Jackets battle Jason Robertson and The Stars
The Blue Jackets will face the Dallas Stars tonight at Nationwide Arena.
The Jackets come home after a short two-game road trip which included losses at both Washington and Florida. In the Washington game, the Jackets were essentially shut down offensively and could muster only a single goal. Columbus then went to Florida and got blitzed for the first six minutes, before they battled back to take the lead. The Panthers would then score with under a minute left in regulation to send it OT, where they finished off the Jackets 5-4. The Jackets are 6th in the Metro with 11 points.
The Stars make their way onto Irish Broadway having lost their last two games, on the road vs. Vancouver, and at home against Boston. The Stars currently sit 2nd in the Central Division with 15 points. They also come in with a stout 4-1-1 record on the road.
Three Keys
- Learn From Your Mistakes. 11 days ago the CBJ lost to the Stars. It was 2-2 after two periods, but in the third period, the Stars turned it on and blew them away in that last period. In that game, they took an untimely penalty in the third and didn't play well enough to win. They played like a young team that was overwhelmed by the talent the Stars had. The Jackets need to stay poised and play within their system. They've shown flashes of being a very good hockey team, and if they can do that at home, they can beat Dallas.
- Stay Hot On The Penalty Kill. The Jackets currently sit 8th in the league on the PK at 86.8%. The Stars PP is running at a brisk 9.7%, which is 29th in the NHL. Even though the Stars PP is cold, The CBJ would be wise not to give Dallas too many chances on the PP. They have a few superstars that can make you pay for your mistakes, so stay out of the box. But, the Jackets do have a good PK, so it'll be interesting to watch the two special teams units battle each other.
- Fire The Cannon. Columbus needs to score goals. Whether it's the primary goal scorers, secondary, or from the defensemen, they need to light the scoresheet up. They only score an average of 2 goals a game at home, that's not going to be good enough to win games. When they get the fans into the game, NWA is one of the loudest and most disruptive buildings in the NHL. So, score goals, set the cannon off, and walk out of the game with a win.
Series History
- The Jackets are 17-15-5 at home vs. Dallas all-time.
- Columbus has killed off all 13 Stars power plays over the last nine games in the series.
Who to watch for Dallas
- Roope Hintz leads the Stars 5 goals and 11 points with 2 power-play goals.
- Jason Robertson has 2 goals and 9 points.
- Both Jake Oettinger and Scott Wedgewood have winning records and a save % of over .911.
Roster Notes
- Erik Gudbranson didn't practice yet again but is expected to play. He blocked a shot off of his foot almost two weeks ago that he's still nursing. He hasn't missed a game, however.
- Patrik Laine is still out, dealing with a concussion.
- David Jiricek looks to be scratched for the second consecutive game in favor of Andrew Peeke.
- Emil Bemstrom was a healthy scratch in the last game. Based on practice lines on Wednesday, it looks like he'll miss his second game in a row.
- The Jackets play three games in the next four days, so we should expect to see Spencer Martin in one of these games. The game on Saturday is in Detroit, and the game on Sunday is in New York against the Rangers. We'll know who is starting against the Stars after the morning skate.
- TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 30
How to Watch & Listen: Tonight's game will be on ESPN+ and Hulu with John Buccigross and Ryan Callahan. The radio broadcast will be on 97.1 The Fan with Bob McElligott behind the mic doing the play-by-play.
Join Jason Newland's Columbus Blue Jacket page on Bunches, a new app that connects sports fans. Also, you can watch a new YouTube game show about the Blue Jackets, Around the Fifth Line.