Game Preview: Moving Forward

There’s no disputing it: Tuesday’s game was bad. Just awful. Worst game of the season. So many lapses and Edmonton took advantage of each one. And to add insult to injury – or, I suppose, injury to insult – Brandon Dubinsky suffered a fractured orbital bone in a fight late in the game. He is expected to miss six to eight weeks. Jordan Schroeder was recalled from Cleveland again.

Dubi is a big loss. In addition to being a leader in the locker room (whether  he wears the “A” or not), he is the best faceoff guy on the team and a key member of the PK. I think Lukas Sedlak is a good player who deserves a chance to center the third line, but he’s not at Dubi’s level yet in those areas.

The challenge facing the Blue Jackets is the same one that they’ve faced for the last month. They need to get production outside of the PB&J line. They need to be less tentative on the power play. Once again they’re playing a team with bad PK numbers. Can they finally take advantage?

The Islanders, meanwhile, will look to get revenge for the 5-0 beatdown they suffered in their last trip to Nationwide, on Opening Night. They’ve recovered since then and currently sit in fourth place in the very bunched together Metropolitan Division, even with their only ugly loss yesterday against Dallas. A win could bring them into a tie for first with Columbus and Washington (if both of those teams, along with New Jersey).

Projected Lineups