Carolina Hurricanes at Columbus Blue Jackets
The Hurricanes are coming off a game where they laid the wood to the Leafs 6-1, giving the ‘Canes five wins in a row to put them in the thick of the playoff race in the East. Again, Anton Khudobin was stellar in net, saving 25 of 26 shots, though I don’t expect him to get the start again tonight. Last night did mark the sixth time in their last 10 games that the Hurricanes held the opposition to fewer than 30 shots, something that had been a big problem for them for years now.
Columbus has had a lot of time off, so they should be rested and ready for tonight’s game. A regulation win puts them within a handful of points of the final playoff spot, a regulation loss would leave them six points back of Detroit and behind a lot of teams. You don’t like to look at games in the middle of January and say they are “must-win” games, but much like the Rangers game, this is what’s called a “schedule win,” and considering it’s a divisional opponent also in the thick of the playoff race, this is a crucial game for Columbus to not give away.
There has been only one game between these two teams so far this year and it was just before Christmas, a 4-3 Columbus win in Carolina. The Jackets were slightly out-played that game, but not one that would scream “they didn’t deserve to win that game at all.” Columbus would do well to tighten down defensively a bit against a team that has someone like Jeff Skinner on a roll; the Jackets have given up 30+ shots in 12 of their last 14 games, including an average of 38 shots against in their last three.
I still think Columbus takes this game in the end, but there could be enough goals to make me wary of whoever starts in net. I’ll pick a few skaters, but that’s about it.
|
Top RW Value |
Top LW Value |
Top C Value |
Top D Value |
Bargain Bin |
|
(CBJ) $8300 |
(CBJ) $7700 |
Mark Letestu $5500 |
James Wisniewski $9300 |
(CAR) $5450 |
