The Columbus Blue Jackets have now lost three straight games, and with it, many have hit the panic button. That doesn't include the Blue Jackets as they try to find their game. Although they lost to the New York Islanders in their previous game, the Blue Jackets had a lot of good to take from it and build off of going into tonight's game.
They will take on a Washington Capitals team that has had an up and down season. Despite the up and down nature, they are still at the top of the division and have a chance to grow their lead against a divisional opponent.
VIDEO: John Tortorella
"They've got to allow themselves to play and good things will happen for them." - Torts#CBJ pic.twitter.com/WQq8T2WnXQ
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) February 5, 2018
Blue Jackets Projected Lineup
| # | Player | Stats | # | Player | Stats | # | Player | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Artemi Panarin | 52 GP, 13-29-42 | 18 | Pierre-Luc Dubois | 52 GP, 10-13-23 | 13 | Cam Atkinson | 36 GP, 8-9-17 |
| 28 | Oliver Bjorkstrand | 52 GP, 8-19-27 | 10 | Alexander Wennberg | 38 GP, 5-14-19 | 71 | Nick Foligno | 52 GP, 10-12-22 |
| 38 | Boone Jenner | 45 GP, 5-8-13 | 17 | Brandon Dubinsky | 34 GP, 3-9-12 | 77 | Josh Anderson | 50 GP, 16-10-26 |
| 11 | Matt Calvert | 40 GP, 6-9-15 | 45 | Lukas Sedlak | 39 GP, 4-3-7 | 36 | Jussi Jokinen | 6 GP, 0-1-1 |
| # | Player | Stats | # | Player | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Zach Werenski | 48 GP, 11-11-22 | 3 | Seth Jones | 52 GP, 8-25-33 |
| 7 | Jack Johnson | 52 GP, 2-5-7 | 65 | Markus Nutivaara | 45 GP, 3-13-16 |
| 46 | Dean Kukan | 4 GP, 0-2-2 | 58 | David Savard | 51 GP, 3-6-9 |
| # | Player | GS | W-L-OL | GAA | SV% | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 72 | Sergei Bobrovsky | 41 | 22-16-4 | 2.46 | .921 | 4 |
| 70 | Joonas Korpisalo | 10 | 5-5-0 | 2.97 | .910 | 0 |
Three Storylines
- Take What You Can Get: The Blue Jackets have an offense problem. They can't score goals. This has been true over the past two months. They can't put together a consistent offensive performance to save their life. They scored three goals against the Islanders, and it felt like an offensive barrage. They're facing a stouter Capitals team. They have a couple of weak spots, and they need to be targeted when given the opportunity.
- Quick Start: The Capitals do a great job of holding the lead and turning it into wins. In fact, they are undefeated in regulation when they have a first period or second-period lead. The Blue Jackets have played horribly from behind anyway. The first period will be crucial and with the Blue Jackets season in the balance, they need a Herculean effort.
- Ovi The Great: The Washington Capitals are much more than Alexander Ovechkin. That doesn't mean that the player isn't a giant by himself though. He is deadly on the power play and is a player always to be marked at even strength. Ovechkin is a one-man wrecking crew and needs special coverage all night.
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