Game Preview #6 – Shark Infested Waters…

Columbus Blue Jackets at San Jose Sharks

October 23, 2014 – 10:30 pm EDT
SAP Center – San Jose, California
Radio – WBNS 97.1 – TV – Fox Sports Ohio
Opponent’s Blog: Fear The Fin

First and foremost, I got out of bed around 8:45 this morning. This is after getting into my bed at 7:30 PM. On Tuesday night. In other words, I’ve been sick with some kind of monster energy-sucking virus. At times over the past couple of days, I’ve felt like this guy. So, if this preview is crap, well, there you go. Briefcase tacos.

At any rate, the Jackets have been in California all week preparing for three games in four days through the Golden State. For the life of me, I never understand why the NHL schedule-makers see fit to make the Jackets play a back-to-back WITH travel, when they could much more easily play the back-to-back in LA with no travel. They do this to us every time. Sucks.

Anyway, the Jackets have had some time to work through their loss on Saturday (the Sharks actually had less time between games and longer travel, oddly enough), and spent some time on Tuesday doing some team-building. They have also made some tweaks to their lineup, at least in practice. It looks like Scott Hartnell will stay up on the top line with Ryan Johansen and Nick Foligno, and Cam Atkinson will drop to the third line with Matt Calvert and Alexander Wennberg. This makes sense, as Wennberg just plays more like a natural center and should fit in with the speed and hustle of the Atkinverts. The second line is completely jumbled, with Mark Letestu moving up and Jack Skille staying up. Hopefully this can help Letestu get going.

The Sharks started off super hot, getting nine points in their first five games (4-0-1). They have, however, lost two in a row as they finished a crazy road trip. They lost in New York and in Boston, though after that much travel it certainly makes some sense. They’ve only played one home game thus far, but imagine they will be happy to be back at home.

That said, Columbus has played the Sharks well over the past few seasons, as for some reason the Jackets’ physicality seems to take San Jose out of their game. These teams have been remarkably similar in terms of their overall stats, with the difference being special teams. The Sharks’ Power Play has been–as usual–very good whereas the Jackets’ has been middle of the road. Conversely, the Sharks’ PK has been pretty atrocious thus far, whereas Columbus is yet to allow a PPG. Whether those things will cancel each other out could go a long way toward deciding this game.

As of now, nothing official has been announced for the Sharks in goal. They’ve been alternating between Niemi and Stalock every game. By that rationale, it would be Stalock’s turn to start. Both have been solid, but Stalock’s numbers have been slightly better. We shall see.

Projected Lineups

Columbus Blue Jackets
(3-2-0, 6 Points; 6th division, 12th conference)

San Jose Sharks
(4-2-1, 9 Points; 3rd Division, 5th Conference)

Season Series

10/23/14 – Columbus at San Jose
11/15/14 – San Jose at Columbus

Head to Head Stats