Game Preview #54 - Put A Body On Gaudreau
Johnny Hockey was a one-man wrecking crew in Columbus last month. Maybe don't let him do that again.
Blue Jackets at Flames
9:00 PM - Game Faceoff
First and foremost, we don't know much about the lineup tonight, other than Calgary starting Karri Ramo in net. The Jackets, fresh off an OT/SO game, will again go back to back. Originally I would have predicted Anton Forsberg in net, but with the praise heaped onto Joonas Korpisalo by John Tortorella after the game last night, I won't be surprised to see him in net.
This game has Severe Tank ImplicationsTM, given that the Flames are a mere two points ahead of the Jackets. After the Jackets really took the tank to a new level against Edmonton the other night, we'll have to see what we get.
Last time we saw the Flames, their young speed and skill was destructive in the form of Johnny Gaudreau and Sam Bennet. I still don't know how Gaudreau scored his goal from the low circle, it was that slick. Tired legs for the Jackets, which combined with their already suspect speed does not bode especially well, I would say.
Personally, I would be happy with three points from this three-game swing. As far as I can tell from memory and not actually looking at the schedule, this is the last game they will play this season later than 8:00 PM, which I am all for. After tonight, they have played the following teams on the road: LA, San Jose, Anaheim, Arizona, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Colorado, Dallas, St. Louis, Minnesota, and Chicago. Who's left that's not in the EST time zone? Nashville? Is that it? Me likey.
Projected Lineups
Columbus Blue Jackets
(20-28-5, 45 Points; 8th division, 16th conference)
| Boone Jenner | Brandon Dubinsky | Cam Atkinson |
| Brandon Saad | Alexander Wennberg | Nick Foligno |
| Scott Hartnell | William Karlsson | Matt Calvert |
| Kerby Rychel | Gregory Campbell | Rene Bourque |
| Ryan Murray | Seth Jones |
| Jack Johnson | Cody Goloubef |
| Fedor Tyutin | Dalton Prout |
| Joonas Korpisalo |
| Anton Forsberg |
Calgary Flames
(22-24-3, 47 Points; 6th Division, 12th Conference)
| Johnny Gaudreau | Sean Monahan | Jiri Hudler |
| Sam Bennett | Mikael Backlund | Michael Frolik |
| Michael Ferland | Matt Stajan | David Jones |
| Lance Bouma | Joe Colborne | Josh Jooris |
| Mark Giordano | TJ Brodie |
| Kris Russell | Dougie Hamilton |
| Ladislav Smid | Deryk Engelland |
| Karri Ramo |
| Jonas Hiller |