5 reasons why Columbus Blue Jackets will win Stanley Cup

1. Seth Jones and Zach Werenski

Jones and Werenski sounds more like a law firm than a defensive pairing. But the Blue Jackets’ top pairing has been outstanding. You could argue they’ve been one of the best in the NHL during the regular season. The Blue Jackets had to rely heavily on them, especially when defensemen went down with injuries. But with everyone healthy, Jones and Werenski don’t carry such a heavy burden.

The Blue Jackets are an aggressive team on offense. That includes Jones and Werenski. Combined, the two young stars have 32 goals and 94 points. Jones finished second on the team in points with 57, while Werenski finished just outside of the top five with 37. This season, the two defensemen had the two highest goal totals from the blue line in Blue Jackets history.

Getting Ian Cole at the trade deadline has helped. So has getting back David Savard and Jack Johnson. Markus Nutivaara could be a dark-horse candidate to help the Blue Jackets advance in the postseason. But Columbus needs their elite duo of Jones and Werenski to continue to dominate. And they’re going to have to do it against the best in the league. Then again, that’s precisely what Jones and Werenski have done this season.

It’s rare to see defensemen win the Conn Smythe. The tradition is either give it to the winning captain, the winning team’s top goal scorer, Sidney Crosby, or a goaltender.

Next: Ranking every Stanley Cup playoff team's chances of winning it all

Should the Blue Jackets win, Bobrovsky will probably have a really good case to win it. However, Jones and Werenski might be next in line to win the playoff MVP award.

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