Juice is back!
That is good news for the Jackets, who have missed his playmaking abilities. It makes me wonder though- what are the lines going to look like? Personally, I like Brass playing with Jake and Nash. Whether or not the coaching staff agrees is a different story, and we may see the line of Huselius, Vermette and Nash reunited. That would put Umby with Brass and Jake.
Any way you slice it, having Juice back is a bonus, and hopefully it will translate to the powerplay (which by the way, hasn’t been as bad lately…). One piece of bad news however is that Derek MacKenzie was put on the IR today when Juice was activated. That means look for Kyle Wilson to hold on to the fourth line center position for a while.
The Jackets are visiting the Canucks, who sit third in the West and are 6-3-1 in their last ten games. Many, including myself, have pegged the Canucks to go all the way to the Stanley Cup this year. As Matt mentioned in the preview, two former Jackets in Manny Malhotra and Raffi Torres now call Vancouver home, so it will be good to see those guys in action again.
Mathieu Garon gets the start for Columbus, given the events of last game I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a steady dose of Garon for the next few games.
This has all the makings of an exciting game, and even though it’s a 10 EST start, you should stay up to cheer the Jackets on.