The Blue Jackets are on the Island to take on New York
The Blue Jackets are in New York tonight to play the Islanders before returning home to play the St. Louis Blues tomorrow.
The New York Islanders have gone 5-1-4 in their last 10 games. They have some really good players and can hurt you in a few different ways. Their goaltenders are very good also, so this game could go south in a hurry if the Jackets don't come out and play some decent hockey. In a weird twist, both teams blew three-goal leads in the third period on Tuesday night and then lost in OT.
Statistically, the Jackets and Islanders have a weird matchup. The CBJ sit 14th in goals, while the Isles are 28th. The CBJ are 30th in goals against, and the Isles are 18th. On special teams, the CBJ are 26th on the PP, and the Isles are 7th. The PK has the CBJ at 4th, and the Islanders are 30th. This should be a good game and the Jackets will be looking for some payback. The Islanders came to NWA and shut the Jackets out 2-0 on October 28th with Semyon Varlamov in goal.
The Islanders currently sit 4th in the Metro, 8th in the East, and 16th in the NHL.
Three Keys
- Shake Off The Kings Loss. It's always said that athletes have to have short memories. After the loss on Tuesday to LA, this is even more important. Columbus was up 3-0 entering the third and got blitzed by LA for six minutes which cost them the game. Forget about it, shake it off, and go out and beat the Islanders.
- Stand Tall Spencer. With Elvis Merzlikins going on the IR with an illness, and defenseman Adam Boqvist going down with a shoulder injury, this game just got even harder. Spencer has been playing well lately, and he'll have no choice but to play well on Thursday. Jet Greaves has been called up to back Martin up.
- Heeeeeeeeere's Johnny. Johnny Gaudreau seems to be playing like his old self lately. He's quietly increased his points total to 15, having 4 goals and 11 assists. He has 4 points in the last three games, and 9 points in his last 10. He also has 21 shots in the last 10 games.
Series History
- Columbus is 8-13-3 on the road vs NYI.
- The Jackets are 24-19-8 in all-time vs. the Islanders.
- The CBJ are 1-6-1 in the last 8 games against New York.
- The Columbus PP is 5 for 15 in the last 5 games against the Isles.
- The Blue Jackets have been shut out 8 times in the series.
Who to watch for New York
- Matt Barzal has 7 goals and 23 points. He also 9 power-play points.
- Noah Dobson 5 goals and 22 points, with 11 power-play points.
- Brock Nelson has 11 goals and 19 points.
- Goalie Ilya Sorokin has a 6-4-6 record on the year with a GAA of 3.19 with a save % of .911.
- Semyon Varlamov has a record of 4-3-1 with a GAA of 2.50 and a save % .926.
Player Notes
- Johnny Gaudreau has 17 points in 16 career games vs. NYI.
- Yegor Chinakhov has a three-game point streak against the Islanders.
- Jake Bean has a two-game point streak against New York.
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. 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.