Game Preview: Blue Jackets Look to Remain Hot in Calgary Against the Flames
The Blue Jackets can inch closer to the playoffs with a win tonight.
Columbus Blue Jackets at Calgary Flames
Thursday, March 29, 2018 - 9:00 EST
Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta
TV: Fox Sports Ohio - Radio: WBNS FM
Opponent’s Blog: Matchsticks and Gasoline
Game Faceoff
Game Preview
The Columbus Blue Jackets continue their Western Canada road trip with a stopover in the Scotiabank Center tonight to take on the Calgary Flames. The Blue Jackets come in on the heels of a monstrous comeback in Edmonton on Tuesday night that saw the Blue Jackets come back from an early three goal deficit with seven unanswered of their own to win 7-3. Now, the Blue Jackets must continue in their winning ways against a struggling Flames team that has bottomed out in their last ten games.
Columbus’ magic number entering this game is nine points after Florida’s loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs last night (Florida can still catch Columbus in ROW, hence needing one more to get over the tiebreaker). The playoffs are drawing ever closer, and a win tonight will lower that magic number to just seven points regardless of any other results tonight (a loss by Florida to Ottawa drops it to five). A win tonight is imperitive to keep up the push for the playoffs.
With the team being out west and playing well on Tuesday night, expect few changes to the lineup for this game. Josh Anderson is still out, and Torts will not want to break up the chemistry that has helped the team to win 11 of their last 12 games.
Probable Lineups
| Artemi Panarin | Pierre-Luc Dubois | Cam Atkinson |
| Boone Jenner | Alex Wennberg | Thomas Vanek |
| Sonny Milano | Brandon Dubinsky | Oliver Bjorsktrand |
| Markus Hannikainen | Mark Letestu | Matt Calvert |
| Zach Werenski | Seth Jones |
| Ian Cole | David Savard |
| Ryan Murray | Markus Nutivaara |
| Sergei Bobrovsky |
| Joonas Korpisalo |
| Troy Brouwer | Mikael Backlund | Michael Frolik |
| Sam Bennett | Nick Shore | Curtis Lazar |
| Micheal Ferland | Mark Janikowski | Chris Stewart |
| Tanner Glass | Matt Stajan | Garnet Hathaway |
| Mark Giordano | Dougie Hamilton |
| Brett Kulak | Rasmus Andersson |
| Travis Hamonic | Michael Stone |
| Mike Smith |
| Jon Gillies |