Game Preview: Columbus Heads Into Clash With The Chicago Blackhawks Ahead Of Christmas BreakJamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS 7–20–4 (18 points;. 290%)ROSTER / SCHEDULE 8:30 P. M. – Friday, December 23UNITED CENTER CHICAGO, IL BALLY SPORTS OHIOESPN+ (Out of Market) It's a second consecutive matchup between two NHL bottom-feeders on Friday night when the Columbus Blue Jackets meet the Chicago Blackhawks before the NHL's much-needed three-day Christmas Break from Dec. 24 through Dec. 26. Entering Friday's contest at the United Center, Columbus looks to shake their second five-game losing streak this season, which ties a season-long. The Blue Jackets fell to the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-3, on Tuesday at Wells Fargo Center after winning the previous two matchups at Nationwide Arena.
Game Preview: Columbus Blue Jackets Vs. Chicago BlackhawksJonathan Daniel/Getty ImagesWill we see a change in fortunes, now that the CBJ (Columbus Blue Jackets) are back in their "friendly confines", against the 'Hawks' (Chicago Blackhawks)? After all, the 'Hawks are a team embarking on an eight-game road swing, which will involve going from the Midwest (back to back games — today, vs. the CBJ, tomorrow, vs. the Red Wings, in Detroit) to Northwest Canada, then, to the East Coast. Gotta love that Olympic year compressed schedule, eh? The hope is that, with the 'Hawks embarking on a brutal road swing, that the CBJ can catch them at the inception of it, not to mention the hope that the 'Hawks might be looking ahead to tomorrow's battle with the Red Wings.
Then again, the same can be said about Huet — he might be the ultimate "Dow Jones-er". The difference here, though, will be the defenses which play in front of each respective goalie. For that reason... Edge: BlackhawksSPECIAL TEAMS The Blackhawks are simply stellar in this area. Forget special, the operative word is stellar, when describing their special teams. (Another) memo to CBJ Brass: Get some video on this team as to how it's really done. Then again, get some talent similar to this team's. The "Hawks rank fifth in both the Power Play (PP) and Penalty Kill (PK). The CBJ are sixth on the PP and 12th on the PK.
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In short, CBJ-nation, THIS is what "built for the playoffs" really means. They lead the NHL in goals against average, a 2. 05 GAA/game. They lead the league in blocked shots, also. The CBJ aren't exactly drawing comparisons to the Philly Flyer's defense of the 70s, nor the NJ Devil's defense of the 90s. They're ranked 26th overall, giving up 3. 06 goals per game. The CBJ can try to shut down the 'Hawks top line — Kane, Toews and Hossa — but, the 'Hawks talent, and their remaining three lines, come at you in waves. The only hope then is that the rest of the 'Hawks don't beat them. The other key factor, to give the CBJ a chance, will be to try to dictate the pace and flow of this game.
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Prediction for Chicago Blackhawks vs Columbus Blue Jackets
Merzlikins did not make the trip to Chicago. New First Line Chemistry Over the past two games, we've seen Kent Johnson (16 points — eight goals, eight assists) center the top line with leading-scorer Johnny Gaudreau (34— points, 10 goals, 24 assists) and Patrik Laine (16 points — nine goals, seven assists), while second-leading point-scorer Boone Jenner (22 points — 11 goals, 11 assists) recovers from a broken thumb.
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68 GAA,. 864 SV%) is recovering from an illness that kept him out of Tuesday's planned start against the Flyers. Tarasov has made four consecutive starts (0-4-0, 3. 07 GAA,. 913 SV%) but has played very well for the most part. Most notably in a 2-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on Dec. 19 in which his GSAx was 2. 96 per MoneyPuck. Korpisalo was activated off injured reserve on Thursday and Jet Greaves was sent back to Cleveland.
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Stated another way: "Avoid the track meet". Edge: Blackhawks (Huge)GOALTENDING If the Blackhawks have an Achilles heel, then goaltending, and specifically Cristobal Huet, is it. Personally, it's a bit of a surprise, with tomorrow nationally-televised game against the Red Wings, that Huet, rather than backup goaltender Antti Niemi, is scheduled to start against the CBJ. Then again, this might be the 'Hawks signal, much like the rest of the league, that they are playing their backup goalie (Huet) today, and resting Niemi for a tougher opponent, against the CBJ. In a word, Ouch! Steve Mason returns in net for the CBJ. Mason's done generally well against the 'Hawks, most recently, that 11-round epic battle, that resulted in a shootout loss for the CBJ, though no fault of Mason's. It will be interesting to see which Mason shows up — the rookie year, and, in minor spurts, 'Stonewall' Steve Mason, or the inconsistent, sophomore jinx-riddled Steve Mason.
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Chicago Blackhawks - Columbus Blue Jackets 23.12.2022
18. As the trade deadline grows closer, speculation about where either could end up should only intensify as general manager Kyle Davidson continues to shape the Hawks' rebuild for the future. It will be only the second opportunity for Blue Jackets fans to see another familiar face in Seth Jones since he left for the Hawks. While Jones faced his former club last season in Chicago when the two teams met on Feb. 17—a 7-4 Blue Jackets win—he missed the contest in Columbus on Jan. 11—a 4-2 Blue Jackets loss—due to a positive COVID test.
