Game 45 Preview: A Tale of Two Struggling Teams
Two teams heading in the same direction- down. Tonight's game may not just be a battle for the Conference basement, but could also foreshadow a battle for the chance to draft Taylor Hall first overall in June. Both the Oilers and Jackets are in the midst of terrible losing streaks- the good news is one team will win tonight. That's a 50/50 chance for the Jackets to end their woeful road losing streak.
More lineup changes- after saying that Brass will remain in the top six for the forseeable future, Hitch has moved him down to the checking line. Former Oiler (who isn't a former Oiler on this squad?) Raffi moves to the second line. Garon gets the nod in goal.
You know what would be good for the CBJ? A blowout victory. A full 60 minute effort where they put up 5 or 6 goals. It's extremely unlikely to happen, but hey a guy can dream. Coming soon- my early look at potential first round draft picks. The Jackets will get a good player in June, but where have we heard that before?
Fearless Prediction :Victory?
Game Time: 9:00pm ET
Opponent's Blog: The Copper & Blue
Game Page: Blue Jackets vs Oilers Coverage
TSN Preview: Blue Jackets vs Oilers Preview
TV: FSN
Radio: WBNS-AM (1460); WWCD-FM (101.1)
More after the jump...
Jackets Links:
Columbus Blue Jackets / Columbus Blue Jackets Schedule
Columbus Blue Jackets Roster / Columbus Blue Jackets Stats
Here are the lineups for tonight's tilt:
Columbus Blue Jackets
| Kristian Huselius |
R.J. Umberger |
Rick Nash |
| Raffi Torres |
Antoine Vermette |
Jakub Voracek |
| Fredrik Modin | Derick Brassard |
Chris Clark |
| Alexandre Picard |
Samuel Pahlsson |
Jared Boll |
| Fedor Tyutin | Anton Stralman |
| Milan Jurcina |
Kris Russell |
| Jan Hejda |
Mathieu Roy |
| Mathieu Garon |
| Steve Mason |
| EXTRA: Andrew Murray, Mike Commodore |
| INJURED: Marc Methot, Rostislav Klesla, Derek Dorsett |
| Dustin Penner |
Shawn Horcoff |
Robert Nilsson |
| Patrick O'Sullivan |
Ryan Potulny |
Gilbert Brule |
| Ryan Stone |
Sam Gagner |
Fernando Pasani |
| Ethan Moreau |
Andrew Cogliano |
Zack Stortini |
| Sheldon Souray |
Tom Gilbert |
| Steve Staios |
Ladislav Smid |
| Denis Grebeshkov |
Jason Strudwick |
| Devan Dubnyk |
| Jeff Deslauriers |
0 recs |
3 comments
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Comments
Devan Dubnyk is starting in goal for the Oilers according to Dan Tencer. Also, Visnovsky and Staios both missed the morning skate.
by Hockey Noob on Jan 7, 2010 1:37 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
How much longer till Rusty and Dorsett come back
Players who should be in the Hall of Fame: DIck Lebeau, Pat TIllman, Dwight White, Donnie Shell, L.C. Greenwood, Ray Guy, Steve Tasker, Greg Llyod, Andy Russel, Chris Carter, Kevin Greene and Jerry Kramer
"If you give Arians a fullback, he won’t use one. Instead, he insists on using Matt Spaeth, who probably doesn’t cast a shadow because it would require blocking sunlight." stellin with some very true words
by WVPiratesfan on Jan 7, 2010 2:06 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Hitch Needs to Go
Someone on TSN described this as likely seeing “kittens fighting.” I’m sorry to say that this may be true.
Further: why in the name of Baby Hockey Jesus is Brass back down a line? I hate to sound repetitive lately, but Hitch needs to go. Enough of this junk.
How do you expect talent to perform better if they’re playing with very different types of players each day? Brass and the Flying Vs would be a nice line for once. We all saw the kid perform last year – let him play.
Same idea goes with Filatov. I am admittedly a Filatov supporter, and the concept is really quite the same. I’d rather deal with a slight defensive liability and higher scoring chances.
If Hitch is going to do this kind of thing to Brass, then bump Nash down a line or two. Based on his terrible plus/minus, he should also focus more on defense (based on the Hitch system). Hitch needs message consistency or to give people a chance.
Or just get rid of Hitch. That’s what I vote.
by zekebud on Jan 7, 2010 2:07 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

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