Game #17 preview, Blue Jackets look to burn Oil at Nationwide

The NHL scheduling quirks continue, as the Blue Jackets will play their first game at Nationwide Arena in 12 days tonight. Their opponent? The Edmonton Oilers, who they played just three days ago and only face twice all season.

Blame the compressed schedule for the Olympics? Daylight savings? Osmosis? Whatever the blame, it's pretty odd to see these teams meet up twice in such quick succession.

On Monday night in Edmonton, the Blue Jackets suffered one of the most embarrassing losses in franchise history. a 4-3 lead late in the third period, they fumbled a power-play so badly that they nearly lost in regulation.

The Oilers scored shorthanded in the final minute - then nearly put the game away just a few seconds later. Jet Greaves made a remarkable save and at least salvaged a point for the Jackets, but they did wind up losing less than a minute into overtime.

Jack Roslovic scored the OT winner for the Oilers. He then doubled down and did it again last night, as they won 2-1 in Philadelphia. He has a chance to tie an NHL record if he can score in OT at Nationwide tonight.

I have just one request of the home team: please do not let that happen tonight. My goodness, that's the last thing this fanbase needs right now.

The Opponent

We know them pretty well at this point. The Oilers entered Monday's game against the Jackets on a similar skid, losers of three in a row. That late comeback win seems to have helped their confidence, as they won again last night. That gives them a suddenly not so bad record of 8-6-4 (20 points).

Leave it to the Jackets to let them off the mat.

As we saw firsthand, they go as Connor McDavid goes. Despite a very lackadaisical performance from the Oilers for most of the game, once #97 decided he was ready, he took the game over on Monday night.

He scored two highlight reel goals against the Jackets, willing them back into the game and giving his team a chance. Jake Walman had three points (2 goals), and the Oilers won despite their other big weapon - Leon Draisaitl - being held off of the scoresheet.

One of our keys to the game was finding a way to contain those two. The Jackets honestly did a pretty good job, but even with some containment, McDavid did his thing.

He leads the Oilers in scoring with 25 points (7 goals) in 18 games. Draisaitl sits at 18 (team-leading 10 goals), while currently injured Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is also at a point-per-game (16 points in 16gp).

Aside from Nugent-Hopkins, they are also missing forwards Zach Hyman and Kasperi Kapanen. That trio would make up a pretty darn good second line for a lot of teams, so this is another chance for the Jackets to show off their depth.

As we mentioned in our preview on Monday, this is a very top-heavy team. The Jackets showed us that they can take advantage of the secondary players of the Oilers. They need to do that again tonight.

Stuart Skinner tended the crease for them last night, but he only faced 21 shots. We will have to see if he gets the nod in both games of the back-to-back, or if the Jackets will get to see Calvin Pickard.

The Good Guys

At practice this morning, everyone was accounted for except for Boone Jenner. He left the game in Seattle early on Tuesday, with an upper-body injury. Sounds like he may miss some time.

Still, despite an opening in the top-six, it looks like Yegor Chinakhov still cannot buy an opportunity. He looks to remain on the fourth line:

I'm interested to see if this is how the team actually lines up tonight. Luca del bel Belluz has looked good in his three games, though he hasn't picked up a point yet. Maybe a chance to play with other skill guys will help him find his way.

In goal, the Jackets appear to have Jet Greaves slated for his third straight start. The rotation broke on Tuesday, as he started both halves of the back-to-back.

Is Elvis Merzlikins still sick, injured in some way; or is this the sign of a changing of the guard?

Three Keys to Success

1. Contain their top guys. We can almost copy + paste this one from Monday. The Jackets honestly did a pretty good job limiting the opportunities for #97 and #29. They have to do it again, maybe even better. Keeping them in check is the only way to realistically beat this team. You won't win a track meet against them.

2. Stay out of the box. Another one we can copy + paste from Monday. The Jackets did a very good job here, giving the Oilers only one power-play. This is one controllable way to limit their offensive chances.

3. Play a full 60 minutes of CBJ hockey. This point is crucial, because it's where they failed on Monday night. For some reason, Dean Evason shuffled the lines late, despite the lead. The Jackets paid the price because they got away from what they did best all game.

Instead of continuing to possess the puck and tire the Oilers out, they tried to force a play and allowed them to break out. It wound up costing the Jackets the game.

Edmonton played last night, so the Jackets need to play that heavy puck possession game, wear them down early, and pour it on tonight. For the full 60 minutes. Do not let them get their legs moving.

Tonight's game is a national broadcast via ESPN+, so it's a later start than normal. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30, with John Buccigross on the call. Should be a fun one.