MONDAY, OCTOBER 25TH
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| DALLAS STARS |
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TV: BALLY SPORTS OHIO RADIO: THE FAN 97.1FM |
Coming off their worst defeat of the young season — 5-1 to the Carolina Hurricanes — the Columbus Blue Jackets return to the ice Monday for a home game against the Dallas Stars.
Following their first loss of the year, a 4-1 stumble in Detroit against the Red Wings, the Blue Jackets bounced back against a very strong New York Islander team in a game that Columbus would win in overtime.
The resiliency was at least somewhat surprising for a young team with a rookie head coach, but a delight to see. For Columbus to move to a 4-2-0 record, they'll need that resiliency again Monday.
| STARS THIS SEASON |
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3-2-0, 6 points (Road: 2-2-0) (Tied for 3rd in the Central Division) |
| LAST THREE GAMES: |
| 10/22: OT Win 3-2 vs. Kings |
| 10/19: SO Win 2-1 @ Penguins |
| 10/17: Loss 3-2 @ Senators |
| TEAM LEADERS: |
| Goals: Miro Heiskanen & Michael Raffl (2) |
| Assists: Miro Heiskanen (4) |
| Points: Miro Heiskanen (6) |
KNOW THE FOE
The Stars are off to an interesting start. Four of their five games have been decided by one goal and, while they've not given up more than three goals in any of those games, they're also yet to score more than three in a game. In other words, it's been close, low-scoring affairs night in, night out.
Don't sleep on the Stars ability to score, though. While Dallas doesn't boast a prolific offense, the roster isn't much different from that of two seasons ago, when they came within two games of winning the Stanley Cup. Their top five goal scorers from last season are all back, including Jamie Benn, Alexandre Radulov, and Roope Hintz — none of which have scored a goal thus far in the 2021-22 season. That won't last much longer. High-scoring defenseman John Klingberg is also expected in the Stars lineup Monday for the first time since an opening night injury sidelined him.
But the Stars, much like Columbus faced Saturday against Carolina, are a team that is predicated on defense and goaltending. Braden Holtby, the longtime Washington Capital that the Blue Jackets know well, is off to a sensational start. He has a .950 save percentage in his first four games, allowing only seven goals on 139 shots and allowing two or less in every game. Miro Heiskanen, Ryan Suter, and Esa Lindell are the top half of an excellent group of defensemen for the Stars, and combined with Holtby, are a big reason that the Stars have been able to get six points in their first five games.
BETWEEN THE PIPES
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TEAM RANKINGS
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CBJ PROJECTED LINES*
| LW | C | RW | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | Patrik Laine | 38 | Boone Jenner | 93 | Jakub Voracek |
| 28 | Oliver Bjorkstrand | 96 | Jack Roslovic | 59 | Yegor Chinakhov |
| 42 | Alexandre Texier | 34 | Cole Sillinger | 14 | Gus Nyquist |
| 50 | Eric Robinson | 7 | Sean Kuraly | 15 | Gregory Hofmann |
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| 8 | Zach Werenski | 22 | Jake Bean | ||
| 44 | Vladislav Gavrikov | 2 | Andrew Peeke | ||
| 53 | Gabriel Carlsson | 46 | Dean Kukan | ||
*subject to change
STORYLINES
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REGULATION GOALS COUNT TOO: Read it again, Patrik Laine. Look, if he's going to score 25 goals this year and all 25 are in overtime, I'll take that in a heartbeat. But the reinvigorated Laine we heard so much about during the offseason hasn't been seen in the first three periods, which is now about an hour and a half of ice time for the 23-year-old. The four assists are cool — he's already a third of the way to his 46 game total of 12 apples last season — but Laine is an elite sniper. Shooting the puck in regulation more than the sub-two average he's at so far this season will probably lead to good things. In his sixth game of the season, can Laine get his first regulation goal?
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GROWING PAINS: Seth Jones is off to a miserable start with the Chicago Blackhawks. Part of the haul that came back to the Blue Jackets in exchange the former All-Star isn't really lighting things up in Columbus, though. Boqvist is just 21 and playing a position that is extremely tough to succeed at for a young player, but the defenseman is certainly showing that he'll need to grow into the player he's capable of. Based on even-strength goals against, Boqvist's average of 3.9 per game is better only than Scott Harrington, and more than a full goal worse than any other Blue Jackets blue liner. Unfortunately, the offensive-minded defenseman isn't nullifying his defensive struggles with offensive success. Boqvist is scoreless on the season, despite anchoring Columbus' second power play unit. Can Boqvist put together a complete game? (UPDATE 11:30AM: Boqvist will not play tonight, per head coach Brad Larsen)
- "SHOOT IT!": Who knew, that fan a couple rows away from you who incessantly yells for hockey players to "shoot it" may be offering some good advice after all. Columbus is averaging just 26.8 shots per game, tied with the Seattle Kraken for second lowest in the league and just one-tenth ahead of the New York Rangers. Additionally, all but one team — the Washington Captials — are allowing more than 27 shots per game. The shots are out there for the taking. Shot quality is more important than shot quantity, certainly, but sometimes quantity generates quality. Can the Blue Jackets find a way to pepper Holtby with shots and keep the Dallas defenders on their toes?
