After the Blue Jackets 4-2 win Monday night, the Blue Jackets will look to make it two wins in two nights to start their Western road trip against the Anaheim Ducks.
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| ANAHEIM DUCKS |
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17–20–5 (39 points) ROSTER / SCHEDULE |
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10 P.M. – TUESDAY, JANUARY 7th HONDA CENTER ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA |
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FOX SPORTS OHIO FOX SPORTS GO |
The Anaheim Ducks currently sit at second to last both in the Pacific Division and the Western Conference. One of their biggest challenges on the season has been goal-scoring, averaging only 2.52 goals per game, good for second to last in the NHL.
This trend is good news for the Blue Jackets who have been consistently strong on defense and have had increasing success in the goaltending department.
The Blue Jackets and Ducks have met once so far this season on October 11th, Anaheim winning the early-season match-up 2-1.
Here's a look at tonight's projected lines for the Blue Jackets:
Forwards
Nyquist–Dubois–Milano
Foligno–Jenner–Gerbe
Bemstrom–Wennberg–Stenlund
Robinson–Nash–Lilja
Defenseman
Werenski–Jones
Gavrikov–Savard
Nutivaara–Harrington
Projected Starter: Merzlikins
Storylines
- BEMSTROM AND NUTIVAARA BACK. Markus Nutivaara and Emil Bemstrom returned to the lineup last night in the Blue Jackets game against the Los Angeles Kings. It was Nutivaara's first game since November 5th and Bemstrom's since December 7th. The two players will look to continue their adjustment to NHL speed in tonight's match-up.
- ELVIS HOT STREAK. Elvis Merzlikins is 3-1 in four straight starts after taking over the number one goaltending spot with Joonas Korpisalo's injury. The Latvian goaltender is handling his first streak of games well and will look to continue the workload with the rest of the Western road trip.
- ROAD WARRIORS. The Blue Jackets have a great opportunity on the Western road trip to bank points against some struggling teams. They were able to do so last night against the Kings and look to capitalize on a similar opportunity against a down Ducks team.
