The Columbus Blue Jackets return home from a successful road trip to find themselves in a position they've seldom been in throughout their history as a franchise – as the target of a so-called 'revenge game' against a contender.
Last time they faced the Washington Capitals – who beat Columbus en route to last year's Stanley Cup title – they won a thriller in overtime, and mocked star center Evgeny Kuznetsov's signature celebration.
Silver lining for Capitals fans they still got to see Evgeny Kuznetsov's celebration tonight! #CBJ pic.twitter.com/ijUtIQInbi
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) January 13, 2019
Washington didn't take kindly to it, and should come out with some fire in an attempt to get their revenge tonight.
PROJECTED LINES:
Panarin – Dubois – Atkinson
Duclair – Wennberg – Bjorkstrand
Foligno – Jenner – Anderson
Hannikainen – Sedlak – Nash
DEFENSEMEN:
Murray – Jones
Werenski – Savard
Harrington – Nutivaara
GOALTENDER:
Bobrovsky
STORYLINES:
- Cam Atkinson now has 31 goals this season – putting him on pace to smash his own career high of 35 as well as Rick Nash's single-season franchise mark of 41. Can he keep piling onto his total tonight?
- The Blue Jackets haven't fared well at home this season in big games – in fact, they're somehow just 2-5-1 in sellouts – can they right the ship tonight?
- A five-game losing streak seemingly exposed a lot of issues for Columbus, but they've answered strong, going on a three-game road winning streak. That winning streak is still active – and tonight's game will go a long way towards showing if they've truly figured things out.
