from Michael Arace of the Columbus Dispatch,

The Jackets (12-7-2) are in first place in the Metropolitan Division, which is up for grabs this season. The loss in Toronto snapped a seven-game point streak, which was buttressed by rock-solid road victories in Washington and Dallas.

The Jackets are finding some consistency after a checkered start. They’re in a good place heading into the second half of the first half of their season. The strangeness surrounding the contract situations of Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky has not compromised the team’s mojo.

Bread and Bob are in the final year of their contracts, they are not negotiating with the Jackets (right now), and they can become unrestricted free agents next summer. Bread was squeezing his stick a little bit earlier this month, but he’s dancing again. Bob showed up to camp in a bit of a huff and got off to a shaky start, but he has been in Vezina form during the recent streak.

It’s a testament to Bread, Bob and their teammates that they’ve managed to play so well as a group. Players can say, “Well, that’s a business side, and we get it” — but in this case, two star players have essentially said they don’t want to be teammates anymore. Or for only a little while longer.

Will the standings change Bread’s mind? Bob’s mind? Essentially, that is what management is hoping. We’ll see how it goes.

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