Think back to all of the times the Blue Jackets needed a goaltender to bail them out.
Either they weren't getting bounces, they were fighting the puck, or they simply didn't have the talent to generate offense...all of that seemed to change in 2016-17. From the outset, Columbus deployed a balanced four-line attack that saw not one or two lines produce, but all four proved the ability to put the puck in the net.
For example: when Scott Hartnell and Sam Gagner are on your "fourth line," you've got something good going. John Tortorella saw an opportunity to distribute scoring up and down the lineup and turned it into one of the team's biggest strengths.
The Old Record: 236 goals in 2014-15
By all accounts, the 2014-15 season is one we'd all like to forget. Coming off a playoff appearance and memorable first-round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Blue Jackets were on the verge of something special -- until they weren't.
Injury after injury mounted and the roster was quickly depleted, causing the season to derail early on and eliminate all hope of a repeat trip to the postseason. All wasn't lost; the Blue Jackets' dismal season slotted them into the No. 8 spot in the NHL Draft order, and they used that pick to select some guy named Zach Werenski.
Despite the struggles of that 2014-15 team, they were able to score. The goaltending wasn't great and their defense was hammered by injuries, but they found ways to get the puck in the net (think of how bad the season would've been if not for that).
Record Breaker: 2016-17 Blue Jackets finish with 249 goals
We'll spare you the joke about the Blue Jackets scoring half of their goals on Nov. 4 against Montreal. Oh wait, that was the joke. Sorry. It was bad.
They put up 10 against the Canadiens, eight against the St. Louis Blues, seven against the Pittsburgh Penguins...what we're saying here is that this team had no issues scoring goals. Nick Foligno had a bounce-back season with 50-plus points, Cam Atkinson eclipsed his own career high and put up 35 in an All-Star season, Werenski nearly hit the 50-point park and Seth Jones contributed double-digit goals.
Further down the list, Gagner set new career-best marks and Alexander Wennberg's breakout year added another dimension to the attack. Can these players do it again next year and help the Blue Jackets maybe finally get past the first round of the playoffs? That's the goal, that's the expectation, but now there's a target on their backs after they surprised more than a few teams in 2016-17.
