Game Day Edition: Columbus Blue Jackets @ Vancouver Canucks
10:00 PM (ET) on FSOH, RSNP
Rogers Arena, Vancouver, British Columbia
Oct 20, 2013; Columbus, OH, USA; Mandatory Credit: Rob Leifheit-USA TODAY Sports
With a 2-1 win over Calgary, the Columbus Blue Jackets helped their fans somewhat forget the events of Tuesday night in Edmonton. Instead of making a bad situation worse, the Jackets came out and played hard and fought Calgary to a draw after three periods. Nikita Nikitin got the game winning goal in the OT frame, and sent Columbus out of Calgary with a victory.
The Jackets are back in action tonight in Vancouver, British Columbia, where they will take on the Vancouver Canucks for the second time this season. Columbus won the first meeting 3-1 back on October 20th. The Canucks are on a five game losing streak, something that has Coach John Tortorella back in his fired up, angry form. Vancouver has had some time off to regroup, as their last game was a 3-2 shootout loss to the Florida Panthers.
The Jackets will have to be careful, as they allowed Edmonton to snap their losing streak in deciding fashion, and the Canucks will be looking to gain a bounce back win. Coach Todd Richards said his team does not know how to handle success. Let’s hope a dramatic overtime win against Calgary doesn’t have the team too overconfident. While the effort was better Wednesday night (which isn’t saying much), the Calgary game was still sloppy, and overall the Jackets did not play a good game. If they think they are going to just walk into Vancouver and beat a down team, then the Jackets will find themselves in a similar situation as they were in Edmonton.
Stats
Oct 20, 2013; Columbus, OH, USA; Mandatory Credit: Rob Leifheit-USA TODAY Sports
Columbus played a clean game against Calgary, as not a single Jacket went to the penalty box. That is the first time that has ever happened on the road in team history. If they can’t keep that up against Vancouver, they may not have to worry as much, as Vancouver’s powerplay has been awful so far this season. Their 11.3% PP% is 27th in the NHL. No team with the Sedins should be that bad, so there is always the risk that Vancouver will convert on the man advantage, but it seems Tortorella’s shot blocking system has stifled the offense. Somewhat surprisingly, Vancouver does not lead the league in blocked shots, that honor belongs to Montreal. The Canucks are 5th overall with 338, behind Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton, and Anaheim.
Vancouver is allowing the 7th fewest SA/60, with an average of 26.3 shots per game. By comparison, the Jackets have faced the 13th most per game, with 29.6. While Vancouver may have the reputation of playing shut down defense, they actually have a positive shot differential (/60 mins), +4.1, which puts them 6th overall. The Jackets shot differential is -2.2, the 9th worst in the league.
So statistically the Canucks are not as bad as some of the other teams that the Jackets have faced recently, but as the Edmonton game showed, that doesn’t always matter. However, it does indicate that the Canucks are in a rut and have been under performing. Their miserable power play aside, they are good statistically, they are just on a rough patch, something their 99.5 agrees with (the Jackets are close to them, with 99.3).
Notable Noteables
Oct 10, 2013; Buffalo, NY, USA; Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports
Matt Calvert is expected to be back in the lineup tonight for the Jackets! This will be Calvert’s first game since October 10th (the 3rd game of the season), after which he required abdominal surgery. It is believed that Jack Skille will exit the lineup to make room for Calvert. Matt Calvert will make the Jackets more dangerous on offense. They have missed him dearly so far this season, especially with Marian Gaborik out as well.
Brandon Dubinsky got treatment on his bruised foot during yesterday’s off day in Vancouver. It is currently unknown whether he will be good to go tonight, so stay tuned for an announcement from the team. With a little luck, the Jackets may have two of their offensive weapons back in the lineup tonight!
Song for the Game:
“The Hustle” -Van McCoy
With “Matty Hustle” returning to the lineup tonight for the Jackets, I felt The Hustle is a great choice for the Union and Blue Song For the Game!