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Blue Jackets off to best start ever, powered by Rick Nash and Steve Mason

ricknashcelebrates

James O’Brien

The Columbus Blue Jackets are on fire right now and they couldn’t ask for a much better situation. They’re 11-6-0 at this point - apparently the best start in franchise history - and their two most important players have been their two best players.

Rick Nash is scoring at a high rate at the moment. He scored six goals in his last six games, including a four game goal scoring streak in which he notched five.

While Carey Price continues to justify the Montreal Canadiens’ decision to rest their future on him, Steve Mason writes a pretty similar redemptive story in Columbus. Last night, he stopped 47 out of 50 shots, matching a career high for saves and falling one save short of the franchise record.

Another bonus for the Blue Jackets: they’re playing well against teams who were previously riding hot streaks. The Associated Press notes that promising trend.

In a span of 10 days, Columbus ended a seven-game winning streak by St. Louis with its most lopsided victory in franchise history, put an end to the Los Angeles Kings’ club-record 8-0 start at home, and snapped a five-game home winning streak by the Ducks.

Ultimately, Columbus is 8-3 in their last 11 games. Beyond Nash and Mason, the team generated some other good performances, including backup Mathieu Garon’s two game shutout streak.

I never would have guessed that the Blue Jackets had this in them, but we’ll see if this is one hot month or if Columbus is for real. It’s difficult to argue with these results, though.