Columbus Blue Jackets: Anthony Duclair Returns to Lineup & Other Notes

In his press conference prior to the game tonight, Columbus Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella gave some updates on tonight’s lineup.

The Columbus Blue Jackets will have quite a bit of changes compared to recent games according to John Tortorella.

The biggest change will be the fourth highest goal scorer on the team, Anthony Duclair, finally returning to line-up. Duclair seems to be slotting in to the third line with Alexander Wennberg and likely Brandon Dubinsky. As a result, Oliver Bjorkstrand will slide down to the technical “fourth line” with Markus Hannikainen and Riley Nash.

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Lukas Sedlak will be in the press box tonight, as the Blue Jackets look to strengthen the bottom six forwards even more.

Defensive changes will be abundant as well in regards to the pairings, however the personnel will remain the same. Tortorella didn’t specify which pairings would be emphasized, however he did say that Zach Werenski will be paired with Scott Harrington, which seems to be the third pairing, while Seth Jones slots in beside Ryan Murray and Markus Nutivaara will play with David Savard.

Tortorella also noted that Sergei Bobrovsky will get the start in net against the Capitals who are projected to start Braden Holtby according to Isabelle Khurshudyan on Twitter.

Khurshudyan also noted that it appears Tom Wilson will miss a second straight game for the Caps with a concussion, while TJ Oshie remains out of the lineup.

The Blue Jackets have a tough game ahead of them, even with the Capitals being down two key players. They still have an abundance of superstars scattered across their lineup.

This will be the Jackets second meeting with the reigning Stanley Cup champions and last time they walked away with a 2-1 win. The Jackets will hope to recreate the victory they enjoyed last time.