The Columbus Blue Jackets kick off March Madness with a road game against the Chicago Blackhawks in their second and final meeting of the season. Puckdrop is at 8pm.
The Blackhawks and Blue Jackets sit at the bottom of the conference standings, where the Hawks are last in the league. Chicago is looking to get their second straight first overall pick in the 2024 Draft.
They are locking veterans up for big money short term deals including former captain Nick Foligno.
Both terms are selling. Columbus is off back to back losses, yet Alex Nyalnder got hit first points with the crew. Wins are a must before more selling off continues. 6 days til deadline.
Elvis v Soderblom
Projected Lineups
Chicago Blackhawks
Ryan Donato -- Connor Bedard -- Phillip Kurashev Colin Blackwell -- Jason Dickinson -- Joey Anderson Nick Foligno -- Tyler Johnson -- Taylor Raddysh Boris Katchouk -- Anthony Beauvillier -- Reese Johnson
Alex Vlasic -- Seth Jones Kevin Korchinski -- Jaycob Megna Isaak Phillips -- Louis Crevier
Arvid Soderblom Petr Mrazek
Scratched: Zach Sanford, Jarred Tinordi, MacKenzie Entwistle
Injured: Andreas Athanasiou (groin), Connor Murphy (lower body)
Columbus Blue Jackets
Johnny Gaudreau -- Boone Jenner -- Jack Roslovic Yegor Chinakhov -- Dmitri Voronkov -- Kirill Marchenko Alexandre Texier -- Cole Sillinger -- Alex Nylander Justin Danforth -- Sean Kuraly -- Mathieu Olivier
Zach Werenski -- Adam Boqvist Ivan Provorov -- Damon Severson Jake Bean -- Erik Gudbranson
Elvis Merzlikins Daniil Tarasov
Scratched: Andrew Peeke
Injured: Adam Fantilli (calf), Patrik Laine (upper body), Kent Johnson (upper body)
Players to Watch
Chicago — Seth Jones — the former Blue Jacket. Easy choice.
Columbus — Zach Werenski — the former Jones’ defense partner
Predicted Final Score
CHI - 2
CBJ - 3