Game Day #73: Blue Jackets Face Predators As Playoff Push Continues

Just because it's a cliche doesn't make it any less true:

Every point matters right now.

Tuesday night's game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Nashville Predators is no exception, as the Blue Jackets enter the final ten games of the regular season with a chance at what seemed impossible in October: a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

To get there, it will take playing some of their best hockey of the season.

Entering Tuesday, Columbus is two points behind the Montreal Canadiens and the New York Rangers for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Blue Jackets have played one less game than the Habs and two less than the Rangers.

Those games in hand are huge: a win for the Blue Jackets, coupled with a Canadiens loss to the Florida Panthers, and the Blue Jackets are back in the second wild spot by days end. A regulation loss, paired with a Canadiens win, and Columbus would suddenly find themselves four points out with just nine to go.

And while everything matters from here out, this one is just a must-have win: the Blue Jackets are 21-9-5 on home ice, while the Predators have just nine wins on the road, are well out of the playoff race, have multiple injuries, are on a three-game skid, and are coming off the second half of a back-to-back. 

Not exactly the kind of game you can lose in April.

Here's what else to know before a big one at Nationwide:

• RE: PREDS
  There is little question that the Predators are the NHL's biggest disappointment this season. A barrage of big-name signings after a 99-point season and it's easy to see why they were talked about often for the Stanley Cup. Instead, they're near the basement of the league and rank last in the league in goals per game. ... The Predators have scored 16 goals in their last ten games, scoring one goal or less in six of them. ...  This is the second game of a back-to-back for Nashville, who lost their third straight game Monday night in a 2-1 defeat to the Philadelphia Flyers. ... Juuse Saros is likely to start in net for Nashville. He's 18-28-6 with a 2.89 goals against and .897 save percentage on the season.
   
• MERZLIKINS BETWEEN THE PIPES
  Elvis Merzlikins will start for Columbus. He's won his last two starts but has given up nine goals in those two games. including a shaky (until overtime and the shootout) performance Friday night against the Vancouver Canucks. Merzlikins is going for his 25th win of the season, which would bring him to within two of his career high.
   
• THREE GOALS IN THREE GAMES
  Kirill Marchenko had one goal and one assist in the first ten games of March. But once Sean Monahan came back into the lineup last Monday, Marchenko has scored in each of his last three games and added an assist for a total of four points. The pair, along with Dmitri Voronkov, will again anchor the top line Tuesday night.
   
• LINEUPS CHANGES & PROJECTIONS:
  Dante Fabbro is back in the lineup for the Blue Jackets after missing the last game with an injury. He'll be in his normal spot alongside Zach Werenski on the top defensive pairing.
  
  No changes to the forward trios, with James van Riemsdyk a scratch for the third straight game.
  
  Here are the complete lineup projections: