Columbus Blue Jackets Staring Down the Barrel: Canucks in Town
The Columbus Blue Jackets try to bounce back against the Vancouver Canucks in Central Ohio.
Tonight the Vancouver Canucks come into town to face a team that has been playing pretty poor of late. The Columbus Blue Jackets will look to bounce back after a terrible loss in Buffalo to the lowly Sabres.
The Canucks aren’t playing much better than the Sabres this season but have some stars on the team that can carry them to victory. I had the pleasure of talking to Alex Hoegler of TheCanuckWay.com ahead of the matchup tonight.
Lansing Murphy (LM): Is beating the Canucks as simple as shutting down Brock Boeser?
Alex Hoegler (AH): It’s much more simple than that. Even if Boeser scores a hat trick, the Canucks defense and goaltending have been beyond bad over the past month. They’re on a five-game losing streak, and have given up at least four goals in eight games — dating back to Dec. 11. The Canucks just can’t prevent pucks from going in, so shutting down Boeser shouldn’t even be their main goal. As you can tell, it’s been easy for teams to outscore the Canucks. Very simple.
Columbus Blue Jackets
LM: What pieces do you think the Canucks move at the deadline?
AH: Erik Gudbranson is as good as gone. All reports point to the Canucks giving up on the 6-foot-5 rearguard, who has not lived up to expectations in Vancouver. Thomas Vanek — a pending UFA — is also likely to be traded. The Canucks have to keep building up their prospect pipeline, and the pending UFAs can bring in such returns.
LM: You’ve got a ways to go to catch your divisional foe in Arizona but is it time to start “Fallin for Dahlin?”
AH: Yes it is. Ths Canucks higher ups seem to believe this team can be a playoff squad with this flawed roster. They should try to trade veterans like Alex Edler and the Sedins. It helps their chances to get Dahlin, no?
Canucks’ View of the CBJ
LM: What scares you most about this Columbus Blue Jackets team?
AH: The balance of this team. They have the best goalie in the world, an excellent group of defencemen and four effective lines. Torts ensures all his players have a role. They buy into his system. Hard to beat a team that has no obvious weaknesses anywhere.
LM: How do you see the game tonight playing out?
AH: The Canucks will keep it close, but the Jackets have too much firepower. Columbus takes it 4-3.
There you have it folks. Second preview in a row where the opponents site expert has predicted a Jackets win. Hopefully this one turns out to be true.
The Jackets and Canucks face off tonight at 7pm.