since entering the National Hockey League in 2000, the Columbus Blue Jackets had been an organization constantly searching for an identity on the ice. With an excellent ownership group in place and John Davidson hired as President of Hockey Operations in recent years, the Blue Jackets finally appeared to have the management tools necessary to compete in the NHL. Like any rebuilding effort, the one Columbus undertook lasted a few seasons following the team’s last playoff appearance in the 2013-2014 season.
The 2016-2017 Columbus Blue Jackets went 50-24-8, finishing in 3rd place in the Metropolitan Division, 5 games and 10 points behind the eventual Presidents’ Trophy winners, the Washington Capitals. The Blue Jackets went 28-12-1 on home ice at Nationwide Arena and 22-12-7 on the road. Most months of the regular season went very well for Columbus, as the team consistently won the games it needed to win. The Blue Jackets went 3-3-1 in October, 9-2-3 in November, a perfect 14-0 in December, 7-7 in January, 6-4-2 in February and 10-4-2 in March.
The Blue Jackets became quite a problem for the rest of the NHL to handle, faring very well in head-to-head play. They went 3-0 against the Detroit Red Wings and the Tampa Bay Lightning; 3-1 against the New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers; 3-2 against the New York Rangers; 2-0 against the Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, Dallas Stars, Edmonton Oilers and Minnesota Wild; 2-1 against the Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes, Pittsburgh Penguins and Toronto Maple Leafs; and 2-2 against the Washington Capitals.
The Blue Jackets emerged as a team capable of getting shots off quickly and scoring quickly. The pressure Columbus put on opponents was a sight to see, as other teams didn’t have much of a response to the Blue Jackets’ flurry of scoring during the regular season.
Right winger Cam Atkinson had 35 goals and 27 assists for 62 points, with 10 power play goals, 11 power play assists, 3 short-handed goals and 9 game-winning goals on 240 shots. Center Alexander Wennberg had 13 goals and 46 assists for 59 points, with 21 power play assists and 5 game-winning goals on 109 shots. Left winger Brandon Saad had 24 goals and 29 assists for 53 points, with 4 game-winning goals on 210 shots.
Left winger Nick Foligno served as captain of the Blue Jackets and often put his teammates in positions to succeed. Foligno had 26 goals and 25 assists for 51 points, with 11 power play goals, 10 power play assists and 5 game-winning goals on 185 shots. Center Sam Gagner became a free agent after previously playing for the Philadelphia Flyers. In need of a fresh start to his career, Gagner signed with the Blue Jackets on August 1 to a 1-year, $650,000 contract. Gagner made the most of his opportunity, recording 18 goals and 32 assists for 50 points, with 8 power play goals and 10 power play assists on 178 shots.
Defenseman Zach Werenski had 11 goals and 36 assists for 47 points, with 17 power play assists on 188 shots. Defenseman Seth Jones had 12 goals and 30 assists for 42 points, with 3 game-winning goals on 152 shots. Center Brandon Dubinsky, affectionately called “Dubi” by fans, was an assistant captain and had 12 goals and 29 assists for 41 points, with 5 game-winning goals on 115 shots. At the age of 34, right winger Scott Hartnell still managed to get the job done, continuing to be the tough presence his team needed. Hartnell had 13 goals and 24 assists on 104 shots.
The other assistant captain for Columbus was center Boone Jenner, who had 18 goals and 15 assists, with 4 game-winning goals on 211 shots. Right winger Josh Anderson had 17 goals and 12 assists, with 3 game-winning goals on 119 shots. Center William Karlsson had 6 goals and 19 assists, with 3 game-winning goals on 96 shots. Left winger Matt Calvert had 10 goals and 5 assists, with 3 short-handed goals on 92 shots.
A key component of the Blue Jackets’ success was the dominant play of arguably one of the best goaltenders in the NHL. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, affectionately called “Bob” by fans, at times completely shut down opposing offenses with the way he made saves, showing off skills that can’t be taught. Bobrovsky went 41-17-5, allowing 127 goals on 1,854 shots in 3,707 minutes, recording 1,727 saves, a .931 save percentage, a 2.06 goals against average and 7 shutouts.
When “Bob” needed rest, Columbus considered its options for a backup goaltender, and Joonas Korpisalo eventually claimed the role after being called up from the Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League. Korpisalo went 13-7-5, allowing 38 goals on 401 shots in 791 minutes, recording 363 saves, a .905 save percentage, a 2.88 goals against average and 1 shutout.
The Blue Jackets experienced plenty of battles on the ice during the regular season, with 19 games going to overtime or a shootout. In those games, the Jackets went 11-8.
What defined the regular season for the Blue Jackets and their fans, known as the “5th Line,” who witnessed something mighty special, was one of the longest winning streaks in NHL history. The Blue Jackets won 16 straight games, just 1 win short of the all-time record of 17 straight wins set by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1992-1993. The streak began when the Jackets were just 11-5-4, with a 5-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on November 29. It carried on throughout the month of December, and its final victory came on January 3 with a 3-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers.
During the course of this historic streak, the Blue Jackets earned impressive 4-1 victories over the Arizona Coyotes on December 5, the Detroit Red Wings on December 9 and the Calgary Flames on December 16. The Blue Jackets also pounded the New York Islanders 6-2 on December 10.
The defining win of the streak came on December 22 at Nationwide Arena, when the Blue Jackets essentially announced to their home crowd and the rest of the league that they had arrived. The Blue Jackets crushed the Pittsburgh Penguins 7-1 in what became another step in building the rivalry between the two teams.
Star center Sidney Crosby scored first for the Penguins at 2:39 of the 1st period, but that would be Pittsburgh’s only goal, as Columbus took complete control from there. Cam Atkinson scored a power play goal at 13:01. William Karlsson scored at 12:15 of the 2nd period, and then the goals started flooding in for Columbus. Scott Hartnell scored his first goal of the game at 12:20, then added his second at 2:44 of the 3rd period. Brandon Saad scored at 3:01, and Boone Jenner followed right after at 3:35. Hartnell completed the hat trick with his third goal of the game at 6:24.
Though they grew together as a team and gained the experience they needed while marching on like a legitimate NHL franchise, the Blue Jackets were silenced by those same Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Penguins, the defending Stanley Cup champions, got the last laugh by eliminating the Blue Jackets 4 games to 1.
The Jackets dropped the first 3 games of the series through ill-timed breaks that didn’t go their way and questionable officiating. Columbus salvaged one victory in the series, which was the franchise’s first playoff victory in regulation, beating the Penguins 5-4 in Game 4 on April 18 at Nationwide Arena. Defenseman Jack Johnson scored first for Columbus at 11:46 of the 1st period, and Josh Anderson added a goal at 18:56. Defenseman Markus Nutivaara scored at 4:48 of the 2nd period. Pittsburgh finally got on the board at 6:43 with a power play goal by right winger Patric Hornqvist. Defenseman Ron Hainsey, who had played for the Blue Jackets in the past, scored for Pittsburgh at 16:34.
William Karlsson scored quickly for the Jackets, just 0:27 into the 3rd period. Right winger Tom Kuhnhackl then scored for Pittsburgh at 2:10. Boone Jenner scored for Columbus at 5:37, and Pittsburgh center Jake Guentzel squeaked in a goal at 19:32.
Marching on throughout the season the best way they could, the young 2016-2017 Columbus Blue Jackets proved they were capable of stealing the show in the NHL, and the future looked promising given all the talent they had developed along the way. A full statistical breakdown of the season is available at Hockey-Reference.
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