After playing the Carolina Hurricanes, the Columbus Blue Jackets had a little break between games before taking on the Anaheim Ducks who under head coach Randy Carlyle have been ravaged by injuries.
The Ducks recently acquired center Adam Henrique as part of a trade with the New Jersey Devils and it appears that he will immediately start as their first line center. Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf has been out for an extended period of time due to injury.
Can and will the Blue Jackets take advantage of this depleted roster?
VIDEO: John Tortorella
Torts on recent roster moves and the development of the #CBJ this week: pic.twitter.com/LNeHsiiHb7
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) November 30, 2017
Blue Jackets Projected Lineup
| # | Player | Stats | # | Player | Stats | # | Player | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Artemi Panarin | 25 GP, 5-11-16 | 18 | Pierre-Luc Dubois | 25 GP, 4-3-7 | 77 | Josh Anderson | 23 GP, 9-5-14 |
| 38 | Boone Jenner | 18 GP, 3-5-8 | 17 | Brandon Dubinsky | 25 GP, 2-7-9 | 71 | Nick Foligno | 25 GP, 4-6-10 |
| 22 | Sonny Milano | 22 GP, 5-5-10 | 10 | Alexander Wennberg | 19 GP, 1-9-10 | 13 | Cam Atkinson | 21 GP, 6-3-9 |
| 64 | Tyler Motte | 14 GP, 3-1-4 | 45 | Lukas Sedlak | 12 GP, 2-1-3 | 28 | Oliver Bjorkstrand | 25 GP, 5-9-14 |
| # | Player | Stats | # | Player | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Zach Werenski | 25 GP, 7-7-14 | 3 | Seth Jones | 25 GP, 3-9-12 |
| 7 | Jack Johnson | 25 GP, 1-3-4 | 58 | David Savard | 24 GP, 2-5-7 |
| 53 | Gabriel Carlsson | 8 GP, 0-1-1 | 65 | Markus Nutivaara | 20 GP, 1-8-9 |
| # | Player | GS | W-L-OL | GAA | SV% | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 72 | Sergei Bobrovsky | 20 | 14-5-1 | 1.92 | .935 | 3 |
| 70 | Joonas Korpisalo | 5 | 1-3-0 | 2.97 | .904 | 0 |
Three Storylines
- What's Eating Ryan Murray: All that is known about Ryan Murray's injury is that is an upper-body injury and that he won't be out for weeks. After that, it is a mystery. Murray has been solid with Markus Nutivaara this year and has played second pair minutes often due to their success. Now either Scott Harrington or recently called up defenseman Gabriel Carlsson are going to slot in next to Nutivaara. Carlsson has more upside but Harrington is the safe decision. Both have their merits and will give head coach John Tortorella a tough decision.
- Center Advantage: Many have been worried (and rightfully so) that the Blue Jackets were weak down the middle like they haven't been in years. It has been helped by Pierre-Luc Dubois' emergence and now they'll have an advantage at center ice as the Blue Jackets will face a team missing their first and second line centers. If they play as they should, they should have a huge advantage down the middle. Look for a player like Alexander Wennberg to succeed against much weaker competition.
- Pulling Away: The Ducks aren't normally known as lower competition but they're going to be considered that when the Blue Jackets take them on in Nationwide Arena. These are the games that must be won by the Blue Jackets if they want to pull away from their Metro counterparts. These Western Conference foes carry no weight in the standings if you head to overtime with them. It is all about accruing points when they come at less of a cost. Tonight should be a prime example of the team moving from sheep to wolf.
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