Nick Foligno comes back to Columbus
The Chicago Blackhawks and Columbus Blue Jackets have combined for 13 straight losses, and on Wednesday night, they will battle to see who breaks their streak.
The Blackhawks bring their four-game losing streak to Irish Broadway looking to send the CBJ into their own history books by losing a 10th straight game. The Hawks have lost their last four to Florida, Tampa, Nashville, and Buffalo. Chicago currently sits 8th in the Central Division, 15th in the Western Conference, and 31st in the league.
Three Keys
- Let's Get Physical. Although former Jacket Nick Foligno was brought in to protect Connor Bedard, they cannot be afraid to throw the body against the Blackhawks. If a scuffle ensues, then so be it, but hit early and often and keep the young Blackhawks looking over their shoulder.
- Special Teams Will Be Huge. The Blackhawks power play is almost as bad as the Jackets power play, and with the CBJ PK being elite so far, it shouldn't be too hard to shut their PP down. The Jackets have given up a power play goal in two straight games however, so they need to get back to where they were before the two games this past weekend. The Hawks PK is 19th in the NHL, so they are vulnerable, but they don't take too many penalties, sitting 10th with the fewest minutes given up.
- Adam Fantilli vs. Connor Bedard. Who will outshine who in the battle of the top draft picks? Fantilli has 9 points through 19 games, while Bedard has 15 through 16 games. The difference between the two is that Bedard has no one around him who makes many plays, while Fantilli at least has options around him to score and make plays.
Series History
- Columbus is 20-21-9 all-time vs. Chicago at home.
- Tonight's game will be the 100th in the series with the Jackets going 38-46-15.
Who to watch for Chicago
- Connor Bedard leads the Blackhawks with 15 points. He has 9 goals.
- Nick Foligno has 2 goals and 9 points on the season.
- Petr Mrazek got the start against the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday, so Arvid Soderblom may get his 8th start. Soderblom is 1-6 on the season and hasn't played well. Mrazek is 4-5 and has played pretty well despite his record.
Roster Notes
- Patrik Laine will be back in after being a healthy scratch on Sunday against Philly. In practice yesterday he was moved to the wing and looks to be playing with Fantilli and Voronkov. This morning HC Vincent spoke about the scratch.
- Damon Severson will be out for 6 weeks due to an oblique injury suffered on Sunday.
- Eric Robinson has been recalled by the Jackets after spending a few weeks with the Monsters. He will most likely be a healthy scratch tonight.
- Elvis Merzlikins has been named the start for tonight.
- Jake Bean and Adam Boqvist should play tonight, while Andrew Peeke will be the scratch. Vincent did say that there will be some other game-time decisions. Stay tuned.
How to Watch & Listen: Tonight's game will be on Bally Sports Ohio. As always, the legendary Jeff Rimer will be on the play-by-play with his partner Jody Shelley. The radio broadcast will be on 97.1 FM 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.