2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Columbus at Pittsburgh Game 2 Preview
Blue Jackets look to even the series on the road
Friday, April 14, 2017 at 7:00 PM EST
FSO/NHL Network/Streaming
Tonight, your Columbus Blue Jackets attempt to even their series with the Pittsburgh Penguins at one game apiece. Despite the setback in Game 1, there is still an opportunity to steal an all-important road win.
Keys to the game
Start Strong - Columbus came out with a great first period on Wednesday. They dominated possession and got 16 shots on goal while allowing just 3. Unfortunately most of those attempts were not high danger, and they left the period with nothing to show for it. Tonight they will need to establish that pressure early and hope a goal can come sooner.
Stay Out of the Box - While the PK has been very strong lately, it allowed the second Pittsburgh goal, which turned out to be the game-winner as well as an emotional back-breaker for most of us in the gamethread. Even when teams have not converted on the PK, it takes away any offensive momentum the Jackets may have built.
Crash the Net - Columbus outshot Pittsburgh in Game 1. That’s good. Only 3 of their 18 5v5 scoring chances were “high danger” per Natural Stat Trick. That’s bad. The Penguins did an excellent job of clogging the slot. The Jackets need to battle harder to get in position for rebounds and tip-ins.
Projected Lineups
No changes are expected for either team. Yes, that means we’ll see Scott Harrington and Gabriel Carlsson again. No, I don’t understand it either.
| Brandon Saad | Alexander Wennberg | Nick Foligno |
| Boone Jenner | Brandon Dubinsky | Cam Atkinson |
| Scott Hartnell | Sam Gagner | BJORKSTRAND |
| Matt Calvert | Lars Karlsson | Josh Anderson |
| Zach Werenski | Seth Jones |
| Jack Johnson | David Savard |
| Passersby were amazed at the unusually large amounts of blood. | Passersby were amazed at the unusually large amounts of blood. |
| Sergei Bobrovsky |
| Joonas Korpisalo |
| Jake Guentzel | Sidney Crosby | Conor Sheary |
| Phil Kessel | Evgeni Malkin | Bryan Rust |
| Scott Wilson | Nick Bonino | Patric Hornqvist |
| Tom Kuhnhackl | Matt Cullen | Carter Rowney |
| Ian Cole | Justin Schultz |
| Trevor Daley | Olli Maata |
| Brian Dumoulin | Ron Hainsey |
| Marc-Andre Fleury |
| Matt Murray |