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Game #65 Preview: Blue Jackets Look For Better Effort at Home vs Jets

Sunday, March 3, 2019 – 7:00 EST
Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
TV: Fox Sports Ohio; Radio: 97.1 FM
Opponent’s Blog: Arctic Ice Hockey

Columbus Blue Jackets (36-25-3, 75 points, 5th Metro, 9th East)

vs.

Winnipeg Jets (38-22-4, 80 points, 1st Central, 3rd West)

It’s an exciting time of the season, with every game being the most crucial until the next one. Look at the Metropolitan Division standings every day and you’re apt to seeing quite a bit of change, from teams jumping and falling from among the top three to the wild card picture, or even out of the playoff picture altogether.

Unfortunately for the Columbus Blue Jackets, it’s under the playoff dividing line that they find themselves after their play on Saturday against the Oilers, a 4-0 defeat, left much to be desired. Losing a gigantic opportunity to bank two points against the lowly Oilers, and keep pace with the Penguins and Hurricanes, who both won their contests isn’t ideal. The good news? Today’s a new day and the Blue Jackets have to approach it as such.

Tonight, the Blue Jackets hope to finish their homestand with a strong effort against the Winnipeg Jets before taking on divisional opponents over each of their next four games. The Jets beat the Blue Jackets in their lone meeting back on Jan. 31, a game which saw the Blue Jackets surrender the final goal with 1:14 remaining in the third, losing 4-3.

Player to Watch

Eric Robinson might not stand out among most players around the NHL, but Blue Jackets fans are getting a pretty good look at the former Ivy Leaguer out of Princeton. After making his NHL debut a season ago, he’s cracked the lineup for the last eight games, and today would mark his 12th of the season. Still looking for his first career point, Robinson has seen his average minutes steady around the 12:39 mark per game. A prediction? Robinson cracks the scoresheet tonight. Everyone is looking to turn the page, look for him and maybe that fourth line to be a sort of unsung hero.

Well, Robinson is out of the lineup as luck would have it. Still. The kid’s been impressive. Artemi Panarin scores a goal tonight.

Jackets Notes

Seth Jones’ overtime goal against the Flyers on Thursday was his seventh career GWG for the Blue Jackets in the extra session, giving him the most in Blue Jackets’ franchise history. … His second game as a Blue Jackets was also a career milestone for newcomer Adam McQuaid who played in his 500th career game last Thursday. … The Blue Jackets have allowed five goals against their PK, one of which came against the Jets in their first meeting. … Josh Anderson’s next point will be his 100th career. … Prior to Saturday’s loss, the Blue Jackets had a five-game winning streak against the Western Conference. … It’s a back-to-back sho who gets the start in net for John Tortorella? Before getting into the third period of Saturday’s loss, Korpisalo last saw action in his start against the Lightning Feb. 18. … Keith Kinkaid, looking for his first appearance as a Blue Jacket, last got into game action Feb. 19, a loss against the Penguins.

The Other Bench

Though there’s been some bumps lately, Winnipeg has largely kept up their winning ways since the last time we saw them. On Friday, the Jets defeated the Predators 5-3 to take first place in the Central Division by one point, and are third in the conference with 80 points. They continue to get along without Dustin Byfuglien, who is expected back in March after being out since just after Valentine’s Day with a lower-body ailment. Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck missed Friday’s game with an illness and it is uncertain whether he will make the start tonight, same for Bogdan Kiselevich. Eric Comrie was recalled on an emergency basis from Manitoba of the AHL to serve as backup in crease. The Jets are also without Adam Lowry, who is serving a two game suspension after a high-sticking infraction against Nashville Friday.

Kevin Hayes was acquired by the Jets at the trade deadline, scoring three points (one goal, two assists) in his second game as a Jet on Friday. Mark Scheifele is having a career season for Winnipeg, matching his career-high in goals with 32 set in 2016-17. He needs just 10 more points to surpass his previous career high (82). Columbus native Jack Roslovic (seven goals, 10 assists) comes into town with Winnipeg, with a career high in points and games played (63).

This is the start of a four-game road trip for Winnipeg. The Jets are just 16-14-0 on the road this season, have not won back-to-back road games in 2019, and have not lost three straight road games in regulation since December. The Jets are 15-8-2 vs the East, 9-3-0 against the Metro. They are just 4-5-1 over their last 10 games.

The Jets fly high on Sunday: 8-1-0 this year; 18-1-0 on Sunday’s over the last two seasons.

Series Series

1/31/2019 CBJ 3 @ WPG 4
3/3/2019 WPG @ CBJ

Stats Preview

Winnipeg Columbus
3.36 (7) GPG 3.14 (11)
2.97 (14) GAPG 2.98 (15)
25.2% (5) PP% 15.5% (17)
78.9% (22) PK% 83.7% (3)
49.57% (15) EV Corsi % 50.38% (12)
100.4 (t-9) EV PDO 99.8 (t-15)
Mark Scheifele, 32 G Leader Cam Atkinson, 34
Blake Wheeler, 63 A Leader Artemi Panarin, 44
Blake Weehler, 76 P Leader Artemi Panarin, 68
Brendan Lemieux, 64 PIM Leader Josh Anderson, 54
16-14-0 Home / Road 17-15-2
4-5-1 Last 10 5-5-0

Projected Lineups

Artemi Panarin Pierre-Luc Dubois Cam Atkinson
Nick Foligo Matt Duchene Oliver Bjorkstrand
Ryan Dzingel Alexander Wennberg Josh Anderson
Brandon Dubinsky Boone Jenner Lukas Sedlak
Zach Werenski Seth Jones
Markus Nutivaara David Savard
Scott Harrington Dean Kukan
Sergei Bobrovsky
Joonas Korpisalo / Keith Kinkaid
Patrik Laine Mark Scheifele Blake Wheeler
Kyle Connor Kevin Hayes Nikolaj Ehlers
Brandon Tanev Andrew Copp Bryan Little
Mathieu Perreault Par Lindholm Jack Roslovic
Nathan Beaulieu Jacob Trouba
Dmitry Kulikov Tyler Myers
Ben Chiarot Sami Niku
Connor Hellebuyck
Laurent Brossoit