Blue Jackets take on the Flyers in their first true road game of the year

The Blue Jackets are heading out for their first true road trip of the season, beginning tonight in Philadelphia. They take on a Flyers team that has started to put their game together over the last few weeks, after a very rough start.

The Flyers began their season with the worst start in the history of their franchise. They went 0-6-3 through their first 9 games, won 3 in a row, and then lost their last matchup at home to the Anaheim Ducks. As a result, they are just 1 point ahead of the Jackets in the standings, despite 4 more games played.

The Jackets will look to build upon their most recent game, which was a low event 2-1 overtime win over the Vegas Golden Knights. That's how this team is expecting to play each game, and now that they have established the standard, they need to stick to it. The Flyers are another low event team, so odds are this could be a snoozer.

It will be interesting to see how the Jackets come out tonight on the road. If practice lines are any indication, they will be getting one defenseman back from IR. That should provide a boost and some stability on the back-end. Lets take a look at our three keys for success.

Make them chase the game.

Offense comes at a bit of a premium for the Flyers, not unlike the Blue Jackets. Matvei Michkov has been red hot, and he's tied with Trevor Zegras for the team lead in scoring with 10 points in 13 games. After those two, it's a big drop to Porter Martone, who has just 5 points.

Their strategy is going to be simple: get ahead and try to slow the game to a crawl. Conversely, they are just 1-5-2 when their opposition scores first. If the Blue Jackets can do that and put them on their heels, it might force the Flyers into mistakes as they press for offense, and make the game easier overall.

Stick to the system.

It wasn't pretty on Saturday night, but it sure was effective. The Blue Jackets never panicked, sticking to their structure and playing smart hockey through the entire game. The result was a win over one of the best teams in the league.

I'm sure the Flyers will get some offensive pushes tonight. Their goaltender will probably make some big saves at the other end. Special teams situations will arise. Through all of that, the Jackets have to keep playing the same way, if they want to have success.

Find that road swagger.

The Blue Jackets have only played two games on the road so far this season, and both were the second half of a back-to-back. This is their first true road trip of the year, with multiple stops and some time to prepare for the games.

These are the times when good teams start to gel. They will spend more time together as a group, with fewer distractions and more bonding. I would love to see them come out as a cohesive team with some confidence, and show us how good they can be.

This is the first of four matchups against the Flyers this season. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 Eastern time from Philly. Lets go Jackets!

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