Match-up - Chicago Blackhawks (22-9-1) @ Columbus Blue Jackets (13-15-3) Road/Home records - 11-6-0 -------------- 6-8-2 TV - WGN, FS-O Puck drop - 7:00 p.m. ET Season series - 0-0 Last 10 - Blackhawks: 9-1-0 ------------ Blue Jackets: 7-2-1 Projected starting goalies - Corey Crawford vs Sergei Bobrovsky
Projected lines for the Blackhawks via DailyFaceoff.com:
Brandon Saad - Jonathan Toews - Marian Hossa Kris Versteeg - Brad Richards - Patrick Kane Bryan Bickell - Andrew Shaw - Patrick Sharp Dan Carcillo - Marcus Kruger - Ben Smith
Duncan Keith - Brent Seabrook Niklas Hjalmarsson - Michal Rozsival Tim Erixon - Johnny Oduya
Projected lines for the Blue Jackets:
*out 1-2 months, Sean Collins recalled
Boone Jenner* - Ryan Johansen - Jack Skille Matt Calvert - Brandon Dubinsky - Cam Atkinson Jeremy Morin - Nick Foligno - Brian Gibbons Corey Tropp - Michael Chaput - Jared Boll
Jack Johnson - David Savard Kevin Connauton - James Wisniewski Fedor Tyutin - Dalton Prout
Injured: Scott Hartnell, Artem Anisimov, Nathan Horton, Mark Letestu, Ryan Murray.
Game notes:
- Tim Erixon and Jeremy Morin will square off against their formers teams for the first time since the trade. Erixon's minutes have been limited to this point, as he's played less than 11 in both games, but he has three shots in two games while Morin has an assist and five shots in less than 25 minutes through his first two games with the Jackets. I expect both players will see more ice as they adjust to their new team/system.
- Nick Foligno has really heated up of late recording seven points (5G, 2A) and 18 shots in his last five games, four of which were wins. With the way he's playing right now his asking price is going up by the game.
- Corey Crawford is a good goaltender, but he's expected to make his first start returning from a foot injury. There may be some rust because he hasn't seen game action in a while, so the Jackets need to test him early, often and get as much traffic to the net as they can.
- Chicago has a lot more star power and depth, especially up front, than the Jackets, which means Columbus will need their stars to play very well to make up for the difference. Ryan Johansen has just eight points in his last 15 games. I've said this a few times but his production needs to improve if the Jackets want to crawl back into the playoffs.
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