Columbus Blue Jackets Host Injury-Riddled Kings at Nationwide Arena
The Columbus Blue Jackets host the Los Angeles Kings tonight.
The Columbus Blue Jackets play a game tonight they certainly cannot afford to lose following another disappointment against Vancouver. The Los Angeles Kings are last in the NHL and have been decimated by injuries.
They currently have 8 players on the injured reserve at the moment according to Daily Faceoff. Those players include Ilya Kovalchuk, Carl Hagelin, Alec Martinez and Dion Phaneuf.
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The only question mark in regards to injuries for the Blue Jackets is Josh Anderson who is currently listed as day to day according to Aaron Portzline on Twitter. It seemed as if Zac Dalpe would draw into the lineup in Anderson’s place when he was called up yesterday, however he has since been sent back to the Cleveland Monsters.
Despite their place in the standings, the Kings should not be taken lightly. They have plenty of dangerous players in Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty and even in net they have Jonathan Quick despite his bad start to the season.
Sergei Bobrovsky will get the start tonight for the Blue Jackets and while the Kings goaltender has yet to be confirmed, it seems likely they’d go with Quick against a team like the Blue Jackets.
On paper, the Columbus Blue Jackets are certainly the better team. It remains to be seen however if the Blue Jackets will live up to expectations or if they’ll continue their form of play that we’ve seen over the past few weeks.
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Any lead the Blue Jackets take will be met with fear by their fans, as they hope to not see another third period collapse that have become an expectation as of late. If they lose tonight, changes will certainly come sooner rather than later for the Jackets whether it be through the coaching staff or player personnel.