2007–08 Columbus Blue Jackets season

NHLTeamSeason
Season=2007–08
Team=Columbus Blue Jackets
Conference=Western
ConferenceRank=13th
Division=Central
DivisionRank=4th
Record=34–36–12
HomeRecord=20–14–7
RoadRecord=14–22–5
GoalsFor=193
GoalsAgainst=218
GeneralManager=Scott Howson
Coach=Ken Hitchcock
Captain= Adam Foote (Oct-Feb)
Rick Nash (Feb-Apr)
AltCaptain= Sergei Fedorov (Oct-Feb)
Rostislav Klesla (Feb-Apr )
Fredrik Modin
Rick Nash (Oct-Feb)
Michael Peca (Feb-Apr )
David Vyborny
Arena=Nationwide Arena
Attendance= 15,146 (83.5%)
GoalsLeader=Rick Nash (38)
AssistsLeader=Nikolai Zherdev (35)
PointsLeader=Rick Nash (69)
PlusMinusLeader=Jan Hejda (+20)
PIMLeader=Jared Boll (226)
WinsLeader=Pascal Leclaire (24)
GAALeader=Pascal Leclaire (2.25)

The 2007–08 Columbus Blue Jackets season began October 5, 2007. It was the Columbus Blue Jackets' 7th season in the National Hockey League.

Key dates prior to the start of the season:

*The 2007 NHL Entry Draft took place in Columbus, Ohio on June 22–23
*The free agency period began on July 1.
*The Blue Jackets played 8 preseason games starting September 16.

The Blue Jackets attempted to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. Scott Howson was hired prior to the 2007 NHL Entry Draft as the second General Manager in team history, replacing Doug MacLean. [ [http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=210747&hubname= Columbus hires Howson as new GM] , tsn.ca, June 13, 2007] The Blue Jackets finished with a 34–36–12 record, earning 80 points and missing the playoffs. The Blue Jackets finished 4th in the Central Division, finishing above the St. Louis Blues and 13th in the Western Conference. On March 16, 2008, Columbus set a franchise record for points in a season, 75, with a 4–3 win over the Detroit Red Wings in Columbus.

The Blue Jackets started off the season well with a 7–3–1 record in October, but falling behind in the Western Conference in November with a 4–7–3 record. During the All-star break, Rick Nash was selected to participate in the 2008 All-Star Game for the Western Conference. He scored a record-breaking goal just 12 seconds into the period. Nash scored a total of 3 goals throughout the game, yet the Eastern Conference won the game 8–7. The Blue Jackets earned average records in December through February, staying within reach of a playoff spot. On February 26, Captain Adam Foote was traded to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for 2 draft picks. Rick Nash was named the new captain of the team. In March, the Blue Jackets' chances of playing in the post-season were fading away after a 4–6–3 record due to the injury of starting goaltender, Pascal LeClaire. After being mathematically eliminated from making the playoffs, the Blue Jackets lost their last three games of the season.

Regular season

Divisional standings

Conference standings

Game log

October

Record: 7–3–1; Home: 4–1–1; Road: 3–2–0

January

Record: 7–7–0; Home: 3–1–0; Road: 4–6–0

April

Record: 0–3–0; Home: 0–1–0; Road 0–2–0

"Final season stats"

Awards and records

Records

Milestones

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ee also

*2007–08 NHL season

References

*Player stats: [http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/teams/stats?team=cls Columbus Blue Jackets player stats] on espn.com
*Game log: [http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/teams/schedule?team=cls Columbus Blue Jackets game log] on espn.com
*Team standings: [http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/standings NHL standings] on espn.com

External links

* [http://bluejackets.nhl.com The Columbus Blue Jackets offical website]