Columbus Blue Jackets (58 pts) vs. Vegas Golden Knights (81 pts) Game Preview
The Blue Jackets flew into Vegas from Colorado late last night after a beatdown at the hands of the Avalanche and will be expected to rebound tonight against the Vegas Golden Knights.
They will get a Vegas team that's in a bit of a lull, however. They're 4-6-0 in their last 10, have slipped a tad in the standings, and are barely hanging on to a playoff spot. Every team around them in the standings is playing well, are the reigning Stanley Cup Champs in danger of missing the playoffs?
But, what better team to play and bust out of a slump than the CBJ? The struggling Jackets have lost 6 of 7 and are playing with 20% of their lineup consisting of Cleveland Monsters. The Golden Knights like to steamroll teams at home, so we could be in for another long night in Las Vegas.
The Golden Knights currently sit 4th in the Pacific Division, 8th in the West, and 14th in the NHL.
Series History vs. The Golden Knights
- Columbus is 2-3-0 all-time at T-Mobile Arena, and 6-4-1 in all meetings.
- The Jackets are 2-1-1 in the last 4 against Vegas. They won the last game between the two teams at NWA by a score of 6-3.
- The home team is 4-0-1 in the last 5 games of the series.
Who To Watch For The Golden Knights
- Jack Eichel has 20 points in 19 games against the Jackets. He has 53 points on the season.
- William Karlsson has 46 points this season. He also has 8 points in 11 games against his former team.
- Jonathan Marchessault leads Vegas in scoring with 60 points. He has 13 points in 14 games vs. Columbus.
CBJ Player Notes vs. Golden Knights
- Johnny Gaudreau has 13 points in 17 games.
- Alex Nylander has 4 points in 4 games.
- Kirill Marchenko has 3 points in 2 games.
- Alex Texier has 3 points in 2 games.
- Zach Werenski has 6 points in 9 games.
Injuries
- Patrik Laine (clavicle fracture-Dec. 14; NHL Player Assistance Program-Jan. 28); 17 games (for injury)
- Adam Fantilli (calf laceration on Jan. 28); expected to miss 8 weeks (21 games)
- Kent Johnson (shoulder injury on Feb. 28); out the rest of the season (12 games)
- Justin Danforth (concussion on Mar. 7); out indefinitely (7 games)
- Yegor Chinakhov (upper-body injury on Mar. 12); is day-to-day (5 games)
- Sean Kuraly (lower-body injury on Mar. 12); is week-to-week (5 games)
- Adam Boqvist (upper-body injury on Mar. 14); out indefinitely (4 games)
TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 237
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.
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.