What an interesting day! As I wrote my preview last night I suspected that one of Ottawa’s pending UFAs that they had scratched last night could be traded today. I had no idea that Columbus would be the recipient and that it would be Matt Duchene.
Even more wild is the fact that Duchene will waste no time getting acquainted, as he will suit up tonight in the union blue and face his recent teammates in their barn.
Prior to the trade, Torts confirmed that Sergei Bobrovsky would start in goal. He also confirmed that Artemi Panarin was recovered from his illness (no word on the status of his soiled pants) and that he would not be scratched leading up to the trade deadline. Torts said that Anthony Duclair would return to the lineup in place of Lukas Sedlak, but it’s not clear who the additional scratch will be with Duchene’s arrival.
Ottawa is a bad team, without their best players, playing on no rest. There is no excuse to lose this game. A win returns the Jackets to third place in the Metro.
Let’s go Jackets!