The Columbus Blue Jackets have another difficult game ahead of them, this time against the Washington Capitals.
The Columbus Blue Jackets face divisional rival and reigning Stanley Cup champions, the Washington Capitals in the nation’s capital tonight. The Jackets are 1-1-0 against the Capitals this season, with the last game being 4-0 in favor of the opposition.
This will likely be a goaltending duel as Isabelle Khursudyan confirmed on Twitter (see below) that Braden Holtby will get the start for the Capitals, while the Blue Jackets starter has yet to be confirmed. It’s reasonable to assume that Sergei Bobrovsky will get the start for Columbus though considering he’s rested after missing the last game.
Holtby will start tonight.
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) January 12, 2019
It goes without saying, Alexander Ovechkin will be a player to keep an eye on for the Capitals. Others to watch are John Carlson, Jakub Vrana, Evgeny Kuznetsov and of course the almost point per game winger, Tom Wilson.
It appears that Kevin Stenlund is set to make his NHL debut tonight for the Columbus Blue Jackets with the injuries to Brandon Dubinsky and Markus Hannikainen. A player to keep an eye on for the Blue Jackets is Cam Atkinson who is currently goalless since the start of 2019. Artemi Panarin on the other hand has been on fire since the New Year with three goals and an assist since then.
A win against the Capitals could be huge for the Blue Jackets going down the line, they need the confidence that they can beat elite teams after the result against Tampa Bay. The Blue Jackets will be fresh tonight, however that’ll be a completely different case tomorrow against the New York Rangers.
This isn’t necessarily a game that the Blue Jackets “should win”, however it is one that could be very beneficial to win. It’s a game that should at least be competitive and potentially go to overtime at the very least. It’s reasonable to expect the Jackets to walk out with a point.