Blue Jackets hit the Motor City Trying to Shake Slump
Here’s what you need to know.
Saturday, November 11, 2017 - 7:00 EST
Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Radio: WBNS FM - TV: Fox Sports Ohio
Opponent’s Blog: Winging It In Motown
Columbus Blue Jackets, 9-7-1, 19 points, 3rd Metro, T5th East
vs.
Detroit Red Wings, 8-8-1, 17 points, 4th Atlantic, 11th East
Season Series
11/11/2017 CBJ @ DET
03/09/2018 DET @ CBJ
04/03/2018 DET @ CBJ
Stats
| Detroit Red Wings | Columbus Blue Jackets | |
|---|---|---|
| 2.71 (21) | GPG | 3.06 (14) |
| 2.88 (T14) | GAPG | 2.82 (12) |
| 18.9% (16) | PP% | 10% (31) |
| 84.1% (7) | PK% | 80.4% (16) |
| 49.80% (15) | EV Corsi % | 53.13% (5) |
| 99.9 (19) | EV PDO | 101 (13) |
| Anthony Mantha, 8 | G Leader | Josh Anderson, 6 |
| Dylan Larkin, Mike Green 13 | A Leader | Artemi Panarin, 10 |
| Anthony Mantha, 16 | P Leader | Artemi Panarin, Seth Jones, 12 |
| Justin Abdelkader, 22 | PIM Leader | Zac Dalpe, 13 |
| 2-2-1 | Home / Road | 4-3-1 |
| 4-5-1 | Last 10 | 4-5-1 |
Projected Lineups
| Artemi Panarin | Alexander Wennberg | Cam Atkinson |
| Boone Jenner | Brandon Dubinsky | Oliver Bjorkstrand |
| Pierre-Luc Dubois | Nick Foligno | Josh Anderson |
| Sonny Milano | Tyler Motte | Gabriel Carlsson |
| Zach Werenski | Seth Jones |
| Jack Johnson | David Savard |
| Ryan Murray | Markus Nutivaara |
| Sergei Bobrovsky |
| Joonas Korpisalo |
| Anthony Mantha | Henrik Zetterberg | Gustav Nyquist |
| Tomas Tatar | Dylan Larkin | Andreas Athanasiou |
| Scot Wilson | Frans Nielsen | Darren Helm |
| Martin Frk | Luke Glendening | Luke Witkowski |
| Jonathan Ericsson | Trevor Daley |
| Xavier Ouellet | Mike Green |
| Niklas Kronwall | Nick Jensen |
| Jimmy Howard |
| Petr Mrazek |
Sizing Up Old Foes
The Columbus Blue Jackets head to Detroit to check out the new digs, Little Caesars Arena. As Columbus hits the road for two, the Red Wings return home for the first time since Halloween, kicking off a five-game homestand Saturday night between old rivals.
Jeff Blashill’s team is decent on the road at 6-6-0 but know they need to be better at home where 2-2-1 won't cut it. Meanwhile, Columbus needs to right the ship, as they stumble in winless in their last four.
After a slogfest Friday night against the Hurricanes, in which Carolina got some bounces, but was ultimately faster and more alert than Columbus, John Tortorella called for an 11 am meeting Saturday.
A mechanical issue, however, grounded the teams’ charter this morning.
#CBJ flight to Detroit tonight grounded (mechanical issue) Team will fly Sat. AM. Media avail at arena -players (4:30-5:10p), Torts (5:45p).
— CBJ Public Relations (@BlueJacketsPR) November 11, 2017
What They Said
Quotes from Columbus Dispatch following last night’s loss:
“We’ve got to find a way to come out better. Our first (period) wasn’t very good. Most of the second, the same way,” said Brandon Dubinsky.
Dubinsky continued:
“We need to take a long look in the mirror at what type of team we are, how we’re successful and how we’re built. It’s not by trying to be fancy, making plays and trying to be run-and-gun. It’s about getting pucks beneath the other team’s hash marks and winning battles. We’re not doing enough of that.”
“The third period was our best period,” coach John Tortorella said. “We (had) four or five really good opportunities with the right people with the puck on their sticks, and we don’t get it done. So no matter how bad we were, we still had a chance to win it, and we just don’t find a way in the third.”
Better Starts
Columbus will also try to start off better, as they walked through a sleepy first period last night, and really didn’t show a spark until the third. The turnover battle was also lost and they will need to be better in the 50-50 battles.
The Jackets have outshot opponents 219-178 in the second period, and it's the exact opposite for Detroit, who have been outshot in that frame 219-178. Here’s the rest of the game notes.
Per Blashill, Justin Abdelkader is considered day-to-day with a fractured cheekbone and will see a specialist Monday.
Over the last five games between these two clubs in Detroit, the Jackets are 3-1-1, and Columbus had a 2-0 mark last season.