Game Preview #17 – BOB. IS. BACK.

San Jose Sharks at Columbus Blue Jackets

November 15, 2014 – 7:00 pm EST
Nationwide Arena – Columbus, Ohio
Radio – WBNS 97.1 – TV – Fox Sports Ohio
Opponent’s Blog: Fear The Fin

First and foremost, Bob is back. This is good. Also, it appears that Artem Anisimov is back as well. That said, all is not good in Russian injury news, as Fedor Tyutin has gone to the IR list with a knee sprain and looks to be out four to six weeks. Because OF COURSE HE IS.

The Jackets also put Matt Calvert on IR as well, but getting Anisimov back will make that relatively moot. The Jackets also went out and grabbed Jordan Leopold from the Blues for a fifth round pick. The Blues are even eating some of his salary. So, there’s that.

Columbus has to be feeling a bit better after finally getting a win and knowing that they’re going to have some more stability in net with Bobrovsky back. That said, losing Tyutin just hurts. It hurts this defense almost immeasurably.

Thankfully, while the Sharks are a good team, they haven’t exactly been lighting it up of late, going just 5-7-1 in their last 13 games after starting off 4-0-1. They’re a bit of an enigma, having played one of their best games of the season in beating Tampa Bay the other night… after having gotten smoked by the Panthers (!). They also sport a loss to Buffalo on their record, not to mention the comeback by Columbus last time they met.

The Jackets did almost all of their damage on the Power Play last night, and that’s a good sign. It’s the one time during these games when they are able to match up talent-wise. That said, the PK continues to struggle mightily, and losing Tyutin will only hurt there. That said, hopefully Bob brings a bit of a calming influence there. That said, the PK can’t continue to hemorrhage goals like this if the Jackets want to get back into it.

Leopold comes to Columbus as a bit of an unknown this season, having played in just seven games. He has no points, has a +/- of 0, and just two PIMs. That said, he actually has a very good EV Corsi On number of 12.70, though his QualCom numbers are very low (meaning he’s doing that against weak competition). Who cares… a 12.70 EV Corsi On would be the best of the Jackets’ defense by over three (Wisniewski leads the team at 9.43 currently). So, in summary, Leopold is hardly “a warm body” and is definitely better than an AHL option. How quickly he can fit in will tell the tale of how helpful–or harmful–he can be.

Projected Lineups

Columbus Blue Jackets
(5-10-1, 11 Points; 8th division, 15th conference)

San Jose Sharks
(9-7-2, 20 Points; 5th Division, 8th Conference)

Season Series

10/23/14 – Columbus 5 at San Jose 4
11/15/14 – San Jose at Columbus

Head to Head Stats