The Columbus Blue Jackets close out their four game home stand against the Canadiens as they go for five straight wins.
With teams all around the Columbus Blue Jackets in the standings winning down the stretch, every win becomes more vital. Tonight, as the CBJ host the Montreal Canadiens, two more vital points can be picked up with a win.
The Jackets will have Sergei Bobrovsky in net and will likely face off against Antti Niemi as Carey Price is still injured. Bob only faced 24 shots on Friday against the Detroit Red Wings and hadn’t played since March 2nd before that so he should be fresh.
Montreal is finishing up a six game road trip that hasn’t gone their way. They have lost four in a row and are well out of the playoff race. They last played on Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning where they lost in a shootout. It will be interesting to see how hard the Canadiens play tonight with nothing to play for.
These teams last played in late November with the Canadiens winning 3-1 on home ice. Carey Price was incredible stopping 37 of 38 shots for Montreal.
Players to Watch
There aren’t many players to keep an eye on wearing white tonight. Captain Max Pacioretty and $10 million a year goalie Carey Price are both injured. The Habs might also be without their third line center Philip Danault who took a stick to the face on Saturday. They also still do not have defenseman Shea Weber on the blue line.
Mike Rielly has played well for his new squad in Montreal and has five assist in six games from the blue line. Also keep an eye on Artturi Lehkonen. The 22-year-old winger will play on a young top line along with Jonathan Drouin and Alex Galchenyuk.
The Jackets will look to keep the hot pair of Seth Jones and Zach Werenski rolling. The two have combined for eight points in the last three games including five goals. Werenski is just one goal behind Dougie Hamilton and P.K. Subban for the league lead in goals by a defenseman.
Next: Z Breaks Franchise Record
The puck drops at 7pm tonight in Nationwide in the final game of a three game series between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Montreal Canadiens.