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.
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.