As we noted in the preview, no matter what happens tonight the Jackets will have more wins and more points through 24 games than they did last season. So, that’s a tiny bit of progress. I think we’d all agree that, despite still being 30th in the league, they are no longer the completely hapless crew they appeared to be last season.
That said, it’s going to be an interesting night, possibly, on defense. Fedor Tyutin and Tim Erixon are going to try to play, but Toots left the morning skate early due to what Todd Richards called “maintenance,” and Erixon has been battling illness and didn’t skate this morning. Nikita Nikitin should be back tonight, so we’ll see how the blue line shakes out.
Not to be outdone, the Canucks are without Ryan Kesler, Kevin Bieksa, and Keith Ballard. Who’da thunk that a 48 game schedule after no training camp might result in injuries?
Sergei Bobrovsky and Cory Schneider are the goaltenders tonight. Enjoy the game!