Game Preview #47 - It All Comes Full Circle
It's been two months, and now we face it: the Biggest. Game. Of. The. Year.
Columbus Blue Jackets at Dallas Stars
April 25, 2013 - 8:30pm EDT
American Airlines Arena - Dallas, Texas
Radio - WBNS 97.1 - TV - Fox Sports Ohio
Opponents Blog: Defending Big D
SBNation Game Page
The last time we saw the Stars, the Jackets were 5-12-2. Things looked bleak. And, while the Jackets ended up losing that game in overtime, it was the first game of 12 in a row in which they earned a point, which completely changed the landscape of their season.
And now, here we are, two months later. This one game can change the landscape of both teams' seasons. They both need this game--the Jackets, most likely, and the Stars, literally--to have any chance of making the playoffs. If Columbus wins this game, Dallas is eliminated. If the Jackets lose, even in overtime, they're going to need A LOT of help to get into the playoffs.
So, yeah, this game. It's THE GAME.
What other setup do you need?
Projected Lineups
Columbus Blue Jackets
(22-17-7, 51 Points; 4th division, 9th conference)
| Vinny Prospal | Mark Letestu | Marian Gaborik |
| R.J. Umberger | Ryan Johansen | Nick Foligno |
| Blake Comeau | Brandon Dubinsky | Cam Atkinson |
| Colton Gillies | Derek MacKenzie | Jared Boll |
| Fedor Tyutin | James Wisniewski |
| Dalton Prout | Jack Johnson |
| Tim Erixon | Adrian Aucoin |
| Sergei Bobrovsky |
| Michael Leighton |
Dallas Stars
(22-20-4, 48 Points; 4th Division, 10th Conference)
| Ray Whitney | Jamie Benn | Loui Eriksson |
| Reilly Smith | Cody Eakin | Ryan Garbutt |
| Eric Nystrom | Vernon Fiddler | Erik Cole |
| Lane MacDermid | Tom Wandell | Antoine Roussel |
| Trevor Daley | Stephane Robidas |
| Brenden Dillon | Alex Goligoski |
| Aaron Rome | Philip Larsen |
| Kari Lehtonen |
| Richard Bachman |
Season Series
01/28/13 - Dallas 1 at Columbus 2
02/26/13 - Dallas 5 at Columbus 4 (OT)
04/25/13 - Columbus at Dallas
Head to Head
Dallas Columbus 2.76 (10) GPG 2.37 (25) 2.94 (23) GAPG 2.46 (11) 17.0% (19) PP% 12.8% (30) 81.3% (14) PK% 83.0% (11) Loui Eriksson, 12 G leader three tied, 12 Alex Goligoski, 24 A leader Fedor Tyutin, 18 Jamie Benn, 32 Pts leader Vinny Prospal, 29 Antoine Roussel, 85 PIM leader Jared Boll, 95 11-9-2 Home/Road 9-12-2 4/23 @ San Jose, L 3-2 Last Game 4/21 @ San Jose, W 4-3 6-3-1 Last 10 7-3-0
No other game notes for today, except the following.
[gulp]
Go Predators!
[vomits]
[regroups]
[wait, nope... vomits a second time]
That's right. We need the Predators to go on the road to Detroit and beat the Red Wings, and we need them to do it in regulation, please. The Wings are on the second night of a back-to-back, but let's face it: the Predators have been on a count-down to tee times since the trade deadline.
But, for tonight... GO PREDS.
Ugh. I can't scrub that off.
LET'S GO JACKETS!! EMBRACE THE LUMBUS!!!