Blue Jackets vs. Minnesota Wild
Thursday, September 24, 2015 – 7:00 PM EDT
Nationwide Arena – Columbus, OH
Radio: WBNS 1460 AM
Opponent’s Blog – Hockey Wilderness
About the only possible highlight from the announced rosters would have been the chance that Mike Reilly would travel with the Wild to Columbus to receive his rightful response from The Fifth Line tonight. Alas, it is not to be. And, beyond that, not too many will confuse these lineups with “NHL Hockey” anytime soon.
So, there’s that.
The Jackets will get a chance to go up against last season’s arguably hottest goaltender in the second half, as Devin Dubnyk will be getting the start. Beyond that for the Wild? Vanek. Some starting defensemen. And… woof.
For Columbus? It’s not much better. Pretty much the only possible “opening night line” will be the Tri-C fourth line of Calvert–Campbell–Clarkson. Three of the kids will be on display, which is nice, in Milano, Rychel, and BJORKSTRAND. Dubi gets some work, as do Fedor Tyutin and Jack Johnson. Beyond that? Yikes.
This is not a game you will remember for the rest of your lives. Probably not even the rest of the week.
That said, enjoy just the same, because it’s HOCKEY!
Projected Lineups
Columbus Blue Jackets
(’13-’14: 42-35-5, 89 Points; 5th division, 11th conference)
FORWARDS
13 – Cam Atkinson
17 – Brandon Dubinsky
18 – Rene Bourque
19 – Ryan Johansen
20 – Brandon Saad
21 – Kerby Rychel
25 – William Karlsson
33 – Markus Hannikainen
38 – Boone Jenner
39 – Michael Chaput
62 – Alex Broadhurst
DEFENSE
2 – Andrew Bodnarchuk
7 – Jack Johnson
46 – Dean Kukan
48 – Jaime Sifers
51 – Fedor Tyutin
54 – Austin Madaisky
GOALIES
30 – Curtis McElhinney
31 – Anton Forsberg
Minnesota Wild
(’13-’14: 46-28-8, 100 Points; 4th Division, 6th Conference)
FORWARDS
3 – Charlie Coyle
12 – Ruslan Fedotenko
14 – Justin Fontaine
16 – Jason Zucker
18 – Ryan Carter
19 – Zach Dalpe
22 – Nino Niederreiter
26 – Thomas Vanek
48 – Jared Knight
53 – Tyler Graovac
54 – Brett Bulmer
56 – Erik Haula
DEFENSE
5 – Christian Folin
23 – Gustav Olofsson
25 – Jonas Brodin
28 – Tyson Strachan
39 – Nate Prosser
52 – Zach Palmquist
GOALIES
33 – Kevin Lalande
40 – Devin Dubnyk