The Blue Jackets arguably had their most important win of the season Monday night. Facing an NHL-leading Washington Capitals team, Columbus was able to shrug off the scoring woes that had plagued their season to score five goals (tying the season high for the team).
Tonight, the Blue Jackets look to keep that positive momentum as they face off against the Metropolitan division rival Pittsburgh Penguins.
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17–10–4 (38 points) ROSTER / SCHEDULE |
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7 P.M. – THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12 PPG PAINTS ARENA PITTSBURGH, PENN. |
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FOX SPORTS OHIO FOX SPORTS GO |
There is an added incentive for the Blue Jackets for this game beyond the division match-up: retribution. Columbus undoubtedly remembers their second came of the year in which they were trounced by the Penguins in Elvis Merzlikins' NHL debut. The Blue Jackets will look to rectify that loss with a convincing win.
The Pittsburgh Penguins roster is riddled with injuries. Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang, Nick Bjugstad, and Patric Hornqvist (among others) are all sidelined with injuries. While the injuries present an opportunity on which the Blue Jackets can capitalize, Pittsburgh has continued to produce with top players out of the lineup.
Since Crosby's injury on Nov. 16, the Penguins are 6-3-2, an impressive performance without the team's captain. The Penguins will remain a challenge for an inconsistent Blue Jacket team looking to continue the play from Monday's game and redress the 7-2 loss from earlier this season.
Here's a look at tonight's projected lines for the Blue Jackets:
Forwards
Nyquist–Texier–Atkinson
Foligno–Jenner–Anderson
Milano–Dubois–Bjorkstrand
Wennberg–Nash–Robinson
Defenseman
Kukan–Jones
Murray–Savard
Gavrikov–Peeke
Projected starter: Korpisalo
Scratches: Harrington
Storylines
- CAM HEATING UP? Cam Atkinson scored two goals in Monday's 5-2 defeat of the Washington Capitals, after starting the season at an uncharacteristic, slow-scoring pace. hile one of those goals was an empty netter, much can be said about any goal's ability to boost the confidence of the scorer, something that may have been lacking for Atkinson so far this season. He has also been known to score in streaks, so perhaps this momentum continues tonight.
- FINDING LINES. After a consistent rotation of line combinations in the first months of the season, the Blue Jackets appear to be finding lines that they like as they've had a relatively same lineup for about a week now. Now, the goal will be to build chemistry to increase the so-far-ineffective offense for the Columbus club.
- IF OR WENN-BERG? After a hot start to the season, Alexander Wennberg has cooled off tremendously. The Swedish center only has four points in his last 16 games, all assists. The only circumstance keeping Wennberg in the lineup is Emil Bemstrom's injury, so if he hopes to avoid a healthy scratch upon Bemstrom's return, he must produce in the coming games. However, this may be a challenge as he has been demoted to limited ice-time and a role as a winger on the fourth line.
