The first-place (overall) Vegas Golden Knights. Yep, makes total sense, right?
Forget all the narrative about expansion teams. They're for real. And they're really good.
It's what makes this game tomorrow night – the Blue Jackets' first-ever at beautiful T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip – so enticing. This isn't a ceremonial visit to a new building to face a new team and give your fans a chance to make a long weekend in Sin City. This game means something, and in fact, it means quite a lot to both teams.
Vegas is coming home after a road trip that closed with a shellacking of the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday night in Raleigh. The Blue Jackets are on the road for a two-game trip to Vegas and Arizona that's perfectly timed with the ranks-closing of the Metropolitan Division standings; there's no room to breathe as only two points stand between the Blue Jackets and being outside the playoff picture.
Remember when we talked about this being an important month, one that could decide which way the Blue Jackets turn? Yeah, it's happening.
The Golden Knights are the league's best team on home ice. They're nearly unbeatable. It won't be easy tomorrow night. But the Blue Jackets are in a situation where the venue nor the opponent holds as much as weight as the implication of earning points; they're rapidly losing ground in an ultra-competitive playoff race and every single point they can bleed out of a dull January schedule is vital.
Getting two of them against the NHL's top team, in its own barn, would be one hell of a way to kick their stretch run into high gear.
After concluding this week's western roadie, the Blue Jackets wrap up January at Nationwide Arena on the 30th and turn the page to the month that might actually sort all of this out. February features 10 (yes, 1-0) games against Metropolitan Division opponents and three back-to-backs for good measure. If the coaching staff is trying to keep Sergei Bobrovsky fresh for the back half of the season, that may be why.
But for now, it's part history but plenty of business tomorrow night in Vegas. It's hard not to think about the confidence the Blue Jackets could pack in their bags if they were to beat the Golden Knights, and what it would mean for their postseason aspirations.
YOU SHOULD BE READING
- While it's unlikely he plays tomorrow night, Cam Atkinson joining the Blue Jackets for this two-game road trip is an encouraging step in his recovery from surgery.
- It's only one game, but the debut of Jussi Jokinen proved to the player that he's found a fit with the Blue Jackets.
- We're ranking the top prospects in the Blue Jackets organization, and the latest installment features No. 5-1. Can you guess who takes top honors?
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