2001–02 Columbus Blue Jackets season

2001–02 Columbus Blue Jackets
Division	5th Central
Conference	15th Western
2001–02 record	22–47–8–5
Home record	14–18–5–4
Road record	8–29–3–1
Goals for	164
Goals against	255
Team information
General manager	Doug MacLean
Coach	Dave King
Captain	Lyle Odelein
Arena	Nationwide Arena
Average attendance	18,136
Team leaders
Goals	Ray Whitney (21)
Assists	Ray Whitney (40)
Points	Ray Whitney (61)
Penalty minutes	Jody Shelley (206)
Wins	Ron Tugnutt (12)
Goals against average	Ron Tugnutt (2.85)

The 2001–02 Columbus Blue Jackets season was the Blue Jackets' 2nd season in the NHL, as the team was coming off a 28–39–9–6 record in their expansion season, earning 71 points, and missing the playoffs.

Regular season

Columbus would get off to a rough start, winning only 1 out of 13 games to open the season, and sit in the basement of the Western Conference. While the Blue Jackets would play better as the season went on, they were long out of the playoff picture, and eventually would trade team captain Lyle Odelein to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Jaroslav Spacek at the trade deadline. Columbus would finish the season with a 22–47–8–5 record, earning 57 points, which was 14 fewer points than in their previous season, and 37 points behind the Vancouver Canucks for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Columbus would score a league low 164 goals, and their 255 goals against was the highest total in the Western Conference, and 3rd highest in the entire NHL. The 57 points the Jackets earned was the 2nd fewest in the league, only ahead of the Atlanta Thrashers, who finished with 54.

Ray Whitney would lead Columbus offensively, scoring a team high 21 goals and 40 assists for 61 points, which broke the team record for points in a season. Mike Sillinger would be the only other Blue Jacket to score 20 goals, as he scored 20 and added 23 assists for 43 points. Deron Quint led the Jackets defense, earning 25 points, while Rostislav Klesla scored 8 goals and earned 16 points in his 1st full season. Jody Shelley had a team high and club record 206 penalty minutes in only 52 games.

In goal, Ron Tugnutt and Marc Denis would split time, with Tugnutt winning a team high 12 games and posting a team best 2.85 GAA.

Tragedy struck at Nationwide Arena during a game on March 16, 2002, against the Calgary Flames, when a shot by Jackets forward Espen Knutsen was deflected off the stick of Flames defenceman Derek Morris, and sailed into the stands, hitting 13 year old Brittanie Cecil in the head. Cecil would pass away on March 18 due to the injury.

Season standings

Central Division

No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	1	Detroit Red Wings	82	51	17	10	4	251	187	116
2	4	St. Louis Blues	82	43	27	8	4	227	188	98
3	5	Chicago Blackhawks	82	41	27	13	1	216	207	96
4	14	Nashville Predators	82	28	41	13	0	196	230	69
5	15	Columbus Blue Jackets	82	22	47	8	5	164	255	57

Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
         Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.

