The Columbus Blue Jackets are back in action Saturday as they take on the Philadelphia Flyers at Nationwide Arena. The Jackets are coming off a 2-1 shootout loss to the Washington Capitals while the Flyers defeated the Minnesota Wild 3-1 Thursday.
The last two outings have been rough for the Columbus Blue Jackets. On Wednesday, they fell to the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2 at home and lost Oliver Bjorkstrand due to vicious boarding penalty by Roman Polak. The next night, the Jackets fell 2-1 to the Washington Capitals despite Sergei Bobrovsky‘s 44 saves.
The Jackets need two points in Saturday’s game to keep pace with the Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Columbus is currently third in the Metropolitan Division, two points behind the Pens and three behind the Caps. Washington will most likely pick up another two points Saturday since they play the lowly Arizona Coyotes. Pittsburgh also faces Philadelphia next as they host the Flyers Sunday.
The Flyers are desperately trying to catch up in the wild card race but it doesn’t look promising. Philly is six points back from the New York Islanders with only nine games left. The remaining schedule for Philadelphia includes six games against playoff or soon-to-be clinched playoff teams. This weekend’s road back-to-back against Columbus and Pittsburgh surely isn’t helping their chances at a playoff berth.
The Jackets will play without Oliver Bjorkstrand Saturday. The Dane is still recovering from a nasty hit against the boards that knocked him out of Wednesday’s game against Toronto. Polak, the offender of the boarding penalty, was suspended by the NHL for two games. The good news is that Bjork is apparently feeling well and is only being kept out for precautionary reasons.
Related Story: Bjork Ruled Out For Saturday
The last time these two teams played was in Philadelphia just under two weeks ago. Along with battling the Flyers, the Jackets combated the officials in that game. Columbus finished the game with 20 penalty minutes compared to Philly’s eight. Despite the calls going against them, the Jackets won 5-3 behind two Cam Atkinson goals.
According to the Blue Jackets’ website, the CBJ are 11-0-0 against the Flyers in games earlier than 5 p.m. That means it should be an easy W for the Jackets, right? Right?
Right. Go Jackets!