The Vancouver Canucks visit Columbus for the first and only time Thursday. The game marks the start of a seven game home stand for the boys in blue.
Thursday night’s game will kick off a significant stretch for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Don’t mention that to head coach John Tortorella, as he was quick to point out that tonight’s matchup against the Canucks is their only focus as far as he is concerned.
The win for the Blue Jackets on Tuesday was emotional. It’s imperative the team comes out with the same tenacity they had in Detroit as they skated on their toes for much of the first period.
Vancouver certainly does not elicit the same emotion that former divisional rival Detroit does. If the CBJ want to show they are Cup contenders, this home game against a bottom feeding Vancouver team is the type of game Columbus has to dominate.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Struggling Canucks
Vancouver comes into Columbus struggling, having lost five of their last six games. The Canucks are coming off a 4-2 lost by the hands of the Nashville Predators on Tuesday. Markus Granlund kicked off the scoring six minutes into the first period, but after that it was all Preds as Pekka Rinne stopped 31 of Vancouver’s 33 shots.
Young Vancouver all-star Bo Horvat picked up his 19th assist of the year on Alexander Edler’s 3rd period goal. Horvat tends to be the driving force for the Canucks. If they expect to come into NWA and snatch points, Horvat will have to play a major role.
Oliver Bjorkstard Joins the Columbus Blue Jackets
The Blue Jackets recalled Oliver Bjorkstrand from the Cleveland Monsters to fill the role vacated by Josh Anderson. Anderson will sit tonight because of the NHL concussion protocol. When asked about Anderson sitting, Torts explained that he is not concussed and Anderson sitting is just cautionary.
Bjorkstrand will play in his third game in the NHL this year on Thursday. Bjorkstrand started with the team following camp and made a brief appearance with the team in December. His last game with the team, a December 10th win against the Islanders, was his best of the year as he assisted once on a Brandon Saad goal and had 15 minutes of ice time.
The highly touted prospect hopes to build on the success he’s recently had in Cleveland. Bjorkstrand scored twice in his previous game with the Monsters on Tuesday.
Tonight’s game will be a good showcase to see if the CBJ have started to turn the corner on a forgetful January. No one expects the team to win 16 straight again, but some consistency is needed. Beating a team that you should, like Vancouver, would show signs of the necessary playoff consistency Columbus fans are excited to see.