The Blue Jackets will try to win their fifth game in a row for the first time this season, tonight in St Louis. They will take on a Blues team that is really struggling this year.
This will be the second and final matchup of the season between these two out of conference foes. Oddly enough, the first meeting was a 3-2 Blue Jackets win back on November 1st, which was the final win of their first four-game win streak of the season.
That night, the Jackets won because Jet Greaves stole the show with 37 saves. Since then, both of these teams have struggled to find their way; though, the Blue Jackets are faring much better.
The Opponent
The Blues are currently tied for the third worst record in the NHL. They have 49 points (20-25-9) through 54 games played.
They come into tonight after a day off, with their last game being a 5-4 win over the Florida Panthers at home on Thursday night. Before that, they had lost 5 in a row.
From an outside perspective, this is a team that is struggling at both ends of the ice. They are 30th in the NHL in goals scored (134), and 29th in goals against (184). That -50 goal differential is second-worst in the league, just ahead of Vancouver (-56).
The Blues are led in scoring by Robert Thomas, who has 11 goals and 33 points in 42 games played. He is currently on IR, so offense is at an even higher premium here. They have just one other player with 30 or more points (Pavel Buchnevich, 9-21-30), then only four with 20 ore more.
Also missing from the St Louis lineup are forwards Dylan Holloway and Pius Suter. With all of these talented guys out, the Blue Jackets will have no excuses for any struggles in their defensive end. I expect them to be able to shut this team down tonight.
Even with that said, the Blues have a serviceable enough team. There are a lot of veterans in this group, especially on the blue line. As the Panthers found out two nights ago, this is still the NHL, and this is a team that can sneak up on you and win a game on any given night.
In goal, they have split starts between Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer. Hofer got the start in the first matchup between these clubs back in Novmeber, stopping 32 of 35 shots.
He got the start against the Panthers two nights ago, so it sounds like Binnington will have the crease tonight. He's 8-15-6 this season, with a .867% save percentage, 3.59 goals against average, and 1 shutout.
Against the Eastern Conference, however, he's a bit of a beast. He's 3-2-0 against the Blue Jackets in his career, with the 5th best save percentage he has against any team (.921%), and a 2.04GAA.
The Good Guys
The Jackets won in Chicago last night, despite the fact that they didn't play all that well. Elvis Merzlikins stood tall and held off a late Blackhawks rally, helping his team to two points.
Charlie Coyle had a big night, with 3 goals and 1 assist; while Zach Werenski picked up two more helpers. He continues to lead the team in scoring by a wide margin, with 59 points in 49 games. That's 14 more than Kirill Marchenko, who sits in second place.
We will probably have to wait until pregame skate to see if there will be any lineup changes. But, I would expect to see one change, with Jet Greaves likely starting in goal due to the back-to-back start.
Three Keys to Success
1. Bore the crowd to death. The Blues have really struggled to score goals this year. The Jackets need to stay above the puck, stick to their system, and take their offense completely away. That may start with shutting down Jordan Kyrou, who has 7 points in his last 5 games.
2. Strike when the chance comes. Part of being in that structure is not cheating for offense. So, the best way to score goals will be taking advantage of a mistake by the other team. Charlie Coyle did that a couple of times last night, and it led them to victory.
3. Get in Binnington's grill. Jordan Binnington is a guy that loves to get involved in the emotional side of the game. At every chance tonight, the Jackets should be in his face. Give him an extra tap on the pads. Stand atop his crease. Get him off of his game early.
This one is in the Central time zone, but we have been blessed with a normal start time tonight. Puck drop is scheduled for just after 7:00 Eastern. Let's go Jackets!