The holiday freeze is over and done with. NHL hockey is back and the Blue Jackets get to face a familiar opponent in their first game back from the imposed break.
They'll head to Pittsburgh and PPG Paints Arena to see if they can even the season series against the Penguins.
What a difference a week makes as both teams will look different in their first game back. The Penguins will be without defensemen Kris Letang and the Blue Jackets will be without Alexander Wennberg and Cam Atkinson.
While the Penguins still have firepower in the lineup, the Blue Jackets will be hoping that multiple players can step up to fill the voids left by injuries.
VIDEO: John Tortorella
Blue Jackets Projected Lineup
| # | Player | Stats | # | Player | Stats | # | Player | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Artemi Panarin | 37 GP, 8-23-31 | 18 | Pierre-Luc Dubois | 37 GP, 8-9-17 | 77 | Josh Anderson | 35 GP, 13-8-21 |
| 38 | Boone Jenner | 30 GP, 3-7-10 | 71 | Nick Foligno | 37 GP, 7-6-13 | 28 | Oliver Bjorkstrand | 37 GP, 6-17-23 |
| 11 | Matt Calvert | 25 GP, 4-7-11 | 45 | Lukas Sedlak | 24 GP, 4-1-5 | 22 | Sonny Milano | 28 GP, 5-5-10 |
| 64 | Tyler Motte | 20 GP, 3-1-4 | 14 | Jordan Schroeder | 9 GP, 0-0-0 | 37 | Markus Hannikainen | 18 GP, 2-2-4 |
| # | Player | Stats | # | Player | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 65 | Markus Nutivaara | 30 GP, 2-10-12 | 3 | Seth Jones | 37 GP, 7-14-21 |
| 7 | Jack Johnson | 37 GP, 2-5-7 | 58 | David Savard | 36 GP, 2-5-7 |
| 4 | Scott Harrington | 15 GP, 1-1-2 | 53 | Gabriel Carlsson | 13 GP, 0-2-2 |
| # | Player | GS | W-L-OL | GAA | SV% | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 72 | Sergei Bobrovsky | 30 | 18-10-2 | 2.36 | .922 | 4 |
| 70 | Joonas Korpisalo | 7 | 4-3-0 | 2.84 | .911 | 0 |
Three Storylines
- Ryan Reaves, Destroyer Of Worlds: The Blue Jackets got into a physical battle with the Pittsburgh Penguins in their last matchup and while they could keep up, it eventually put them behind and chasing the game for large portions. Ryan Reaves was brought in specifically for these types of matchups, let him beat up on you, let him take penalties and don't retaliate. The Blue Jackets are a small-sized roster at this point, trying to beat them physically won't go well.
- Finding the Advantage: The Penguins will be without Justin Schultz and Kris Letang, two large pieces of their backend. The players replacing them are slow and plodding making the Blue Jackets lineup perfect for matchups. The Penguins will have the last change but it won't matter when speed is all throughout Columbus' lineup. I would anticipate a few breakaways.
- Surviving: Without many of their top players, the Blue Jackets need someone, anyone to step up and take control of the team offensively. The first line is going to play twenty minutes a night but after that, a player or two will need to come alive. Simply, they're going to need to survive.
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