Last night was a disappointment, but the Columbus Blue Jackets have a chance to put it in the past and move on tonight. Last time the Jackets visited the City of Brotherly Love, they ended a nine-game losing streak. Tonight the Jackets are coming off of two disappointing home losses, and they’ll look to beat the Flyers once again.
The Flyers are only two points ahead of the Jackets right now, which makes tonight’s game an even more important 4-point night. The Flyers are 5-3-2 at home so far this season, while the Jackets are 3-5-1 on the road. The Jackets and Flyers are both among the struggling teams in the Metropolitan Division, so tonight promises to be an important match-up.
Since these two teams met a week or so ago, the Flyers have had a hard go of it. They have lost all three games since they last saw the Jackets in town, putting them on a four-game losing streak. The Jackets won against the Flyers last time, then preceded to defeat the San Jose Sharks the next night, before losing to the Red Wings on Tuesday and falling in overtime to the Bruins last night.
That means tonight’s game will have a different dynamic than last Friday’s game did. It is the same two teams in the same arena, but in two different situations. Last week, the Jackets were looking to avoid setting a franchise-worst ten-game losing streak, while the Flyers were riding a three-game win streak. The Jackets were a desperate hockey team, and they were finally able to channel that desperation into a win.
Tonight, however, the Flyers are more likely to have the desperate energy the Jackets used to their advantage last week. They know they need a win, and they know they are facing a team that played a 65-minute game plus shootouts last night. The Jackets are going to need to match, if not exceed, the Flyers’ energy tonight if they hope to prevail.
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Tonight is the Jackets’ second of a back-to-back, which typically means less energy and a slower game. The Jackets, however, cannot afford to let that be the case tonight. Last weekend, they beat the Flyers on Friday, and then played one of their best games of the season to sweep the season series against the Sharks. The Jackets need to channel the frustration of last night’s performance into energy to get them through tonight’s game, and find a way to play a full 60-minute game and prevail over the Flyers again tonight.