Columbus Blue Jackets (40 pts) vs. St. Louis Blues (54 pts) Game Preview
Columbus is in St. Louis tonight to play the Blues for the final time this season.
To say the Jackets have a hard time playing in St. Louis is an understatement. The CBJ have only won 11 games in their history on Blues ice, in 24 years. And it's hard to believe that the 11 wins they have against the Blues in St. Louis isn't even the worst record they have against a single team, that distinction goes to the Nashville Predators.
Tonight the Jackets get a hot Blues team, having won their last 5 games in a row, and are 6-3-1 in their last 10. Lately, it seems every team the Blue Jackets play is on some kind of lengthy win streak. The Blues are averaging 3.8 goals per game during the streak, and are giving up 2.4. They have the 25th-ranked PP and the 22nd-ranked PK. The Jackets and Blues have very similar stats.
The Blues are currently 4th in the Central Division, 8th in the West, and 16th in the NHL.
Keys To The Game
- Exorcise The Demons. I've mentioned the record in STL several times already, I'm trying to stop the jinx that is playing St. Louis. For whatever reason, the Jackets can't win in St. Louis and can't seem to win two games in a season against them either. They should go ahead and end that tonight.
- Keep Shootin' Chinny. Yegor Chinakhov is a hot player right now. He's second on the team in goal scoring with 14 and has 6 goals in his last 6 games, including a pair of goals in a failed comeback effort against Seattle on Sunday night. Chinakhov has the hardest shot every game the CBJ plays and has a shooting % of 17.7 this season. He has 14 goals on 79 SOG.
Series History vs. St. Louis
- The Jackets are 11-26-9 in St. Louis and 34-42-16 all-time.
- The Blues swept the season series in 22-23.
- The Jackets have won one season series all-time, in 14-15.
- The Home team is 6-1 going back to 2019.
Who to watch for St. Louis
- Robert Thomas has 17 goals and 52 points.
- Pavel Buchnevich has 17 goals and 39 points.
- Jake Neighbours has 15 goals and 19 points.
- Jordan Binnington is 17-12-2 with a .907 save %.
- Joel Hofer, who started the Blues last game is 9-8-0 with a .908 save %.
CBJ Player Notes
- Johnny Gaudreau has 25 points in 24 games.
- Emil Bemstrom has 4 points in 5 games.
- Yegor Chinakhov has 3 points in 4 games.
Injuries
- Patrik Laine (clavicle fracture-Dec. 14; NHL Player Assistance Program-Jan. 28); 17 games
- Adam Boqvist (upper body) is on Injured Reserve retroactive to Jan. 25 (At least through the All-Star break); 2 games
- Adam Fantilli (leg)
TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 178
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 105.7 FM with Bob McElligott behind the mic doing the play-by-play.
Next Up: The All-Star Break. They will have 32 games remaining when they return.
More From THN Columbus
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.