Union and Blue
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Columbus Blue Jackets: Staring Down the Barrel – Bolts by the Bay

By Lansing Murphy

COLUMBUS, OH - NOVEMBER 29: Seth Jones #3 of the Columbus Blue Jackets skates against the Tampa Bay Lightning on November 29, 2016 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/NHLI via Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH - NOVEMBER 29: Seth Jones #3 of the Columbus Blue Jackets skates against the Tampa Bay Lightning on November 29, 2016 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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BOSTON – MARCH 23: Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov (86) celebrates his empty netter that sealed the 6-3 loss for the Bruins. The Boston Bruins host the Tampa Bay Lightning at TD Garden in Boston on Mar. 23, 2017. (Photo by Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
BOSTON – MARCH 23: Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov (86) celebrates his empty netter that sealed the 6-3 loss for the Bruins. The Boston Bruins host the Tampa Bay Lightning at TD Garden in Boston on Mar. 23, 2017. (Photo by Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) /

Prediction for the game?

CK: Tonight’s game will be a battle of the goaltenders. Both Bobrovsky and Vasilevskiy have started the season strong and it won’t be easy to get pucks past either.

Penalties will also be a big part of the matchup. Tampa Bay has been taking penalties like they’re going out of style, registering four in their matchup against the Devils and five against the Penguins. Thankfully, they’re 80% on their penalty kill so far. This isn’t an excuse though, as this percentage could easily be lower than it is now and can take a nose dive at any given moment.

Countering this is one of the league’s worst power plays thus far. Entering this game, Columbus is boasting a meager 6.3% on the power play. On the other hand, Tampa Bay has the 10th highest power play percentage in the league. Columbus has taken a fraction of the penalties the Lightning have though, so a good power play won’t do much if you aren’t on the power play.

This is going to be a tight competition between two high-caliber teams that could really go either way. If Kucherov stays hot and the Bolts keep themselves out of the box, it’s a win for them. If the Lightning soak up a lot of penalties and Columbus converts on the power play, they run away from this one with two points.

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