Game #43 Preview: Blue Jackets welcome Predators to Nationwide
Looking to continue a Thursday win streak
Thursday, January 10, 2018 - 7:00 EST
Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH
TV: Fox Sports Ohio; Radio: 97.1 FM
Opponent’s Blog: On the Forecheck
Columbus Blue Jackets (24-15-3, 51 points, 3rd Metro, 7th East)
vs.
Nashville Predators (27-15-3, 57 points, 1st Central, 3rd West)
After a three game southern road trip, the Blue Jackets return to NWA ... to face yet another southern team. It’s also the second of three straight games against division leaders, and therefore another important “measuring stick” game for this team.
Player to Watch
Filip Forsberg
Despite missing 17 games with injury, Forsberg leads the Predators in scoring. Last night was just his second game back and he scored two goals, including the OT winner. With countryman Viktor Arvidsson and former Jacket Ryan Johansen, he forms one of the more formidable front lines in the league.
Jackets Notes
The road trip ended with a thud, with another big loss to Tampa ... Captain Nick Foligno is expected to return to the lineup tonight, now that his daughter Milana has returned to Columbus following surgery in Boston ... Markus Hannikainen and Brandon Dubinsky both missed the third period of Tuesday’s game, so the fourth line will look much different tonight. Lukas Sedlak will return to the lineup, but also look for a Monster to get the call up today ... The Blue Jackets have won all 11 Thursday games this season. That’s one shy of the league record for a win streak on a single night ... Our future savior, Elvis Merzlikins, was named the Latvian Hockey Player of the Year.
The Other Bench
The Preds are on the second leg of a back-to-back, after going to overtime with the Blackhawks last night in Chicago ... Pekka Rinne started last night, so expect Juuse Saros to start tonight ... To commemorate the third anniversary of the Ryan Johansen/Seth Jones trade, our friends at On the Forecheck reached out to do a Q&A about each player’s time with their new team. Part One was published here yesterday. OTF is posting Part Two today and we will crosspost to The Cannon front page.
Season Series
01/10/2019 NSH @ CBJ
03/30/2019 CBJ @ NSH
Stats
| Washington | Columbus | |
|---|---|---|
| 3.49 (6) | GPG | 3.23 (9) |
| 2.91 (16) | GAPG | 3.07 (19) |
| 21.2% (13) | PP% | 14.2% (29) |
| 78.1% (24) | PK% | 80.9% (11) |
| 48.19% (24) | EV Corsi % | 49.72% (17) |
| 1.036 (1) | EV PDO | 1.002 (9) |
| Alex Ovechkin, 32 | G Leader | Cam Atkinson, 24 |
| John Carlson, 35 | A Leader | Artemi Panarin, 32 |
| Alex Ovechkin, 49 | P Leader | Artemi Panarin, 47 |
| Tom Wilson, 39 | PIM Leader | Pierre-Luc Dubois, 40 |
| 13-6-2 | Home / Road | 13-7-1 |
| 7-2-1 | Last 10 | 7-3-0 |
Projected Lineups
| Artemi Panarin | Pierre-Luc Dubois | Cam Atkinson |
| Anthony Duclair | Alexander Wennberg | Oliver BJORKSTRAND |
| Nick Foligno | Boone Jenner | Josh Anderson |
| Eric Robinson | Lukas Sedlak | Riley Nash |
| Zach Werenski | Seth Jones |
| Ryan Murray | Markus Nutivaara |
| Hott Scarrington | David Savard |
| Sergei Bobrovsky |
| Joonas Korpisalo |
| Viktor Arvidsson | Ryan Johansen | Filip Forsberg |
| Kevin Fiala | Colton Sissons | Craig Smith |
| Calle Jarnkrok | Nick Bonino | Austin Watson |
| Rocco Grimaldi | Frederick Gaudreau | Ryan Hartman |
| Roman Josi | Ryan Ellis |
| Mattias Ekholm | P.K. Subban |
| Dan Hamhuis | Matt Irwin |
| Juuse Saros |
| Pekka Rinne |