Blue Jackets have their map to the playoffs in 2018-19

The Stanley Cup has been decided, the NHL Awards were handed out Wednesday and the 2018 NHL Draft will take center stage this weekend in Dallas.
Outside of Washington D.C., where the Stanley Cup celebration will last all summer, the focus around the NHL is shifting to next season. The draft could spark some significant trades, the July 1 start of free agency is fast approaching and we now know the regular-season schedule for 2018-19, which was released Thursday.
The Blue Jackets' roadmap to the Stanley Cup Playoffs is officially laid out for them, as they prepare to continue their own Cup chase by aiming for a third straight postseason appearance. It's a slate that starts and finishes with back-to-back games, two of 16 back-to-back sets awaiting the Jackets, and in between is a full season's worth of notable matchups and dates to remember.
LEARN MORE ABOUT 2018-19 SEASON TICKET PLANS
Now that we've got the map, here's a month-by-month glance at what's in store for the Blue Jackets in 2018-19:

OCTOBER

BREAKDOWN BY NUMBERS
Number of games: 11
Home games: 7
Back-to-Backs: 1 (Oct. 4-5 at Detroit, vs. Carolina)
Metropolitan opponents: 2
Eastern Conference opponents:7
NOTEWORTHY MATCHUPS
Oct. 4 at Red Wings - The Jackets open the season on the road for the first time since 2014-15, when they defeated the Buffalo Sabres 3-1 at KeyBank Arena. It will be the second regular-season game Columbus has played at Little Caesar's Arena, which opened last season and hosted the Jackets only once, Nov. 11, when Columbus won a goaltending dual, 2-1, after a nine-round shootout.
Oct. 5 vs. Hurricanes - Columbus opens its home schedule with Carolina, a Metropolitan opponent with a new owner, new general manager and new head coach. Former Hurricanes captain Rod Brind'Amour will run the bench for Carolina, getting his first stint as an NHL head coach. The Blue Jackets went 2-2-0 against the Hurricanes last season, with two games going past regulation and three of four games decided by one goal.
ENTER TO WIN: Two tickets to Opening Night
Oct. 11 at Panthers - The Jackets will be part of their third home-opener in their first four games on the schedule, hoping to spoil the party at BB&T Center in the Florida Panthers' first home game.
Oct. 20 vs Blackhawks - Chicago is still one of those games that gets circled on the schedule, and the Blackhawks will be in town early. They'll also be looking to rebound from missing the playoffs.
Oct. 30 vs Red Wings - There are only three games against Detroit on the Jackets' schedule and they'll get two of them out of the way in the first month, including this one. This will be the only time the winged wheel will be seen in Columbus during the regular season.

NOVEMBER

BREAKDOWN BY NUMBERS
Number of games: 14
Home games: 5
Back-to-Backs: 3 (Nov. 3-4 at Kings, at Ducks; Nov. 9-10 at Capitals, vs Rangers; Nov. 23-24 vs Maple Leafs, at Penguins)
Metropolitan opponents: 4
Eastern Conference opponents:8
NOTEWORTHY MATCHUPS
Nov. 1-4 at Sharks, Kings, Ducks - Columbus will get its California swing out of the way early. This past season, they made this trek to begin March, their busiest month of the season. This time, they'll start November out West in a slate of 14 games that month. The trip will begin in San Jose, followed by a back-to-back in Los Angeles and Anaheim.
Nov. 9 at Capitals - The Blue Jackets will play Washington for the first time since April, when the Capitals eliminated Columbus in a first-round playoff series that lasted six games. It will be the first of four games against Washington, which doesn't play in Columbus until a month later.
Nov. 19-23 at/vs Maple Leafs - It's going to be a leafy Thanksgiving for the Blue Jackets, whose holiday will be sandwiched between games against Toronto. The week starts with a game Monday, Nov. 19 at Air Canada Centre in Toronto, where the Jackets went 1-1-0 last season. Toronto will also be the opponent Nov. 23 at Nationwide Arena, the day after Thanksgiving, when Columbus begins a back-to-back that concludes Nov. 24 in Pittsburgh.

DECEMBER

BREAKDOWN BY NUMBERS
Number of games: 14
Home games: 9
Back-to-Backs: 2 (Dec. 22-23 at Flyers, at Devils; Dec. 27-28 at Rangers, vs Maple Leafs)
Metropolitan opponents: 7
Eastern Conference opponents:9
NOTEWORTHY MATCHUPS
Dec. 1 at Islanders - The Blue Jackets play New York twice on the road, but neither game will be held at Barclay's Center, where both road games against the Islanders were played last season. Instead, the Jackets will make two trips to Long Island to play the Isles at Nassau Memorial Coliseum.
Dec. 8-20 vs six teams- Thanks to a six-game homestand, the Blue Jackets will have plenty of time to shop for the holidays in Columbus. It's their longest home stretch of the season and just the fourth six-game homestand in franchise history. It's their first of that duration since 2013, when they went 2-3-1 on home ice Jan. 31 to Feb. 13. The Jackets will host the Capitals on Dec. 8 and also host the Vancouver Canucks, Kings, Ducks, Vegas Golden Knights and New Jersey Devils.
Dec. 22-23 at Flyers, Devils - Another back-to-back, but this one's unique because of the start times. The first game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. puck drop Saturday, Dec. 22 in Philadelphia, which is the exact same start time of the finale Sunday, Dec. 23 in New Jersey. You don't see back-to-back afternoon starts too often, but the Jackets have one heading into Christmas break.
Dec. 31 vs Senators - Columbus will get a shot at New Year's Eve redemption after losing 5-0 to the Tampa Bay Lightning last season. There was a packed house at Nationwide Arena for that game, which the Lightning blew open in the second period. This will be the Jackets' 16th New Year's Eve game and 12th on home ice. They're 8-6-1 all-time ringing in the new year with a Dec. 31 game.

