The Blue Jackets will finally get the chance to avenge their opening night loss to the Nashville Predators, tonight at Nationwide. It's the second and final matchup between these two former divisional foes this season.
After an embarrassing win last night (yes, you read that correctly), the Jackets have another chance to prove they are still in the playoff race. Despite owning a 4-0 lead heading into the third period at Madison Square Garden, it took overtime for the Jackets to beat the lowly New York Rangers.
Tonight, they return home to face a Predators team that has also been trying to scratch and claw their way into a playoff spot.
The Opponent
After a slow start to the season that left them well out of the race, the Predators seemed to be finding their way, at least until the last few weeks. They were 10-4-0 in December, before cooling off a little bit in January, then again in February, and losing their first game to start the month of March.
Overall, they are 27-25-8 (62 points), just four points back of the Edmonton Oilers for the final wild card spot in the west-and with a game in hand. But, they have won just three of their last 10 games, and are considered by many pundits to be entering a rebuild, with a new GM arriving at some point.
The Predators played at home last night, losing a 4-2 contest to the Detroit Red Wings. Juuse Saros made 27 saves in a losing cause, which means the Blue Jackets might be fortunate enough to avoid him tonight. In their first meeting (opening night in Nashville), Saros made 38 saves in the 2-1 Preds win, earning first star honors.
From a roster construction perspective, this is a very similar team to our own Blue Jackets. They are led from the back-end, with Roman Josi being one of the premier offensive defensemen in the game.
Up front, they have a good mix of veteran forwards with two-way prowess. Ryan O'Reilly leads the team in scoring with 58 points in 60 games, while Steven Stamkos continues to fill the net. He has 30 goals to lead the way in that regard.
The issue in Nashville hasn't as much been scoring (their offense ranks 22nd in the league). It's been keeping pucks out of their net. They are 30th in the league in that department, and things are a lot worse when Saros isn't in the crease. Fingers crossed, he won't be tonight.
The Good Guys
Where do we even begin here? The Blue Jackets showed us both Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde last night in New York. They stormed out to a 4-0 lead that never really looked to be in danger through 40 minutes.
Then, they threw it all away with one of the worst third periods they have played all season. Which says a lot, considering the fact that they fired their head coach, at least in part based on recurring third period collapses.
All I can say is, thank goodness they eked out the win. Otherwise, this would be a much darker day around this team. Still, I hope they come into this one in a bad mood. They shouldn't be happy with last night's win.
We will have to wait until the pregame skate to get a full idea of the lineup. Zach Werenski missed that game due to illness, but there is reportedly a chance that he could play tonight. I would also expect to see Kent Johnson make his return, after serving as a healthy scratch for the last two games.
In goal, expect Jet Greaves to get the start on the second half of the back-to-back. We'll update the article as lineups become available.
Three Keys to Success
1. Play 60 minutes, not 40. Good grief, they made things hard on themselves last night. If they find themselves ahead, they need to find a way to lock the game down in the third.
2. Secondary offense. The Jackets poured 5 goals into the net last night. That's because they got a goal from their second and third line. Now, they need to find some kind of consistency with it.
3. Find a way. Look, the Rangers game was ugly, but two points is two points. Do it again tonight. Find a way.
Puck drop is scheduled for just after 7:00 Eastern time from Nationwide Arena. Let's go Jackets!