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NASHVILLE PREDATORS SATURDAY, OCT. 26 8:00 P.M. BRIDGESTONE ARENA NASHVILLE, TN |
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NASHVILLE: |
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The Columbus Blue Jackets have played in Nashville a total of 52 times in their existence.
They have just nine wins to show for it.
Columbus' 9-36-1-6 record on the road against the Predators equates to a point percentage of just .240, their lowest against any team away from the friendly confines of Nationwide Arena.
But, through six games, this season has felt... different. Columbus is just 3-3-0, sure, but they've scored six goals three times already, and their 24 goals in the first half-dozen is a franchise record.
So it might just be another early-season, out -of-conference road game on paper, but make no mistake about it: this game is a litmus test for this Columbus team.
Here's what else to know when the Blue Jackets take the ice in Music City:
| CBJ | SEASON STATS | NSH | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.00 | t-5th | GOALS FOR | t-28th | 2.43 |
| 3.33 | t-16th | GOALS AGAINST | t-24th | 3.57 |
| 16.7% | 24th | POWER PLAY | 19th | 18.5% |
| 77.8% | t-15th | PENALTY KILL | 2nd | 91.7% |
| 30.2 | 13th | SHOTS FOR | 1st | 36.1 |
| 27.3 | 7th | SHOTS AGAINST | 11th | 28.4 |
| 50.8% | t-12th | FACEOFFS | 2nd | 56.2% |
| NASHVILLE: LAST THREE GAMES | ||||
| SAT, 10/19 | vs. Red Wings | L, 5-2 | ||
| TUE, 10/22 | vs. Bruins | W 4-0 | ||
| FRI, 10/25 | @ Blackhawks | W, 3-2 | ||
| NASHVILLE: TEAM LEADERS | ||||
| GOALS |
Filip Forsberg Thomas Novak |
3 | ||
| ASSISTS | Roman Josi | 5 | ||
| POINTS | Filip Forsberg | 7 | ||
| ODDS & PROJECTIONS | ||||
| CBJ WIN PER MONEYPUCK: | 30% | |||
| ESPNBET ODDS: | CBJ +190 | |||
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The Blue Jackets will, of course, try to replicate Tuesday's performance. The 6-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs was one of the best wins for the organization in a long, long time. They dominated the neutral zone and looked fantastic in transition. They got scoring from everywhere. They played with poise, they played with passion, and it was the best example thus far of the togetherness that is preached by head coach Dean Evason.
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The only change in the lineup from Tuesday's win: Jordan Harris joins the third pairing on the blue line, while David Jiricek is a healthy scratch. The two-out-of-three rotation between the two of them and Jack Johnson continues as Evason sorts out the defense.
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Kevin Labanc is playing with James van Riemsdym and Sean Kuraly on the bottom six. Labanc had the secondary assist on JVR's game-opening goal Tuesday, and it was the third consecutive game Labanc played in in which he picked up an assist.
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Daniil Tarasov gets the nod in net for the Jackets, his fourth straight start. He's gotten better in each of the three, most recently posting a .929 save percentage and allowing just two goals on 28 shots against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night. Columbus has won three of Tarasov's four starts on the season.
- Here are the complete line projections:
| LW | C | RW | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Cole Sillinger | 23 | Sean Monahan | 82 | Kirill Marchenko |
| 59 | Yegor Chinakhov | 19 | Adam Fantilli | 82 | Mikael Pyyhtia |
| 27 | Zach Aston-Reese | 17 | Justin Danforth | 24 | Mathieu Olivier |
| 21 | James van Riemsdyk | 7 | Sean Kuraly | 62 | Kevin Labanc |
| LD | RD | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Zach Werenski | 9 | Ivan Provorov |
| 2 | Jake Christiansen | 78 | Damon Severson |
| 3 | Jack Johnson | 22 | Jordan Harris |
| Starting Goalie | Back-Up | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | Daniil Tarasov | 90 | Elvis Merzlikins |
