Game #27 preview, Blue Jackets eye revenge against the team from up north

The Blue Jackets return to action tonight at Nationwide Arena, hosting the Detroit Red Wings for the first and only time this season.

It's the second matchup between the two teams, with Detroit beating the Jackets 4-3 in overtime back on November 22nd. That was one of the most frustrating losses this season by the Jackets, who led 3-1 with under 10 minutes to go.

Tonight, they will get their chance for revenge against a Detroit team that has gone 1-3-1 since that matchup in against Columbus.

The Opponent

After beating the Blue Jackets, the Red Wings promptly lost four games in a row. They broke that losing streak in their last game, beating the Boston Bruins 5-4 at home on Tuesday night.

Detroit is a top heavy team, led in scoring through 27 games by their top line of Dylan Larkin (14 goals, 16 assists, 30 points), Lucas Raymond (9-20-29), and Alex DeBrincat (13-15-28).

After that trio, it's a pretty steep drop to defenseman Moritz Seider (4-15-19) and veteran Patrick Kane (3-13-16). Then, it's an even steeper drop off, as only one other player (rookie Emmitt Finnie) has more than 10 points.

Typical for a Todd McLellan team, the Wings fall back pretty hard on their defensive structure to win hockey games. The problem is, they have not gotten quality goaltending, which has prevented them from shooting up the standings.

Their team save percentage is .873%, good for 28th in the NHL. When you want to play a defense-first style and try to win games with special teams goals, you need to get saves. That's been an issue for them.

They have stuck to a strict rotation between Cam Talbot and John Gibson. The latter played on Tuesday, so expect Talbot in the crease tonight in Columbus.

He has posted a .893% save percentage and 3.01 goals against average against the Jackets in his career, earning an 8-6-1 record. This includes their previous matchup, where he stopped 32 shots in their win.

The Wings are 14-11-2 (30 points) on the season, having fallen out of a playoff seed. It's quite a different feel from the first place contending team the Blue Jackets faced last month.

The points at hand tonight could be massive for both teams, as they could be competing for the same playoff ticket at season's end for the second year in a row.

Detroit will be without forwards Michael Rasmussen and Mason Appleton tonight. Both were injured in the last week.

The Good Guys

The Blue Jackets will get one reinforcement back tonight, and it's the most important one. Kirill Marchenko returns after missing the last four games.

Luca del bel Belluz will also enter the lineup after being recalled by the Jackets from the Cleveland Monsters yesterday. Come out of the lineup are Zach Aston-Reese and Luca Pinelli, who was demoted back to Cleveland this morning.

In other good news, Sean Monahan will play despite leaving Tuesday night's game in New Jersey early. The Jackets are also eyeing Boone Jenner's return (maybe Saturday).

After shutting things down in Tuesday nights win against the Devils, Elvis Merzlikins earns his second consecutive start for the Jackets. It's good to see Dean Evason reward him for a solid performance.

Three Keys to Success

1. Carry over the emotion. Tuesday night's win in New Jersey was physical and fun. I would love to see the Jackets build off of that and play another game with that energy tonight.

2. Shutdown the top line. Detroit doesn't get a lot of secondary scoring. If the Blue Jackets can limit their top line's chances, this game will be a little easier.

3. Don't forget about #88. Patrick Kane will be a first ballot NHL Hall of Famer. Part of that reason? His play against the Blue Jackets. He has 28 goals and 88 points against them in his career, more than any other team. That's more than any other player has put up against the Jackets by 20 points.
Can't he just retire already?

Tonight's game has a later than normal start, scheduled for just after 7:30 Eastern time. This one is an ESPN+ / Hulu exclusive. Hopefully our team can showcase themselves in front of a broader audience tonight.