Keys To the Match Up: CBJ vs TOR

Detroit Red Wings defenseman

(52) and Toronto Maple Leafs right wing

(71). Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

It’s Game Day CBJ fans! Here are the Keys to the Match Up for tonight’s game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Toronto Maple Leafs:

Limit the David Clarkson Factor: Clarkson was the biggest signing for the Leafs this past off season, and he was immediately declared the next Wendel Clark. However, an automatic 10 game suspension for jumping the boards to get involved in the infamous John Scott / Phil Kessel incident has kept him out of the lineup. Both Clarkson and Leafs fans have had October 25th circled on the calendar since the suspension was handed down. Last year, with the Devils, Clarkson finished with 24 pts, on pace to at least match his career best. While he is not afraid to drop the gloves (as the John Scott incident showed), Clarkson also possesses talent on offense. Think of Clarkson as the Leafs’ Brandon Dubinsky; a player that plays on the edge, hits hard, but also has a good game on offense. The Jackets will need to be aware of Clarkson parking himself in front of the net, as well as his ability to try a quick wrap around and jam the puck in (what Devils fans affectionately referred to as the “Clarkaround”). Clarkson has been itching to make his presence known tonight, and it will be CBJs job to put a damper on that. Oh, and October 25th just so happens to be Wendel Clark’s birthday.

Oct 17, 2013; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports

Fight Fire with Fire: The one message we got from the Devils game is that the Jackets are not going to allow any team to take liberties with them. Brandon Dubinsky made that perfectly clear to Anton Volchenkov (even if it was in response to a clean hit). With a lineup that has heavy hitters like David Clarkson and Dion Phaneuf, and hired guns like Colton Orr, the Maple Leafs contain enough fire power to make this a very physical game. Dubinsky and the Jackets need to keep their cool and not get suckered into taking a bad penalty, but they also need to show the same fire thy did against a very physical Devils team.

Toronto Getting Out Shot: Toronto is currently 7-3-0, but have been vastly out shot in several of their games. On the season, they have been out shot 252-191 and are allowing a 3rd most (tied with Buffalo) 34.5 shots per game. Their current PDO of 1027 indicates that Toronto has just been plain lucky during the beginning of the season, but their have been some signs of regression. With the Jackets averaging 31.3 shots per game, they should be generating more offense, but they have not shared Toronto’s luck. Tuesday’s game against New Jersey finally saw the offense break out, and the Jackets have seen their PDO increase to 1002, so things are looking up. Shots generate scoring chances, and scoring chances generate goals, it’s that simple.

Take the Shot: The big difference against New Jersey was that individual players finally took the initiative on offense. By that I mean initially, we saw a lot of passing in the offensive zone to try to set up a big shot. Often the puck was mishandled and turned over. Against the Devils we saw players (particularly Brandon Dubinsky) create traffic in front of the net to screen the goal tender and to tip shots in. That is how Dubinsky scored his PP goal and allowed Atkinson to backhand a shot in. The Jackets SHOULD cycle the puck around, but if there is a clear shot, take it and allow the guys in front to score a dirty goal off the rebound or redirect it in.