Game #58 preview, Blue Jackets season may be on the line tonight against the Islanders

For the first time in 24 days, the Blue Jackets will play at home. Tonight, the host the New York Islanders at Nationwide, in what has likely become an absolute must-win game if they want to keep their playoff dreams alive.

With Thursday night's loss in Boston-coupled with an Islanders win in Montreal-the Blue Jackets sit 6 points behind the Isles for third in the Metropolitan Division. Tonight is a 4-point game, and both teams should be desperate to win.

Whatever the Jackets have in reserve will need to be deployed tonight. There can be no excuses coming out of this game, win or lose. I'm sure the other team feels the exact same way.

The Opponent

The Islanders got a quick reset this year because they won the draft lottery. This is a team that looked to be heading into a long, messy rebuild. Instead, they landed a generational talent on defense, and he's looked incredible for them so far.

That player is Matthew Schaefer, who sits tied for second on the team in scoring with 41 points in 59 games. On Thursday night, he scored twice, setting the NHL record for goals by a teenaged rookie defenseman (18).

Mathew Barzal (17-35-52) leads the team in scoring, but the real star up front is Bo Horvat. He's tied with Schaefer at 41 points (24 goals), but has only played in 45 games this season.

The Isles really shine because of their system, which relies heavily on defensive structure to break up scoring chances. If they do have any cracks appear, they are quickly filled by star goaltender Ilya Sorokin-who will get the start tonight.

That's bad news. Sorokin is 6-0-3 all-time against the Blue Jackets, with a .918% save percentage, 2.19 goals against average, and 1 shutout.

This is a team that has no problem slowing the game down, relying on their defense and goaltending; and winning a 1-0 or 2-1 game. They have just enough skill to make you pay at the other end with any opening, so it's a system that works very effectively.

It's been effective enough to earn them 71 points in 59 games (33-21-5). They have won their last three games in a row. This is not going to be an easy matchup for the Blue Jackets.

The Good Guys

The Jackets lost for the first time in over a month on Thursday, dropping a 4-2 decision in Boston. I thought they played pretty well overall. In fact, that kind of effort would win on most nights. But, they ran into a hot goaltender.

That's the fear again tonight. The Islanders are going to play a similar game to the one the Bruins played on Thursday, so the main focus should be finding offense on any chance they can get.

There's just one issue: arguably their most skilled player is going to be a healthy scratch tonight.

Danton Heinen will play on the second line alongside Boone Jenner and Sean Monahan. I have some thoughts here, but I'll keep it to this: if the Jackets lose tonight, the 5th Line is going to grill this decision. And, rightfully so.

Nothing against Heinen, who is a veteran of almost 600 career games. But, this team isn't going to win games based on his offensive abilities. It's a head scratcher to bench a guy like Kent Johnson in such a meaningful game, to say the least.

Jet Greaves will get the nod in goal, which definitely makes sense. I didn't think Elvis Merzlikins looked very sharp on Thursday, so it's smart to go back to the other guy in this one.

Three Keys to Success

1. Win the middle. The Jackets need to dominate the middle of the ice tonight. That's where this game is going to be won or lost, in my opinion. If you can get there, you will have a better chance of scoring.

2. Bring some snarl. The last time these two teams met, all heck broke loose after Mason Marchment tripped Matthew Schaefer at center ice. That resulted in the Islanders losing star center Mat Barzal-and, ultimately, the game. The Jackets would be wise to bring some emotion into this one.

3. Patience. This is the kind of game that will test the patience of this team. The Islanders will have no problem sitting back and waiting for a mistake. The Blue Jackets have to do exactly the same, and avoid making mistakes if they want to win.

This is the third of four meetings between these two teams this season, with the home team winning each of the first two. It's an early puck drop at Nationwide, scheduled for just after 6:00 Eastern. Let's go Jackets!