The Puck Drops Here 1.7.15: Blue Jackets December 2014 Review

By @CLulovics

This is the Columbus Blue Jackets December month in review. First off my apologies for the delay in the article, as I had neck fusion surgery and am currently trying to write this in a neckbrace while using a tablet. So if there are any mistakes I apologize in advance.

After a horrendous month of November where we saw the Jackets lose many games in a row and saw countless players go down with injuries, the Jackets had a huge turnaround in December going 10-1-1 climbing from the bottom of the NHL standings to right back into the playoff picture. Along with the rise in the standings, we also saw the return of some injured players, some making their season debut with the rest just coming back from a short term injury stint.

Brandon Dubinsky who had been sidelined all season made his debut in December and his veteran leadership on the ice has shown through his puck skills and ice presence helping the younger players be in the right position.  Boone Jenner, who was on a hot streak, has been sidelined for 2 months with a bad back. But all in all, the Jackets are getting healthy and slowly returning to playing the type of hockey that got them into the playoffs last year.

Offensively the Jackets are being lead by Nick Foligno who leads the team with 35 points  (17 goals 18 assists). Ryan Johansen is right behind him with 12 goals 22 assists for 34 points. Scott Hartnell has 8 goals and 13 assists for 21 points. Jack Johnson has 3 goals and 16 assists for 19 points. And rounding out the top 5 point leaders is James Wisniewski has 3 goals and 13 assists for 16 points.

The Jackets acquired Kevin Connauton off of waivers from the Dallas Stars. They also traded defenseman Tim Erixon to the  Chicago Blackhawks for Jeremy Morin. Then just 2 days later they traded Luke Adam to the Buffalo Sabres for Jerry D'Amigo. Also acquired was Jordan Leopold from the St. Louis Blues for a 5th round draft pick.

Once again after the horrible month of November, the Jackets are right back into the playoff picture but must stay healthy and play a complete team game staying out of the penalty box to keep making the movement up the standings. If they do that then they should be enjoying the playoffs again like last year but with 3 months left in the season anything can happen. Also don't forget that the All-star game is in Columbus with a week long list of events enjoyable for the entire family. Check out the full list here.

As always Carry The Flag, March On, and "We Are The 5th Line"