Columbus Blue Jackets HFC Night vs. Calgary Flames
In their annual Hockey Fights Cancer night, the Columbus Blue Jackets and the NHL take a special game out of each season to honor cancer survivors, those currently battling the disease, and those who have since lost their fight. Tonight is the Jackets’ annual HFC night, and to honor that the players will be wearing purple jerseys in warmups, sign them, and then they will be auctioned off during the game tonight.
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The Jackets will also be selling purple t-shirts to raise money for cancer research, as well as distributing cards on which fans will be able to write the name of someone they want to honor on this special night. For more information about the CBJ HFC night, check out the Jackets’ page here.
So what can we expect for the actual game? Well, the first thing to be said is that the Columbus Blue Jackets vs. the Calgary Flames is (obviously) an inter-conference game. So far this season, as a whole the Western Conference has a combined 9-3-2 record against Eastern Conference opponents. That’s not good for the East. Or the Jackets.
The Jackets have gone (as you probably know) 0-1-0 against the West this season, losing 4-2 to Dallas on Tuesday, while they have a perfect 2-0-0 record against their Eastern Conference opponents. The Flames have yet to play an Eastern Conference opponent, and have gone 3-2-0 in their five games so far this season.
The Flames have won their last two games, beating both the Nashville Predators and the Chicago Blackhawks on the road. They have had success on the road so far this season, being 3-1-0 in four away games. They have only played one game on home ice so far, losing their home opener to be 0-1-0 at home.
Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
The Jackets, however, are an even 1-1-0 at home this season, being a perfect 1-0-0 on the road. After the Jackets’ opening night win against the New York Ranger, Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault called Nationwide Arena a “tough building to play in”. The Jackets have an awesome home crowd with a great atmosphere, and even after losing to Dallas at home, Nationwide’s aura remains a tough one for competitors to crack. Here’s to you fans!
This all means that the Jackets are facing a team that has had a lot of road success early this season, and a team looking to expand on a two-game winning streak. From the Flames side, they will be facing a team that is good on home ice, with a dedicated fan base ready to make it as hard as possible for them to play at Nationwide, as well as playing a team looking to rebound from a disappointing home loss earlier in the week.
Let’s not forget that the Flames played in Nashville on Tuesday and Chicago on Wednesday, giving them a lot of travel and only one day off before coming to Nationwide tonight. The Jackets haven’t played since Tuesday at home, meaning they have had two nights off with no travel to worry about. I’d expect the Jackets to come out looking a lot more rested and energetic than Calgary tonight.
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Overall, tonight’s game should be an interesting one. The Flames will get their first showing of the Eastern Conference, and the Jackets will be looking to show that they are capable of standing up to a Western Conference opponent after their loss to Dallas. The last time these two teams met was November 20th, 2013 in Calgary, a game which saw a 1-1 tie after 20 minutes of regulation. The Jackets managed to pull off two points that game, though with an overtime winner off the stick of
Nikita Nikitin. It’s been almost 11 months since then, and the Jackets will look to take another victory from the Flames tonight at Nationwide Arena. Go Jackets!