JANUARY

BREAKDOWN BY NUMBERS
Number of games: 11
Home games: 5
Back-to-Backs: 3 (Jan. 4-5 at Hurricanes, at Panthers; Jan. 12-13 at Capitals, vs Rangers; Jan. 18-19 vs. Canadiens, at Wild)
Metropolitan opponents: 4
Eastern Conference opponents:8
NOTEWORTHY MATCHUPS
Jan. 4-8 at Hurricanes, Panthers, Lightning - This is the second of two swings through Florida for Columbus, but this one starts with a game Jan. 4 in North Carolina against the Hurricanes. The Jackets will also play the Panthers on Jan. 5 in Sunrise, Fla., and conclude the trip Jan. 8 in Tampa Bay.
Jan. 13-18 vs Rangers, Devils, Canadiens - Following a game Jan. 12 in Washington, Columbus will get a three-game homestand that starts Jan. 13 against the Rangers. The Devils will also make a swing through Nationwide Arena on Jan. 15, followed by the Montreal Canadiens' first of two visits.
Jan. 29 vs Sabres - This will be the Jackets' first game following a stretch of nine straight off days. Following a game Jan. 19 in Minnesota, Columbus will begin its mandatory five-day "bye" week, which runs into the break for the NHL's All-Star weekend in San Jose. It will be interesting to see how the Jackets handled such a long period of down time in the middle of the season. Last season, their bye plus the all-star break came at a great time because of injuries to multiple key players.

FEBRUARY

BREAKDOWN BY NUMBERS
Number of games: 13
Home games: 7
Back-to-Backs: 2 (Feb. 18-19 vs Lightning, at Canadiens; Feb. 22-23 at Senators, vs Sharks)
Metropolitan opponents: 4
Eastern Conference opponents:7
NOTEWORTHY MATCHUPS
Feb. 9 at Golden Knights - This time, there won't be much time for the Blue Jackets to "play guilty" at T-Mobile Arena. Columbus has games Feb. 5 in Colorado and Feb. 7 in Arizona prior to arriving in Las Vegas to face the Golden Knights. Last season, the Jackets had three days before playing Vegas and flew out to "Sin City" early. If there's any time for play on this trip, it might be after the game. Columbus plays Vegas on Saturday, Feb. 9 and doesn't play again until Tuesday, Feb. 12 against Washington at Nationwide Arena. Might there be a layover in store?
Feb. 19 at Canadiens - This will be the lone trip Columbus will make to Montreal. It's always a special atmosphere at Bell Centre, even if the Canadiens are struggling to regain elite status.
Feb. 26 vs Penguins - When Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and crew roll into Columbus, it will be the first time in almost three months the Blue Jackets will have seen them. It will also be the first of three games against Pittsburgh in a 12-day span.

MARCH/APRIL

BREAKDOWN BY NUMBERS
Number of games: March - 16; April - 3
Home games: 8
Back-to-Backs: 5 (Mar. 2-3 vs Oilers, vs Jets; Mar. 11-12 at Islanders, vs Bruins; Mar. 15-16 vs Hurricanes, at Bruins; Mar. 30-31 at Predators, at Sabres; April 5-6 at Rangers, at Senators)
Metropolitan opponents: 7
Eastern Conference opponents:12
NOTEWORTHY MATCHUPS
Mar. 2 vs Oilers - The busiest month for Columbus begins with a visit from the Edmonton Oilers and captain Connor McDavid. The last time Edmonton was in Columbus, the Oilers won 7-2 on Dec. 12 in a game marred by a late fight between Blue Jackets center Brandon Dubinsky and Edmonton's Zack Kassian. Dubinsky's left eye socket was fractured and he missed a long stretch. The Jackets got even with the Oilers in the rematch Mar. 27 at Rogers Arena, winning 7-3 after falling behind 3-0 in the first period.
Mar. 7-9 at/vs Penguins - Any game against Pittsburgh brings the intensity level up a few notches for the Blue Jackets, so imagine what it could be like playing a home-and-home series against the Penguins this late in the season. Circle these games in red ink.
Mar. 16-24 at Bruins, Flames, Oilers, Canucks - The annual swing through Western Canada comes about the same time as it did in 2017-18, but there's a twist. The season-high, four-game road swing begins Mar. 16 in Boston, which is about as far as you can get from the trip's end point Mar. 24 in Vancouver. There are two days between the game against the Bruins and the next one Mar. 19 in Calgary, so the Jackets might look to stop back in Columbus before heading to Western Canada. Also included is a game Mar. 21 in Edmonton.
April 5-6 at Rangers, Senators - Sure, why not? After starting the season with a back-to-back, why not end with one too? Better yet, make it another road back-to-back. The Blue Jackets actually play one less back-to-back than 2017-18, when they logged 17 of them, but their 16 back-to-backs in 2018-19 will take the entire season to play, including these two games.