The Blue Jackets will put their 8-game points streak on the line tonight against the Metropolitan Division leading Carolina Hurricanes. This one is at home, and should be an interesting gauge for where the Blue Jackets really stand.
The Jackets are playing at Nationwide for the first time in 8 days. They come home with good news: they are right in the playoff battle after picking up 5 of a possible 6 points on their three game road trip.
Tonight they'll face one of their biggest tasks of the season: slowing down the Carolina Hurricanes. The Canes are the class of the Metro this year, comfortably leading the division by 9 points.
The Opponent
The Canes are right where you would expect them to be. They are 42-18-6 (90 points), which includes a 7-3-0 record in their last 10 games. They are 5th in the league in goals for (229) and 6th in the league in goals against (189).
The only teams in the league with a better goal differential are the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars. Where the Canes are different is in their play style. Under Rod Brind'Amour, they play a swarming, hard working style that relies on puck management and forechecking.
The Canes lead the league with a 59.1% Corsi rating, a full 3% better than the second place Avalanche. What that tells us is that this team has the puck an awful lot. They don't rely on star talent to win games, they play a tight system that is very effective.
If that sounds a lot like the Blue Jackets, that makes sense. Most of the Carolina team was assembled under Don Waddell's management, including hiring Brind'Amour as head coach there. This game should be a good way for the Jackets to measure where they are in their build.
Up front, the Canes get pretty balanced scoring. Sebastian Aho is one of the more underrated superstars in the NHL, and he leads the way with 68 points (24 goals) in 66 games. Behind him is Andrei Svechnikov, with 58 points (24 goals).
Seth Jarvis leads the team in goals with 28 on the season, along with 53 points in just 58 games. We also can't forget big ticket UFA signing Nikolai Ehlers, who is sitting at 52 points.
In goal, the Canes have one of the NHL's better stories this season. Waiver pickup Brandon Bussi has been outstanding, with a 25-5-1 record coming into tonight. He has a 2.37 goals against average and .899% save percentage, along with 2 shutouts.
It seems like they have found the right goaltender for their system. Bussi was named the second star of the game in the first (only) matchup between these two teams this season, making 23 saves in a 4-1 win in Raleigh.
The Good Guys
Almost everything is coming up Blue Jackets lately. They have points in 8 straight games, and a 5-1-4 record in their last 10 games. That has them tantalizingly close to a playoff spot, just one point behind the Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings.
The only bad thing is, it seems like they don't get any help from around the league. In very CBJ fashion, on nights they win, every team they are chasing seems to get points. But, on the other side of things, on nights they lose, the teams they are chasing lose. I don't get it.
Still, the team controls their own playoff destiny with 16 games left. If you had told any Blue Jackets fan that even two months ago, you might have been laughed at.
They just need to keep taking care of their own business, and everything should fall right into place. So, even though they face an extremely difficult opponent tonight, they have to try to find a way to get points. No excuses.
The Jackets may see the return of Erik Gudbranson, who has been out with an undisclosed upper-body injury. That would be a big boost on defense, where the team could always use his size and composure.
Three Keys to Success
1. Quick outs. The Hurricanes are going to want to get their forecheck going as often as possible. The key to beating them is not allowing them to pin you into your own end for long stretches of time. Getting out of the zone quick and clean is probably the biggest thing the Jackets need to do tonight.
2. Crash the Bus early. I was in the building for the only previous matchup between these two teams this season. The Jackets were the better team for the first part of that game, but they could not solve Brandon Bussi and score goals. They have to find a way to do that tonight.
3. Buy a power-play goal. Either buy a power-play and score a goal, or win a power-play and buy a goal. Whatever you want to call it, I would love to see the Blue Jackets get rewarded for their hard work at 5 on 5, with a man advantage goal.
Puck drop is scheduled for just after 7:00 Eastern time from Nationwide Arena, with a massive 2 points on the line. Let's go Jackets!