The Columbus Blue Jackets come back from the all-star break with a stiff test against a hungry Minnesota Wild team. Near the bottom of the Central Division, the Wild are scratching and clawing their way, hoping to make it into the postseason.
The Blue Jackets will get reinforcements with center Brandon Dubinsky returning to the lineup since being injured.
The Wild will be without Nine Niederreiter for his seventh straight game. Considered one of the best defensive forwards in the league, the Blue Jackets will catch a break.
VIDEO: John Tortorella
Blue Jackets Projected Lineup
| # | Player | Stats | # | Player | Stats | # | Player | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Artemi Panarin | 49 GP, 12-27-39 | 18 | Pierre-Luc Dubois | 49 GP, 10-12-22 | 77 | Josh Anderson | 47 GP, 15-10-25 |
| 71 | Nick Foligno | 49 GP, 9-12-21 | 10 | Alexander Wennberg | 35 GP, 5-14-19 | 13 | Cam Atkinson | 33 GP, 7-7-14 |
| 11 | Matt Calvert | 37 GP, 6-9-15 | 17 | Brandon Dubinsky | 31 GP, 3-9-12 | 28 | Oliver Bjorkstrand | 49 GP, 8-18-26 |
| 38 | Boone Jenner | 42 GP, 4-8-12 | 45 | Lukas Sedlak | 36 GP, 4-3-7 | 36 | Jussi Jokinen | 3 GP, 0-0-0 |
| # | Player | Stats | # | Player | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Zach Werenski | 45 GP, 11-11-22 | 3 | Seth Jones | 49 GP, 8-24-32 |
| 7 | Jack Johnson | 49 GP, 2-5-7 | 65 | Markus Nutivaara | 42 GP, 3-13-16 |
| 46 | Dean Kukan | 1 GP, 0-0-0 | 65 | David Savard | 48 GP, 2-6-8 |
| # | Player | GS | W-L-OL | GAA | SV% | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 72 | Sergei Bobrovsky | 40 | 22-15-3 | 2.46 | .920 | 4 |
| 70 | Joonas Korpisalo | 9 | 5-4-0 | 2.85 | .912 | 0 |
Three Storylines
- Return of Dubinsky: The return of center Brandon Dubinsky is good news. Whatever you think of the player, he brings it every night he is in the lineup. Moving other players down the lineup, it is easy to see why the team looks so much better with him as a part of it. Whether or not he has a slow start shouldn't be the worry, look at what the second and fourth lines now do as a result of the shakeup.
- Where Are You Bjorkstrand?: Pointless in eight games since he went off for two goals against the Dallas Stars, Bjorkstrand needs to find himself again offensively. The morning skate indicates that he will play with Dubinsky and Calvert. Playing with two tenacious players, Bjorkstrand is going to be in the middle of a lot of plays. The team needs his contributions during the stretch run to ensure a playoff bid.
- Pedal to the Medal: The Minnesota Wild are not a good road team they are 9-14-1 away from the Xcel Center. The Blue Jackets are facing them while they have a couple of injuries nagging them. As the Blue Jackets continue to get healthy, these are the important points. Putting the team away before they even have a chance is a good first step.
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