Game #51 Preview: Jackets look to snap losing streak
Let’s turn the page in the new month
Saturday, February 2 - 7:00 EST
Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH
TV: Fox Sports Ohio; Radio: 97.1 FM
Opponent’s Blog: St. Louis Game Time
Columbus Blue Jackets (28-19-3, 59 points, 4th Metro, 8th East)
vs.
St. Louis Blues (22-22-5, 49 points, 6th Central, 12th West)
The Jackets have lost four games in a row. THIS ENDS TODAY, DAMMIT.
Player to Watch
Alexander Wennberg
Wennberg was supposed to be the 2C for this team, but has scored one goal all season and had just two points in the entire month of January. He picked his game up in the second half of last season; can he do it again? How he performs this month could affect whether the Jackets make a move for another top 6 center.
Jackets Notes
Cam Atkinson missed Thursday’s game in Winnipeg after taking a puck to the face during warm-ups, but is expected to return to action tonight ... Anthony Duclair played just one shift in that game, was on ice for a goal against, then spent the rest of the game on the bench. Will he even dress tonight? ... Seth Jones is once again a Hockey Is For Everyone ambassador, as the NHL commemorates Black History Month.
“The players are committed to inclusion in the sport, and happy to see Hockey Is For Everyone expand as a year-long initiative,” said Seth Jones, Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman and HIFE ambassador. “As a HIFE ambassador, I know that important conversations and perspectives will be shared as part of the Black History Month celebration, with the goal of creating a welcoming environment while promoting the continued diversity of players and fans.”
Cam Atkinson will be featured on NHL Network this weekend, as NHL Network Ice Time shows clips from All Star weekend. It will air at 9 a.m. and noon today, and 10 a.m. Sunday.
This clip shows Cam on the red carpet:
In this one, he discusses why Theo Fleury was his favorite player growing up:
The Other Bench
St. Louis has struggled this season. They fired their head coach, Mike Yeo, in November and interim Craig Berube will remain coach through the end of the season, and possibly beyond ... St. Louis Game Time graded the roster during the break, and it’s not a pretty picture ... The one stand-out has been Ryan O’Reilly, acquired by the Blues in a blockbuster trade last summer. He leads the team in goals and assists and represented them in the All Star Game.
Season Series
10/25/2018 CBJ 7 @ STL 4
02/02/2019 STL @ CBJ
Stats
| St. Louis | Columbus | |
|---|---|---|
| 2.84 (20) | GPG | 3.22 (9) |
| 3.02 (17) | GAPG | 3.08 (19) |
| 19.4% (17) | PP% | 15.4% (26) |
| 79.6% (17) | PK% | 83.0% (7) |
| 50.90% (10) | EV Corsi % | 49.86% (16) |
| 99.2 (23) | EV PDO | 100.0 (15) |
| Ryan O'Reilly, 18 | G Leader | Cam Atkinson, 28 |
| Ryan O'Reilly, 32 | A Leader | Artemi Panarin, 37 |
| Ryan O'Reilly, 50 | P Leader | Artemi Panarin, 57 |
| Joel Edmundson, 58 | PIM Leader | Josh Anderson, 46 |
| 10-9-3 | Home / Road | 14-10-2 |
| 6-3-1 | Last 10 | 5-5-0 |
Projected Lineups
Updated 11:00 a.m.
| Artemi Panarin | Pierre-Luc Dubois | Josh Anderson |
| Nick Foligno | Alexander Wennberg | Cam Atkinson |
| Your | guess | is as |
| good | as | mine |
| Zach Werenski | Seth Jones |
| Ryan Murray | Markus Nutivaara |
| Hott Scarrington | David Savard |
| Joonas Korpisalo |
| Sergei Bobrovsky |
| Brayden Schenn | Ryan O'Reilly | Vladimir Tarasenko |
| Jaden Schwartz | Tyler Bozak | Alex Steen |
| Zach Sanford | Oskar Sundqvist | Patrick Maroon |
| MacKenzie MacEachern | Ivan Barbashev | Robert Thomas |
| Carl Gunnarsson | Alex Pietrangelo |
| Jay Bouwmeester | Colton Parayko |
| Vince Dunn | Joel Edmundson |
| Jake Allen |
| Jordan Binnington |