The Blue Jackets slide continued on Monday when they lost big to the Boston Bruins. They now get to face off against another Atlantic Division foe and try to recoup the confidence lost in their Monday night affair.
To make matters worse, the Blue Jackets will be without Zach Werenski due to injury.
This Toronto Maple Leafs club whopped up on the Carolina Hurricanes yesterday in a daytime matinee. Luckily for the Blue Jackets, they'll get to catch them on the back end of a back to back.
Former Blue Jacket and current backup goaltender Curtis McElhinney will get the start for the Maple Leafs.
VIDEO: John Tortorella
Blue Jackets Projected Lineup
| # | Player | Stats | # | Player | Stats | # | Player | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Artemi Panarin | 34 GP, 7-21-28 | 18 | Pierre-Luc Dubois | 34 GP, 6-8-14 | 77 | Josh Anderson | 32 GP, 13-8-21 |
| 28 | Oliver Bjorkstrand | 34 GP, 6-16-22 | 10 | Alexander Wennberg | 28 GP, 3-12-15 | 13 | Cam Atkinson | 29 GP, 6-5-11 |
| 22 | Sonny Milano | 26 GP, 5-5-10 | 38 | Boone Jenner | 27 GP, 3-6-9 | 71 | Nick Foligno | 34 GP, 7-6-13 |
| 11 | Matt Calvert | 22 GP, 4-6-10 | 45 | Lukas Sedlak | 21 GP, 3-1-4 | 37 | Markus Hannikainen | 15 GP, 2-2-4 |
| # | Player | Stats | # | Player | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 53 | Gabriel Carlsson | 6 GP, 0-0-0 | 3 | Seth Jones | 34 GP, 5-12-17 |
| 7 | Jack Johnson | 34 GP, 2-5-7 | 65 | Markus Nutivaara | 27 GP, 2-10-12 |
| 4 | Scott Harrington | 12 GP, 1-1-2 | 58 | David Savard | 33 GP, 2-5-7 |
| # | Player | GS | W-L-OL | GAA | SV% | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70 | Joonas Korpisalo | 6 | 3-3-0 | 2.98 | .903 | 0 |
| 72 | Sergei Bobrovsky | 28 | 17-10-1 | 2.44 | .919 | 0 |
Three Storylines
- Matthews-less Leafs Still Dangerous: Looking up and down the lineup, you'll see plenty of players that have made waves either through juniors or the AHL. The Maple Leafs have done a great job of restocking the cupboard. Names like William Nylander, Mitch Marner, Connor Brown and Zach Hyman have all made impacts. It is all throughout the lineup and it should be a pain in the butt for the Blue Jackets to defend.
- Backup Showdown: The Blue Jackets let Curtis McElhinney go on waivers and he was then picked up by the Maple Leafs. McElhinney has done a solid job for Toronto and has locked down the backup spot. Same with Korpisalo in Columbus. There is no bad blood between the two but it should be a fun showdown nonetheless.
- What Blue Jackets Team Will Show Up: The scariest part for people who watch the Blue Jackets has to be the inconsistencies that show up from night to night when watching the team. They have had very few nights where they have looked dominant from start to finish but they have been able to squeak out victories where they can. An all-around performance would help quell fears. Against a great Maple Leafs team, that will be a very tall task.
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