Dallas Stars at Columbus Blue Jackets
October 18, 2011 – 7pm EDT
Nationwide Arena – Columbus, Ohio
Radio – WBNS FM 97.1 – TV – Fox Sports Ohio
Opponents Blog: Defending Big D
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Is it starting to get warm in here, or is it just me? The Jackets get another crack at the Stars tonight, after losing with a bit of a third period whimper on Saturday in Dallas. To compound their franchise-worst 0-4-1 start, Jeff Carter is battling a stress fracture in his right foot and is out tonight; Marc Methot is battling an undisclosed injury and is questionable; and the backup goaltender for tonight is none other than Mathieu Corbeil. Yikes. For a team that’s already struggling, this is not really helpful.
The Jackets will have Cody Bass in the lineup tonight, who was called up to replace Matt Calvert yesterday. Derick Brassard will be taking Carter’s spot. It looks like Aaron Johnson may go in place of Methot, and bump Clitsome up to Radek Martinek’s pair.
Projected Lineups
(Note: Lines are based on combinations used in practice yesterday and are subject to change)
Columbus Blue Jackets
(0-4-1, 1 Point; 5th division, 15th conference)
| R.J. Umberger | Derick Brassard | Rick Nash |
| Vinny Prospal | Antoine Vermette | Alexandre Giroux |
| Maksim Mayorov | Samuel Pahlsson | Derek Dorsett |
| Derek MacKenzie | Ryan Johansen | Cody Bass |
| Fedor Tyutin | David Savard |
| Grant Clitsome | Radek Martinek |
| Kris Russell | Aaron Johnson |
| Steve Mason |
| Mathieu Corbeil |
Dallas Stars
(4-1-0, 8 Points; 2nd Division, 4th Conference)
| Brenden Morrow | Mike Ribeiro | Michael Ryder |
| Steve Ott | Jamie Benn | Loui Eriksson |
| Adam Burish | Vernon Fiddler | Radek Dvorak |
| Krys Barch | Jake Dowell | Eric Nystrom |
| Adam Pardy | Alex Gologoski |
| Sheldon Souray | Stephane Robidas |
| Nicklas Grossman | Trevor Daley |
| Kari Lehtonen |
| Andrew Raycroft |
By The Numbers
Scoring
DAL – 2.40 G/G (20th)
CBJ – 2.00 G/G (t24th)Defense
DAL – 2.20 GA/G (t9th)
CBJ – 3.20 GA/G (25th)Power Play
DAL – 13.0% (t18th)
CBJ – 4.0% (28th)Penalty Kill
DAL- 89.3% (8th)
CBJ – 73.7% (28th)
Game Notes:
- The Jackets simply MUST get more shots on goal. They have the advantage of setting their line match-ups tonight while being at home, but even still they need to get more than 15 shots.
- Defensive zone coverage is a must. The Stars scored three goals basically on cross-crease back-door passes on which the goal scorer was wide open. Hopefully the bag skate practice in which battle drills were also prevalent will pay some dividends.
- Columbus finally scored a Power Play goal. They won’t have Carter tonight, but another PP goal would be what’s known in the sports world as “a trend”.
Likewise, the Jackets’ PK has been dreadful. If they’re going to get their first win, they need to: a) not take a bunch of bad penalties, and b) kill off the ones they do take. - Not so much a note as much as a plea: SCORE MORE THAN TWO GOALS, PLEASE.
- This one from Rob Mixer over at the Jackets’ website: “As of Monday, Lehtonen’s .955 save percentage was the best mark in the NHL. His 1.48 goals-against average is the league’s third-best, and his four wins also lead the NHL’s goaltenders.” Not good times for Columbus.
- Enjoy the game folks./