It’s Wednesday which means it’s Rivalry Night on NBCSN and tonight they have decided to nationally televise the game between two bitter long standing rivals… the Blue Jackets and Sabres? This tweet sums up the extent of the Buffalo-Columbus rivalry.
Via #sources, I have received exclusive NBC communication discussing promotion of the upcoming Wednesday Night Rivalry game b/w #CBJ & #BUF pic.twitter.com/A7e0ShzGgV
— Matt (@zekebud) July 31, 2017
Ok, so maybe this isn’t the rivalry NBCSN makes it out to be, but anyway here are three things to keep an eye on tonight.
1. Sabres power play versus the Blue Jackets penalty kill
The Jackets power play has not been very good this season, but it hasn’t been anywhere near the Sabres power play.
Good.ness. Through nine games the Sabres 5-on-4 power play is MINUS THREE. Six shorties against, three for. That's putrid.
— Justin Bourne (@jtbourne) October 24, 2017
Since the 2015-16 season the Blue Jackets have scored 13 short-handed goals. Over that time Cam Atkinson has five which is tied for fourth in the NHL per HockeyReference. Matt Calvert and Boone Jenner have three apiece which both rank in the top 30.
Calvert has been the most used forward on the PK for the Jackets averaging 1:34 a game. Atkinson has seen his PK time drop to 0:38 a game after averaging a minute and a half last season and close to two minutes the year prior. With Lukas Sedlak out, the Jackets should get Atkinson back on the PK. His speed is such as asset there and against Buffalo he might be able score a shorty against their susceptible power play.
2. Rested Jackets versus tired Sabres
The Jackets last played on four days ago, Saturday against the Kings. The Sabres played last night in Buffalo. The Sabres on top of playing a back to back are a banged up team right now. They have Zach Bogosian on the IR and last night had Nathan Beaulieu scratched. Losing two top four defencemen off of any team is going to hurt them, and Buffalo did not have a strong d-core to begin with.
The Jackets need to jump out to a quick start and take advantage of some potentially tired legs. The top line with their speed should have no problem getting through this defence. When I last looked at line combs, the top line was getting opportunities with a 56.67% Corsi but were suffering from some misfortune of a 91.67 PDO. Since then they have rebounded nicely and looking at line combo stats from Corsica, the top line of Atremi Panarin, Alexander Wennberg and Atkinson has been one of the best lines in the NHL. They have improved their Corsi, now sitting at 64.1% as a unit at 5 on 5, second in the league among lines who have played at least 50 minutes together. Their PDO has bumped up to 99.6, basically league average, and the goals have started to come. They have six goals for as a line, tops on the team. Look for them to have a strong game tonight.
3. Sergei Bobrovsky to rebound
Bobrovsky has had a couple down games after starting the season on fire. His first three games you couldn’t get anything past him as he stopped 98.1% of the shots he faced. In the three games since Bobrovsky has been very beatable putting up an .849 save percentage. Buffalo has not been an offensive juggernaut ranking near the bottom of the league in goals per game. They have one line that score right now, their top line of Evander Kane, Jack Eichel and Jason Pominville. Each player on that line has 11 points, so they need to be watched closely. Outside of that trio, Buffalo lacks scoring. This is a good opportunity for Bobrovksy to have a strong game and get back on track.
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