Game log

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record	Pts
1	October 4	St. Louis Blues	3–3	Columbus Blue Jackets	0–0–1–0	1
2	October 6	Columbus Blue Jackets	3–3	Philadelphia Flyers	0–0–2–0	2
3	October 8	Philadelphia Flyers	2–2	Columbus Blue Jackets	0–0–3–0	3
4	October 12	Montreal Canadiens	3–1	Columbus Blue Jackets	0–1–3–0	3
5	October 14	Columbus Blue Jackets	2–2	Chicago Blackhawks	0–1–4–0	4
6	October 16	Columbus Blue Jackets	3–4	Detroit Red Wings	0–2–4–0	4
7	October 19	Columbus Blue Jackets	3–1	Buffalo Sabres	1–2–4–0	6
8	October 20	Colorado Avalanche	5–0	Columbus Blue Jackets	1–3–4–0	6
9	October 23	Los Angeles Kings	7–1	Columbus Blue Jackets	1–4–4–0	6
10	October 25	Edmonton Oilers	5–2	Columbus Blue Jackets	1–5–4–0	6
11	October 27	Columbus Blue Jackets	0–2	San Jose Sharks	1–6–4–0	6
12	October 30	Columbus Blue Jackets	1–3	Vancouver Canucks	1–7–4–0	6
13	November 1	Columbus Blue Jackets	1–2	Calgary Flames	1–8–4–0	6
14	November 2	Columbus Blue Jackets	2–1	Edmonton Oilers	2–8–4–0	8
15	November 6	Vancouver Canucks	3–2	Columbus Blue Jackets	2–9–4–0	8
16	November 9	Edmonton Oilers	3–0	Columbus Blue Jackets	2–10–4–0	8
17	November 10	Columbus Blue Jackets	5–1	Boston Bruins	3–10–4–0	10
18	November 13	St. Louis Blues	2–3	Columbus Blue Jackets	4–10–4–0	12
19	November 16	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	2–3	Columbus Blue Jackets	5–10–4–0	14
20	November 17	Columbus Blue Jackets	2–3	Nashville Predators	5–11–4–0	14
21	November 19	Columbus Blue Jackets	2–5	Carolina Hurricanes	5–12–4–0	14
22	November 21	Detroit Red Wings	1–0	Columbus Blue Jackets	5–12–4–1	15
23	November 23	Chicago Blackhawks	2–2	Columbus Blue Jackets	5–12–5–1	16
24	November 25	Calgary Flames	3–4	Columbus Blue Jackets	6–12–5–1	18
25	November 27	Phoenix Coyotes	0–3	Columbus Blue Jackets	7–12–5–1	20
26	November 29	St. Louis Blues	3–1	Columbus Blue Jackets	7–13–5–1	20
27	December 1	Columbus Blue Jackets	3–4	St. Louis Blues	7–14–5–1	20
28	December 5	Columbus Blue Jackets	0–2	Florida Panthers	7–15–5–1	20
29	December 6	Columbus Blue Jackets	0–1	Tampa Bay Lightning	7–16–5–1	20
30	December 8	Colorado Avalanche	2–0	Columbus Blue Jackets	7–17–5–1	20
31	December 10	New Jersey Devils	1–3	Columbus Blue Jackets	8–17–5–1	22
32	December 12	Columbus Blue Jackets	1–5	Colorado Avalanche	8–18–5–1	22
33	December 14	Columbus Blue Jackets	3–2	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	9–18–5–1	24
34	December 15	Columbus Blue Jackets	2–3	Los Angeles Kings	9–19–5–1	24
35	December 17	Columbus Blue Jackets	1–4	Phoenix Coyotes	9–20–5–1	24
36	December 22	Dallas Stars	4–2	Columbus Blue Jackets	9–21–5–1	24
37	December 27	Columbus Blue Jackets	1–5	Detroit Red Wings	9–22–5–1	24
38	December 29	Buffalo Sabres	2–2	Columbus Blue Jackets	9–22–6–1	25
39	December 31	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	1–3	Columbus Blue Jackets	10–22–6–1	27
40	January 3	Columbus Blue Jackets	2–4	St. Louis Blues	10–23–6–1	27
