The Columbus Blue Jackets want to extend their winning streak to three games. In their way are the Los Angeles Kings. The Blue Jackets will be on an extended road trip playing every California NHL club this weekend.
The Blue Jackets will have forward Nick Foligno returning from injured reserve and forward Thomas Vanek joining the team via trade from the Vancouver Canucks.
VIDEO: John Tortorella
"I think we've added some good pieces. I'm really excited about the push in our lineup." - Torts#CBJ pic.twitter.com/Nv3aGj4FTd
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) February 28, 2018
Blue Jackets Projected Lineup
| # | Player | Stats | # | Player | Stats | # | Player | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Artemi Panarin | 63 GP, 18-34-52 | 18 | Pierre-Luc Dubois | 63 GP, 14-17-31 | 13 | Cam Atkinson | 47 GP, 12-13-23 |
| 26 | Thomas Vanek | 0 GP, 0-0-0 | 10 | Alexander Wennberg | 49 GP, 6-18-24 | 71 | Nick Foligno | 59 GP, 13-13-26 |
| 22 | Sonny Milano | 36 GP, 9-5-14 | 17 | Brandon Dubinsky | 45 GP, 5-10-15 | 28 | Oliver Bjorkstrand | 63 GP, 10-22-32 |
| 11 | Matt Calvert | 51 GP, 7-11-18 | 55 | Mark Letestu | 1 GP, 1-0-1 | 38 | Boone Jenner | 56 GP, 6-13-19 |
| # | Player | Stats | # | Player | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Zach Werenski | 59 GP, 11-15-26 | 3 | Seth Jones | 63 GP, 9-31-40 |
| 7 | Jack Johnson | 63 GP, 3-5-8 | 27 | Ryan Murray | 28 GP, 1-4-5 |
| 23 | Ian Cole | 1 GP, 0-0-0 | 58 | David Savard | 62 GP, 4-7-11 |
| # | Player | GS | W-L-OL | GAA | SV% | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 72 | Sergei Bobrovsky | 52 | 27-20-5 | 2.41 | .920 | 4 |
| 70 | Joonas Korpisalo | 11 | 5-6-0 | 3.15 | .903 | 0 |
Three Storylines
- Vanek At The Disco: The Blue Jackets acquired Thomas Vanek to be an offensive juggernaut and a power play specialist, they hope that they can get both versions of the player for the price of one. Vanek hopes to improve a newly rejuvenated forward core and bring a net-front presence that has been missing from the team for most of the season.
- Next Man Up: The Blue Jackets just lost forward Josh Anderson to injury, and as it happened, they then got forward Nick Foligno back from injured reserve. The team for the first time this year has a bunch of NHL forwards that will be able to step in at a moments notice. Taking advantage would be smart.
- Kopitar Roars: What sets Kings forward Anze Kopitar apart from everyone else? Other than the fact that he is one of the best all-around players in the league? It has to be just how efficient he is all of the time. The Slovenian center is on a three-game point streak and hopes to continue it against the Blue Jackets.
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