The Blue Jackets face another difficult challenge tonight at Nationwide. They host the Tampa Bay Lightning, who are the hottest team in the NHL.
The Jackets have just one loss in their last six games, and are coming off of an impressive 1-0 win over the Dallas Stars on Thursday night.
If they want to continue their winning ways, they'll have to find a way to beat a Lightning team that has lost just once in their last 15 games. And, that loss was in a shootout. Like I said, tough one tonight.
The Opponent
The Bolts have not lost a game in regulation since December 18th. That was the final loss of a three game losing skid that seems to have awoken a sleeping giant.
Since then, they are 14-0-1, with 62 goals for and 31 goals against. Overall, that brings their record to 32-13-4 (68 points), giving them the second best record in the NHL. They are also second with a +50 goal differential.
The usual suspects lead the way, but there are some surprising breakouts happening here as well. Nikita Kucherov has 25 goals and 74 points in 45 games, which has him third in the entire league in scoring.
There are still guys like Jake Guentzel (he's a Blue Jackets killer), Brandon Hagel, Anthony Cirelli, and Brayden Point. But, what has this team over the moon right now is the play of guys like Darren Raddysh, or JJ Moser.
Raddysh sits fourth on their team in scoring, with 12 goals and 42 points. He's a defenseman. And, Moser has emerged as a very good two-way player on the back-end; recently earning a long-term contract extension.
In goal, they still feature Andrei Vasilevskiy, but the hope here is that the Blue Jackets will avoid him tonight. He played and worked overtime last night in Chicago, where the Bolts took home a 2-1 win via the shootout.
If my hunch is correct, look for Jonas Johansson to get the start. He's 10-6-1 this season, with a .896% save percentage and 2.73 goals against average. He's 1-2-2 all-time against the Blue Jackets, with a paltry .871%, 4.48GAA stat line.
The Bolts are without five players, including Point; and defensemen Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh. Still, they keep winning.
No matter who is in the lineup, or in goal, this will be a really good test for the surging Blue Jackets. The Lightning are playing at the very top of their game right now.
The Good Guys
On Thursday night, the Jackets played what might have been their best defensive game in years. They bent, and the Stars got chances. But, they didn't break, and took a 1-0 shutout victory; their first blank sheet of the season.
Zach Werenski (of course) scored the lone CBJ goal, but Jet Greaves was the best player on the ice; stopping all 28 shots and stealing the win for his team. For that reason, I expect him to get the start tonight.
I wouldn't expect any other major lineup changes, with nobody set to return from injury. Though, it is possible that Rick Bowness looks to get a guy like Zach Aston-Reese back into the lineup at some point.
It's going to take another playoff type of effort from this team to win tonight. No cheating for offense. No leaving your mark in the defensive zone. Stick to the game plan and frustrate them as much as possible.
Three Keys to Success
1. The first 10. Since Tampa Bay played last night, I expect them to have more jump in the first 10 minutes. The key for the Jackets is not panicking here. Stick to the plan, and don't try to do too much early on.
2. Shoot the puck. Despite the win, the Jackets only managed 22 shots on goal Thursday. I would like to see that number up closer to 30 tonight, even though this is a tough opponent. 30 shots should mean at least 3 goals on Johansson.
3. Just win, baby. Dig deep, find a way, do whatever it takes. Sometimes, that's the only way to steal these games.
This is the second of three matchups between these two teams this season, and the final one at Nationwide. The Jackets took the first one, 3-2 at home back on October 18th. Let's hope for a repeat of that performance.
Puck drop is scheduled for just after 7:00 Eastern time from Nationwide Arena tonight. If you're heading to the Arena, or even if you're just staying at home; we hope you have a safe and enjoyable time through the ridiculous weather that is blanketing the Eastern half of the country right now. Let's go Jackets!