41	January 6	Nashville Predators	3–4	Columbus Blue Jackets	11–23–6–1	29
42	January 9	Columbus Blue Jackets	3–6	Washington Capitals	11–24–6–1	29
43	January 10	Columbus Blue Jackets	1–2	Chicago Blackhawks	11–25–6–1	29
44	January 12	Chicago Blackhawks	4–5	Columbus Blue Jackets	12–25–6–1	31
45	January 14	Columbus Blue Jackets	2–2	New York Rangers	12–25–7–1	32
46	January 16	New York Rangers	0–2	Columbus Blue Jackets	13–25–7–1	34
47	January 18	Minnesota Wild	3–1	Columbus Blue Jackets	13–26–7–1	34
48	January 19	Columbus Blue Jackets	1–2	Nashville Predators	13–27–7–1	34
49	January 21	Dallas Stars	5–3	Columbus Blue Jackets	13–28–7–1	34
50	January 24	San Jose Sharks	2–6	Columbus Blue Jackets	14–28–7–1	36
51	January 26	Phoenix Coyotes	3–2	Columbus Blue Jackets	14–29–7–1	36
52	January 28	Columbus Blue Jackets	2–4	Dallas Stars	14–30–7–1	36
53	January 30	Columbus Blue Jackets	1–3	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	14–31–7–1	36
54	February 4	Boston Bruins	8–0	Columbus Blue Jackets	14–32–7–1	36
55	February 6	Ottawa Senators	6–4	Columbus Blue Jackets	14–33–7–1	36
56	February 8	Columbus Blue Jackets	3–2	Detroit Red Wings	15–33–7–1	38
57	February 9	Nashville Predators	1–0	Columbus Blue Jackets	15–33–7–2	39
58	February 12	Minnesota Wild	3–3	Columbus Blue Jackets	15–33–8–2	40
59	February 26	Los Angeles Kings	5–1	Columbus Blue Jackets	15–34–8–2	40
60	February 28	Pittsburgh Penguins	4–3	Columbus Blue Jackets	15–34–8–3	41
61	March 2	Columbus Blue Jackets	2–0	Los Angeles Kings	16–34–8–3	43
62	March 3	Columbus Blue Jackets	1–2	Phoenix Coyotes	16–35–8–3	43
63	March 6	Columbus Blue Jackets	1–4	Colorado Avalanche	16–36–8–3	43
64	March 8	New York Islanders	2–4	Columbus Blue Jackets	17–36–8–3	45
65	March 10	Columbus Blue Jackets	0–5	Minnesota Wild	17–37–8–3	45
66	March 11	Columbus Blue Jackets	4–2	Pittsburgh Penguins	18–37–8–3	47
67	March 14	Vancouver Canucks	5–1	Columbus Blue Jackets	18–38–8–3	47
68	March 16	Calgary Flames	1–3	Columbus Blue Jackets	19–38–8–3	49
69	March 20	Columbus Blue Jackets	3–1	Minnesota Wild	20–38–8–3	51
70	March 21	Detroit Red Wings	3–2	Columbus Blue Jackets	20–38–8–4	52
71	March 23	Washington Capitals	5–2	Columbus Blue Jackets	20–39–8–4	52
72	March 25	Columbus Blue Jackets	1–6	Calgary Flames	20–40–8–4	52
73	March 26	Columbus Blue Jackets	1–3	Edmonton Oilers	20–41–8–4	52
74	March 28	Columbus Blue Jackets	3–4	Vancouver Canucks	20–41–8–5	53
75	March 30	Columbus Blue Jackets	2–10	San Jose Sharks	20–42–8–5	53
76	April 1	Columbus Blue Jackets	1–3	Dallas Stars	20–43–8–5	53
77	April 4	Nashville Predators	1–2	Columbus Blue Jackets	21–43–8–5	55
78	April 6	Columbus Blue Jackets	1–4	Montreal Canadiens	21–44–8–5	55
79	April 8	Columbus Blue Jackets	1–4	Toronto Maple Leafs	21–45–8–5	55
80	April 10	San Jose Sharks	5–3	Columbus Blue Jackets	21–46–8–5	55
81	April 12	Atlanta Thrashers	4–5	Columbus Blue Jackets	22–46–8–5	57
82	April 14	Columbus Blue Jackets	0–2	Chicago Blackhawks	22–47–8–5	57

