The Blue Jackets will look to defend their newly acquired playoff spot for the first time tonight, taking on the Seattle Kraken at Nationwide Arena. They will need to be sharp in what could be a trap game against an out of conference opponent.
The Jackets leapfrogged into third place in the Metropolitan Division with a win on Thursday night, combined with a New York Islanders loss in regulation. They come into tonight's game having earned points in 11 straight games, a streak that goes back to their second game out of the Olympic break.
They take on a Seattle team that is playing in a similar battle in the Western Conference. The Kraken sit just outside of the final wild card spot in the West, so they will be looking to scrap for points tonight as well.
The Opponent
There are a lot of similarities with the Kraken and last year's Blue Jackets. Selected by many to be one of the bottom-feeding teams in the NHL, they have scratched, clawed, and hung in the playoff race all season long.
They come into tonight's game with a 31-28-9 record (71 points), which has them just one point behind the last wild card spot. Better yet, their division is bad enough that they could conceivably still finish in a divisional spot, despite owning a record that would have them 13 points out in the East.
With all of that aside, the Kraken present a classic trap game for the Blue Jackets. After an emotional divisional win on Thursday, and with arguably their biggest game of the season coming tomorrow; they can ill afford to overlook this team.
That's because the Kraken just continue to scrap. They don't get a lot of offense, but they find varieties of ways to win hockey games, and as I mentioned at the top: this one is huge for them.
Up front, they are led in scoring by Jordan Eberle, who has 49 points (22 goals) in 66 games. That's the fourth-lowest total to lead a team in the league, with every team below the Kraken being well outside of the playoff race.
He's joined by Matty Beniers, who has 44 points, Chandler Stephenson (41) and Vince Dunn (40). Deadline acquisition Bobby McMann has come in red hot, scoring 4 goals and 6 points in 4 games-giving him 23 goals on the season and making him their new team leader in that category.
The main reason for their success is their defensive game. The Kraken have only given up 204 goals this year, which is 13th-fewest in the league. That's due in part because of the resurgence of both of their goaltenders, Joey Daccord and Philip Grubauer.
No matter who is in goal tonight, they will not be easy to score against. Expect low event hockey, as the Blue Jackets have learned to defend a lot better over the last couple of months. That tracks for these two teams anyways. Their first matchup of the season was a 2-1 CBJ win in a shootout in Seattle, back on November 11th.
The Good Guys
The Jackets have become the talk of the NHL with their run since hiring Rick Bowness in early January. They have rocketed up the standings and now find themselves in third place in the Metropolitan Division-just one point behind the Penguins for second.
This team is clicking on all cylinders right now. It doesn't seem to matter who the opponent is or what the circumstances are. They just keep going to work, staying within their system and playing very good hockey on each and every shift.
With the way they are rolling, there is no need to change anything. So, expect the same lineup tonight, that they played with on Thursday, but with one exception: Elvis Merzlikins in goal. Bowness will use him tonight, to keep Jet Greaves fresh for the game on Long Island tomorrow night.
Three Keys to Success
1. Play CBJ hockey. Just keep playing the way you have. That's it. Don't come down to the Kraken's level. Don't try to do too much. Keep the system rolling and work hard.
2. Special teams. For as good as they defend, the Kraken have a terrible penalty kill. They sit 31st in the league with just a 73% PK rate. If the Jackets get extra man chances, they need to bury them.
3. Don't overlook this opponent. If you look at the stats sheet, this game is an easy win. But games aren't played on stats sheets, and the Jackets need to show up ready for a hard contest against a team fighting for their playoff lives.
Tonight's game is an early start, scheduled for just after 5:00 Eastern time from Nationwide Arena. That's a nice early time for game #69, before they head out on the road to Long Island. Let's go Jackets!