Game Preview #41 - Avert Your Eyes...
The Jackets are losers of two in a row, and have looked pretty awful along the way. It doesn't get any easier as the Habs come to town for the first of three games in four nights... again.
Montreal Canadiens at Columbus Blue Jackets
January 14, 2015 - 7:00 pm EST
Nationwide Arena - Columbus, Ohio
Radio - WBNS 97.1 - TV - Fox Sports Ohio
Opponent's Blog: Eyes On The Prize
Which was worse: announcing the Bobrovsky extension right before getting creamed 5-2, or announcing that we have three All Stars right before getting creamed 5-2? I haven't made up my mind.
Being born and raised a Cleveland sports fan, you won't meet too many people that would accuse me of being an optimist. I've been wondering for the last few days if the Jackets' clock has struck midnight for this season. After clawing their way back to one game above .500, they've simply disappeared the past two games, getting crushed under the non-stop possession and speed of the Leafs and Isles.
When Columbus was winning, they were doing it just barely; how many OT/SO games in December? When they've lost during this 12-4-1 stretch, they. Have. LOST. Their four regulation losses in that span combine for a total of 21-8. And all four have come in the last eight games (4-4-0). During the entirety of the 12-4-1 run, their combined EV Corsi For percentage is 44.0%, which is good for fourth-worst over that span. Fourth worst in the entire league. Ironically, during the current 4-4-0 stretch, it's up to 46.7%. This confounds me.
In short, I have no idea about this team anymore. It's almost impossible to predict which team will show up, and that's maddening.
Interestingly enough, over the same time-frame of the Jackets' 12-4-1 run, Montreal at EV has a Corsi For % of just 45.5% in one fewer game, which puts them literally just one spot in front of Columbus in the rankings during that span. Columbus holds one edge: their Power Play (which has kept them afloat in many ways all season). However, the Habs counter with a top-10 PK unit, and of course an all-world goaltender of their own.
Apparently, after back-to-back spankings, no lineup changes needed. OK then.
Again, tonight's game? I'm done prognosticating. Just don't get blown out, please.
Projected Lineups
Columbus Blue Jackets
(18-19-3, 39 Points; 6th division, 13th conference)
| Scott Hartnell | Ryan Johansen | Nick Foligno |
| Matt Calvert | Brandon Dubinsky | Cam Atkinson |
| Sean Collins | Alexander Wennberg | Jeremy Morin |
| Corey Tropp | Mark Letestu | Jared Boll |
| Jack Johnson | David Savard |
| Kevin Connauton | James Wisniewski |
| Fedor Tyutin | Cody Goloubef |
| Sergei Bobrovsky |
| Curtis McElhinney |
Montreal Canadiens
(26-12-3, 55 Points; 2nd Division, 4th Conference)
| Max Pacioretty | Tomas Plekanec | Brendan Gallagher |
| Brandon Prust | Alex Galchenyuk | P.A. Parenteau |
| David Desharnais | Lars Eller | Dale Weise |
| Jiri Sekac | Manny Malhotra | Michael Bournival |
| Andrei Markov | P.K. Subban |
| Nathan Beaulieu | Sergei Gonchar |
| Alexei Emelin | Tom Gilbert |
| Carey Price |
| Dustin Tokarski |
Season Series
01/14/15 - Montreal at Columbus
02/21/15 - Columbus at Montreal
02/26/15 - Montreal at Columbus
Head to Head Stats
| Montreal | Columbus | |
| 2.58 (22) | GPG | 2.50 (24) |
| 2.29 (3) | GAPG | 3.25 (26) |
| 13.7% (28) | PP% | 24.5% (2) |
| 85.3% (6) | PK% | 79.9% (20) |
| Max Pacioretty, 18 | G leader | Nick Foligno, 18 |
| P.K. Subban, 19 | A leader | Ryan Johansen, 24 |
| Max Pacioretty, 33 | Pts leader | Nick Foligno, 40 |
| Brandon Prust, 78 | PIM leader | Scott Hartnell, 57 |
| 13-7-1 | Road/Home | 9-10-2 |
| 7-2-1 | Last 10 | 5-4-1 |
| 1/10 vs. Pittsburgh, L 2-1 (OT) | Last Game | 1/10 vs. NY Islanders, L 5-2 |