• Green background indicates a win.
• Red background indicates a regulation loss.
• Yellow background indicates an overtime loss.
• White background indicates a tie.

Player stats

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Whitney, RayRay Whitney	LW	67	21	40	61	12	-22	6	0	3
Sillinger, MikeMike Sillinger	C	80	20	23	43	54	-35	8	0	5
Knutsen, EspenEspen Knutsen	C	77	11	31	42	47	-28	5	2	1
Marshall, GrantGrant Marshall	RW	81	15	18	33	86	-20	6	0	4
Vyborny, DavidDavid Vyborny	RW	75	13	18	31	6	-14	6	0	2
Quint, DeronDeron Quint	D	75	7	18	25	26	-34	3	0	1
Wright, TylerTyler Wright	C	77	13	11	24	100	-40	4	0	1
Sanderson, GeoffGeoff Sanderson	LW	42	11	5	16	12	-15	5	0	2
Aubin, SergeSerge Aubin	LW	71	8	8	16	32	-20	1	0	1
Klesla, RostislavRostislav Klesla	D	75	8	8	16	74	-6	1	0	0
Odelein, LyleLyle Odelein	D	65	2	14	16	89	-28	0	0	0
Kron, RobertRobert Kron	LW	59	4	11	15	4	-14	1	0	0
Harkins, BrettBrett Harkins	LW	25	2	12	14	8	-5	2	0	0
Dineen, KevinKevin Dineen	RW	59	5	8	13	62	-6	0	0	0
Timander, MattiasMattias Timander	D	78	4	7	11	44	-34	1	0	0
Sloan, BlakeBlake Sloan	RW	60	2	7	9	46	-18	0	0	0
Grand-Pierre, Jean-LucJean-Luc Grand-Pierre	D	81	2	6	8	90	-28	0	0	0
Shelley, JodyJody Shelley	LW	52	3	3	6	206	1	0	0	0
Bicanek, RadimRadim Bicanek	D	60	1	5	6	34	-15	0	0	0
Pushor, JamieJamie Pushor	D	61	0	6	6	54	-10	0	0	0
Nielsen, ChrisChris Nielsen	RW	23	2	3	5	4	-3	0	0	1
Spacek, JaroslavJaroslav Spacek	D	14	2	3	5	24	-9	1	1	1
Pronger, SeanSean Pronger	C	26	3	1	4	4	-4	0	0	0
Davidson, MattMatt Davidson	RW	17	1	2	3	10	-11	0	0	0
Heward, JamieJamie Heward	D	28	1	2	3	7	-9	0	0	0
Darche, MathieuMathieu Darche	LW	14	1	1	2	6	-5	0	0	0
Nedorost, AndrejAndrej Nedorost	LW	7	0	2	2	2	-3	0	0	0
Spanhel, MartinMartin Spanhel	LW	4	1	0	1	2	-2	0	0	0
Walser, DerrickDerrick Walser	D	2	1	0	1	0	-2	0	0	0
Bellefeuille, BlakeBlake Bellefeuille	C	2	0	1	1	0	1	0	0	0
Denis, MarcMarc Denis	G	42	0	1	1	2	0	0	0	0
Tugnutt, RonRon Tugnutt	G	44	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
Allison, JamieJamie Allison	D	7	0	0	0	28	-4	0	0	0
Labbe, Jean-FrancoisJean-Francois Labbe	G	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ling, DavidDavid Ling	RW	5	0	0	0	7	-1	0	0	0
Moran, BradBrad Moran	C	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Westcott, DuvieDuvie Westcott	D	4	0	0	0	2	-2	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T/OT	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
Tugnutt, RonRon Tugnutt	2502	44	12	27	3	119	2.85	2	1195	1076	.900
Denis, MarcMarc Denis	2335	42	9	24	5	121	3.11	1	1197	1076	.899
Labbe, Jean-FrancoisJean-Francois Labbe	117	3	1	1	0	6	3.08	0	68	62	.912
Team:	4954	82	22	52	8	246	2.98	3	2460	2214	.900

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes; PPG=Power-play goals; SHG=Short-handed goals; GWG=Game-winning goals
      MIN=Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T/OT = Ties/Overtime Losses; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; SO = Shutouts; SA=Shots Against; SV=Shots saved; SV% = Save Percentage;

Draft picks

Columubus' draft picks at the 2001 NHL Entry Draft

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	8	Pascal Leclaire	Canada	Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)
2	38	Tim Jackman	United States	Minnesota State University Mavericks (NCAA)
2	53	Kiel McLeod	Canada	Kelowna Rockets (WHL)
3	85	Aaron Johnson	Canada	Rimouski Océanic (QMJHL)
3	87	Per Mars	Sweden	Brynäs IF (Sweden)
5	141	Cole Jarrett	Canada	Plymouth Whalers (OHL)
6	173	Justin Aikins	Canada	Langley Hornets (BCHL)
6	187	Artem Vostrikov	Russia	Tolyatti-2 (Russia)
7	204	Raffaele Sannitz	Switzerland	Lugano (Swiss)
8	236	Ryan Bowness	Canada	Brampton Battalion (OHL)
8	242	Andrew Murray	Canada	Selkirk Steelers (MJHL)

References

• SHRP Sports
• The Internet Hockey Database
• National Hockey League Guide & Record Book 2007