Match-up - Arizona Coyotes (18-26-6) @ Columbus Blue Jackets (21-24-3) Road/Home records - 9-14-3 -------------- 10-12-2 TV - FS-A, FS-O Puck drop - 7:00 p.m. ET Season series - 1-0 Coyotes Last 10 - Coyotes: 2-6-2 ------------ Blue Jackets: 3-7-0 Projected starting goalies - Mike Smith vs Anton Forsberg
Projected lines for the Coyotes via DailyFaceoff.com:
Tobias Reider - Antoine Vermette - Shane Doan Lauri Korpikoski - Sam Gagner - Martin Erat Brandon McMillan - Kyle Chipchura - David Moss Lucas Lessio - Brendan Shinnimin - B.J. Crombeen
Oliver Ekman-Larsson - Zbynek Michalek Keith Yandle - Michael Stone Andrew Campbell - Connor Murphy
Projected lines for the Blue Jackets:
Nick Foligno - Ryan Johansen - Cam Atkinson Scott Hartnell - Brandon Dubinsky - Corey Tropp Matt Calvert - Artem Anisimov - Alex Wennberg Jack Skille - Mark Letestu - Jared Boll
Fedor Tyutin - Jack Johnson Kevin Connauton - James Wisniewski David Savard - Ryan Murray
Injured: Boone Jenner, Brian Gibbons, Nathan Horton, Sergei Bobrovsky.
What to watch:
1) This is going to be a very interesting matchup between the pipes. Mike Smith has a .888SV% in 34 games played this season, and has been the worst starting goaltender in hockey. On the other side of the ice we have Anton Forsberg, who has struggled in two NHL appearances (.841SV%), but has a .927SV% in the AHL this year. Based on Smith's struggles and Forsberg's confidence from stellar play in the AHL, I think the Jackets will have the advantage in goal tonight.
2) Ryan Murray played 19 minutes in his return to the lineup against Tampa Bay. Against a lesser team in Arizona, I think we could see a spike in minutes as he continues to settle in once again.
3) Arizona struggles to score goals, but they have a lot of weapons on defense. Yandle leads the team in points, while OEL is tied for the team-lead in goals, so the Jackets will have to pay special attention to those guys.
4) The team as a whole was caved in by Tampa Bay at even-strength, but Savard's 39CF% playing down in the lineup was 5% better than the team without him on the ice. He struggled mightily on the top pairing with Jack Johnson, but I think he should be able to handle softer minutes he's going to be given.
Recent posts