The Columbus Blue Jackets had themselves an eventful opening night at Nationwide Arena, taking down the New York Islanders in a 5-0 victory.
One thing to get used to with the new season: back-to-backs. The Blue Jackets play a lot of weekend games and, sure enough, so do most NHL teams. This is going to be a common occurrence going forward (which is good if you enjoy watching hockey). Columbus visits the Chicago Blackhawks tonight, who are coming off a 10-1 thrashing of the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday.
John Tortorella will speak to the media at 6:20 p.m. ET and reveal any lineup changes for tonight's game. Could Joonas Korpisalo start tonight?
Blue Jackets Projected Lineup
| # | Player | Stats | # | Player | Stats | # | Player | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Artemi Panarin | 1 GP, 0-3-3 | 10 | Alexander Wennberg | 1 GP, 0-2-2 | 13 | Cam Atkinson | 1 GP, 1-0-1 |
| 22 | Sonny Milano | 1 GP, 1-0-1 | 71 | Nick Foligno | 1 GP, 0-1-1 | 28 | Oliver Bjorkstrand | 1 GP, 0-1-1 |
| 18 | Pierre-Luc Dubois | 1 GP, 1-0-1 | 17 | Brandon Dubinsky | 1 GP, 0-0-0 | 11 | Matt Calvert | 1 GP, 0-0-0 |
| 37 | Markus Hannikainen | 1 GP, 0-0-0 | 45 | Lukas Sedlak | 1 GP, 0-0-0 | 36 | Zac Dalpe | 1 GP, 0-0-0 |
| # | Player | Stats | # | Player | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Zach Werenski | 1 GP, 1-0-1 | 3 | Seth Jones | 1 GP, 0-1-1 |
| 7 | Jack Johnson | 1 GP, 0-0-0 | 58 | David Savard | 1 GP, 0-0-0 |
| 27 | Ryan Murray | 1 GP, 1-0-1 | 53 | Gabriel Carlsson | 1 GP, 0-0-0 |
| # | Player | GS | W-L-OL | GAA | SV% | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 72 | Sergei Bobrovsky | 1 | 1-0-0 | 0.00 | 1.0 | 1 |
| 70 | Joonas Korpisalo | 0 | 0-0-0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 |
John Tortorella Tempers Excitement
Said Torts, recapping the opener:
"I thought we had some great sticks and great blocks that saved us...when I thought we were just a little bit to loose, as far as our coverage. I thought we were a little sloppy at times but we saved ourselves a number of times. I thought that was the best part of our game. I think we need to get better defending, but some really good stuff to go off of."
Four Storylines
- Two Dominating Performances: It's not often that a team wins 10-1, and more so that it happened to a Stanley Cup winner. The Blackhawks absolutely embarrassed the Pittsburgh Penguins in their home opener at the United Center. The Blue Jackets also impressed in their opener to the tune of a 5-0 win. Though it's just been one game, it's hard not to be excited about what's in store tonight.
- Saad/Panarin Showdown: The Saad/Panarin comparisons will go on forever, just as they do whenever two stars are traded for one another. Saad scored a hat trick in his return to the Blackhawks and Panarin answered, posting a three-point night of his own. Funny, isn't it, that the dynamic goal scorer puts up three assists, while the well-rounded two-way player scores a hat trick? Don't try to predict hockey, folks. Round one of head-to-head comparisons begin tonight.
- The Kids Can Play: Tortorella was cautiously optimistic leading up to the season, and always made sure to reference how his young team got younger. Four rookies were in the lineup last night and two of them scored their first career NHL goals. There's nothing like a quick start to help boost confidence, and to say that Dubois and Milano fit in in their new roles would be an understatement.
Just a couple guys celebrating their first NHL goals.
— ColumbusBlueJackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) October 7, 2017
Congrats, @27SMiLano & @18Dubois!#CBJ pic.twitter.com/uNkBMpS4Dz
- Where To Watch: Tonight's game, an 8:30 p.m. ET start, will air on FOX Sports Ohio and the FS Go app.
