Game Preview: Blue Jackets Take Four-Game Losing Streak To The Desert As Road Trip Continues

ARIZONA COYOTES

29-37-5 (63 pts; .674%) 7th, Central Division ROSTER SCHEDULE

10:00 P.M. – TUESDAY, MARCH 26 MULLETT ARENA TEMPE, AZ

TELEVISION: Bally Sports Ohio ESPN+ Power Play (Out of Market)

The Columbus Blue Jackets enter the desert on a four-game losing streak Tuesday night when they face the Arizona Coyotes.

The Blue Jackets were outmatched for the second consecutive night Saturday, falling 4-2 to the Vegas Golden Knights in a game that wasn't as close as the score would indicate. One night earlier, they were trounced 6-1 by the Colorado Avalanche.

Columbus scored first in both games, waking sleeping giants in the process.

They'll now face an Arizona team who has three consecutive wins over the Blue Jackets, including a  come-from-behind 3-2 victory at Nationwide Arena in November. A Columbus win would be their first over the Yotes since 2021.

Here's what else to know when the Blue Jackets take on the Coyotes in what will be Columbus' last game this season west of the Mississippi River:

TALKING POINTS: ARZ

• Now that the Arizona State Sun Devils hockey season has concluded, the Coyotes have some ground to make up in home games — and this is the third game of an incredibly long seven-game home stretch for the Yotes. 
   
• Arizona enters Tuesday's game winning three straight against teams other than the Dallas Stars; they're 0-2 against them, but have wins over the Detroit Red Wings, New Jersey Devils, and Seattle Kraken.
   
• Clayton Keller is the engine behind Arizona's offense, but keep an eye on two young players that the franchise should be really excited about: 20-year-old Dylan Guenther and 19-year-old Logan Cooley. The former was the 9th overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft and has 11 goals and 11 assists in 34 games this season, and has five of each in just in the month of March. Cooley was the third overall pick in 2022's draft and has 34 points (13 goals, 21 assists) in his first year in the NHL. 

TALKING POINTS: CBJ

• The second period has been an abomination in the last two games, and that's putting it nicely. Our own Dan Dukart touched on the overwhelming discrepancy between the Blue Jackets and both the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights — their opponents over the weekend. But the middle periods were particularly bad, with Columbus being outshot 45-10 in the two games combined.
   
• Despite just eight total chances, the Blue Jackets gave up a power play goal for the third straight game in Saturday's loss. 
   
• Trey Fix-Wolansky was sent back to Cleveland, with the Blue Jackets calling up Tyler Angle. Based on that change, here are Tuesday's projected (but subject to change) lines: