The taste of the Blue Jackets game against Pittsburgh is still many players mouths and they're hoping to get rid of it tonight in a game against the Ottawa Senators.
The Senators come into the game losing four in a row (0-3-1) and need to bounce back. This season has been a continued disappointment though and it has allowed trade rumors to swirl around a team that made the Eastern Conference Final last year.
With so many injured players for the Blue Jackets, they are going to take what they can get for wins and the Senators should be a team that gives them an easier game than other teams.
Already 14 points out of the second wild-card spot for the playoffs, the Senators are in the midst of a dire situation with no life preserver coming.
VIDEO: John Tortorella
Blue Jackets Projected Lineup
| # | Player | Stats | # | Player | Stats | # | Player | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Artemi Panarin | 38 GP, 10-23-33 | 18 | Pierre-Luc Dubois | 38 GP, 8-10-18 | 77 | Josh Anderson | 36 GP, 13-9-22 |
| 38 | Boone Jenner | 31 GP, 4-7-11 | 71 | Nick Foligno | 38 GP, 7-7-14 | 28 | Oliver Bjorkstrand | 38 GP, 6-18-24 |
| 11 | Matt Calvert | 26 GP, 4-8-12 | 45 | Lukas Sedlak | 25 GP, 4-1-5 | 22 | Sonny Milano | 29 GP, 6-5-11 |
| 64 | Tyler Motte | 21 GP, 3-1-4 | 14 | Jordan Schroeder | 10 GP, 0-0-0 | 37 | Markus Hannikainen | 19 GP, 2-2-4 |
| # | Player | Stats | # | Player | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Zach Werenski | 34 GP, 10-8-18 | 3 | Seth Jones | 38 GP, 7-15-22 |
| 7 | Jack Johnson | 38 GP, 2-5-7 | 58 | David Savard | 37 GP, 2-6-8 |
| 4 | Scott Harrington | 16 GP, 1-1-2 | 65 | Markus Nutivaara | 31 GP, 2-11-13 |
| # | Player | GS | W-L-OL | GAA | SV% | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 72 | Sergei Bobrovsky | 31 | 18-10-3 | 2.41 | .921 | 4 |
| 70 | Joonas Korpisalo | 7 | 4-3-0 | 2.84 | .911 | 0 |
Three Storylines
- Return of the Zach: While it hasn't been confirmed yet, the Blue Jackets have sent down Gabriel Carlsson for more ice time with the Cleveland Monsters. That means that a player is either ready to come back or they feel more comfortable with a certain player in the lineup. The indication here would be that Zach Werenski returns to the lineup after missing multiple games with an upper-body injury. This is good news for the Blue Jackets as they haven't had much recently.
- Backup Delight: The Blue Jackets will get goaltender Mike Condon tonight when they face the Senators. This is an encouraging development as Columbus is without many of their top offensive weapons. If they can score against anyone, it should be a backup goaltender. The Senators are reeling and this is an opportunity to feast.
- Continue Surviving: Wednesday's game against the Penguins was bad but they did get a point to keep pace in the division. That is all the Blue Jackets need to keep doing until more players come back. They need to keep stacking points and staying in their spot within the division. It doesn't have to be pretty. They just need to survive.
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