Game Preview #41 - One Last Chance
The Blues are hot at the right time, and have beaten the Jackets three straight times this year. Can Columbus take the last one?
St. Louis Blues at Columbus Blue Jackets
April 12, 2013 - 7:00pm EDT
Nationwide Arena - Columbus, Ohio
Radio - WBNS 97.1 - TV - Fox Sports Ohio
Opponents Blog: St. Louis Game Time
SBNation Game Page
Tickets
So, here's the deal: the Jackets basically have to win almost all of their games to have a shot at the playoffs. We know this.
The Jackets have not been good at scoring goals for most of the season. We know this.
The Blues seem to find a way to accentuate that lack of scoring at every turn; to wit, the Jackets have scored one goal in each of the three games against St. Louis this year. We know this.
But, oh, wait, what? Brian Elliott currently has three straight road shut-outs? He hasn't been scored on in almost 190 minutes, all on the road? Well, as daunting as that is, the Blues are electing to start Jake Allen, seeing as how this is their fourth straight roadie and they played last night. Which would be great, except for that Allen shut down the Jackets last Friday night. Sigh.
Like our man Swamp Thing once famously said, "The way out is through."
The Jackets do get some thump back tonight, however, as Jared Boll gets back in. Brandon Dubinsky will also be back, though he'll be playing on the fourth line. The Jackets, for the first time in a LONG time, will have three HEALTHY scratches in Tim Erixon, Blake Comeau, and Colton Gillies.
Projected Lineups
Columbus Blue Jackets
(17-16-7, 41 Points; 4th division, 11th conference)
| Vinny Prospal | Artem Anisimov | Marian Gaborik |
| Matt Calvert | Mark Letestu | Cam Atkinson |
| R.J. Umberger | Ryan Johansen | Nick Foligno |
| Brandon Dubinsky | Derek MacKenzie | Jared Boll |
| Fedor Tyutin | Jack Johnson |
| Nikita Nikitin | Dalton Prout |
| James Wisniewski | Adrian Aucoin |
| Sergei Bobrovsky |
| Michael Leighton |
St. Louis Blues
(23-14-2, 48 Points; 2nd Division, 6th Conference)
| David Perron | David Backes | Alexander Steen |
| Jaden Schwartz | Patrik Berglund | Chris Stewart |
| Andy McDonald | Vladimir Sobotka | Vladimir Tarasenko |
| Adam Cracknell | Chris Porter | Ryan Reaves |
| Jay Bouwmeester | Alex Pietrangelo |
| Jordan Leopold | Kevin Shattenkirk |
| Barret Jackman | Roman Polak |
| Jake Allen |
| Brian Elliott |
Season Series
01/31/13 - St. Louis 4 at Columbus 1
02/23/13 - Columbus 1 at St. Louis 2
04/05/13 - Columbus 1 at St. Louis 3
04/12/13 - St. Louis at Columbus
Head to Head
St. Louis Columbus 2.72 (12) GPG 2.28 (30) 2.49 (12) GAPG 2.50 (13) 21.4% (6) PP% 13.0% (28) 84.2% (8) PK% 84.4% (7) Chris Stewart, 16 G leader Marian Gaborik, 11 three tied, 18 A leader Fedor Tyutin, 15 Chris Stewart, 31 Pts leader Marian Gaborik, 24 Ryan Reaves, 65 PIM leader Jared Boll, 86 14-7-1 Road/Home 12-5-5 4/11 @ Minnesota, W 2-0 Last Game 4/9 vs. San Jose, W 4-0 7-3-0 Last 10 5-4-1
Game Notes
I don't really have any notes for this game. The Jackets played well on Tuesday after not playing well for two games prior. They need to bring that same game from the San Jose game tonight, or they're basically sunk from the jump. The Blues' defense and goalie are super-fire-hot right now.
Also, root for Calgary tonight!