The last time the Columbus Blue Jackets faced the San Jose Sharks was October 23rd in San Jose, which also happened to be the last game the Jackets won before snapping the losing streak last night. Can the Jackets pull off two straight victories? Can they beat San Jose twice in a row? Which team will we see out on the ice tonight: the Jackets we saw last night or the ones we saw during their previous nine games? Those are the questions as we head into the match-up at Nationwide Arena tonight.
Tonight’s game will see the return of both Artem Anisimov and Sergei Bobrovsky, both returning to the lineup from injury. Bobrovsky traveled with the team to Philadelphia last night, but was unable to start and spent the game sitting on the bench as backup to Curtis McElhinney. Tonight, however, Bobrovsky will be back in action, and man will it be good to get him back.
So far this season, Bobrovsky has gone 4-4-0 with a save percentage of .908 and a goals-against average of 2.81. Compare that to McElhinney’s stats: 1-5-1, SVP of .887 and GAA of 3.65. Yeah, it’ll be good to have Bob back in net.
To get excited about seeing Bob back in net, here’s an awesome Vine of him, courtesy of the CBJ twitter:
Your starter tonight: BOBROVSKY! #CBJ https://t.co/dgZOdS31Kq
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) November 15, 2014
On the flip side, the Jackets can add one more name to their list of injured players, at least for tonight. Fedor Tyutin left last night’s game with a lower body injury after a collision with former Jacket and current Flyer star Jakub Voracek. Frederic St. Denis will replace him on the blue line tonight.
Fedor Tyutin will not play tonight, and will be evaluated in the next 24 hours, says Richards. St-Denis will play in his place. #CBJ
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) November 15, 2014
Going into tonight’s game, the Jackets are facing a Sharks team that has seen a lot of success on the road this season. The Sharks are 7-4-2 on the road, while the Jackets are only 2-5-0 at home. The Jackets are going to have to find a way to dictate the pace of the game and keep the Sharks under control if they want to curb San Jose’s road success and add a victory for themselves.
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That means it’s up to you, 5th line! The 9-game losing streak demoralized a lot of the fans, and that’s understandable, but now it’s in the past. They pulled off a victory last night, and they’ll need the help of a loud, excited crowd in the house to pull off another tonight. If you are going to the game, give Bob a big welcome back, and cheer the boys on to victory! If, like me, you’re stuck somewhere else, tune in to our twitter and live blog tonight and cheer them on from afar as the Jackets look to start a new streak and take control of their season once again.