Ken Hitchcock has made (yet) another shakeup in the CBJ's lines: This one has Rick Nash at Right Wing (RW), vs. his usual LW position. They will also have Antoine Vermette at Center and RJ Umberger at LW. Oh, and Juice (Kristian Huselius) has been demoted to the 3rd line — 30 games too late, but hey, aren't you glad it finally happened now that it's too late to salvage the season? Those shakeups must have the 'Hawks shaking in their skates right now, don't you think? Edge: Blackhawks (Huge)DEFENSE The following statistic, more so than the 'Hawks prolific offense, might be why they lead the NHL in total points, not to mention being primed for playoff success.
Did you hear that, CBJ brass, in Year NINE? The Jackets? They now struggle, offensively, since they've decided to buy in — 35 games into the season, mind you — to the tight checking, disciplined... otherwise known as Yawnfest 2010. Memo to CBJ Brass: Hey, it's post-lockout, the rest of the league — wait, the successful teams don't employ this system. Of course, I'll hear the following: Well, the NJ Devils employ this system, and look how well they're doing.
The Blackhawks have scored 155 goals so far this season. Patick Kane leads the way with 52 points, followed by Defensemen Duncan Keith, with 43 points — my, how great would it be to have a Blue Jacket blueliner to register 43 points, for a season, let alone barely at the halfway point, in the season? Nine Blackhawk players have 20 or more points. This is known in the NHL lexicon as secondary scoring.
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Game Preview: Columbus Heads Into Clash With The
To be fair, they weren't expected to contend as they are in the middle of a full-on rebuild. They're hot on the heels for the Conner Bedard sweepstakes, right there with Columbus, as Chicago comes in at the very bottom of the NHL standings, with the Jackets just four points ahead. Chicago has been outscored 42-18 in their last 10 games, and are 1-9-0 in that stretch. Former Blue Jacket, Max Domi (21 points — 10 goals, 11 assists), found a home with the Blackhawks over the off-season on a one-year, $3 million deal. There's a good chance he could be flipped at the trade deadline for the second consecutive season. He's currently leading the Blackhawks with 10 goals on the season as he's been getting first-line minutes alongside Patrik Kane (22 points — four goals, 18 assists), who leads the Hawks in points and assists. Kane and Jonathan Toews (17 points — 10 goals, seven assists) most recently played in their 1, 000th career game together on Sunday, Dec.
The other side of it is the 'Hawks might be trying to make a statement — strike the fire early. Then, there's Thursday night's outcome, a game in which the score — a 3-0 loss — wasn't indicative of how much of a blowout loss that should have been. Thank you Mathieu Garon, for keeping the score within single digits. With that, onto the preview:OFFENSE As is often suggested in hair care maintenance, "Rinse and Repeat", today's analysis will be quite repetitive (from Thursday's pre-game analysis): The 'Hawks trump, and by quite a large margin, the CBJ in each and every category.
Game Preview: Columbus Blue Jackets Vs. Chicago
81 15. 1% POWER PLAY 21. 9% 77. 8% PENALTY KILL 70. 8% 29. 4 SHOTS FOR 26. 4 35. 5 SHOTS AGAINST 33. 5 45. 30 CF% (EVEN) 42. 00% 49. 9% FACEOFF% 56. 6% PROJECTIONS ODDS OF CBJ WIN PER MONEYPUCK 52. 3% ODDS OF CBJ WIN PER THE 538 47% CAESAR'S SPORTSBOOK BETTING CHI -115 BLACKHAWKS: LAST THREE GAMES FRI, 12/16 @ WILD L, 4-1 SUN, 12/18 vs RANGERS L, 7-1 WED, 12/21 vs PREDATORS L, 4-2 BLACKHAWKS: TEAM LEADERS GOALS MAX DOMI 10 ASSISTS PATRICK KANE 18 POINTS 22 TALKING POINTS: CHI Headed by first-year coach, and former Blue Jackets captain, Luke Richardson (2002-06 — captain, 2005-06), Chicago got off to a surprising 4-2-0 start before the wheels started to come off and are 3-18-4 since.
Both teams square off at 1:00 pm ET on New Year's Eve at Nationwide Arena, so that figures to be the chance for Jones to finally make his Columbus return. A New No. 1 Goaltender Daniil Tarasov (2-7-1, 3. 13 GAA,. 913 SV%) has been the de facto No. 1 goalie while Joonas Korpisalo (4-5-1, 3. 53 GAA,. 903 SV%) recovered from a lower-body injury and Elvis Merzlikins (4-8-0, 4.
Pretty darn good, but not as impressive as Chicago's special teams. So, to have a chance, the CBJ need to draw penalties, and, as usual, "stay out of the (penalty) box"Edge: BlackhawksX FACTORAs mentioned above, the CBJ, historically, play the 'Hawks fairly tight. This was confirmed by a co-hort of mine, who covers the 'Hawks. But, again, for the CBJ, it all comes down to adhering to this mantra:"Avoid the track meet"Also, the key will be how effectively the CBJ can withstand the 'Hawks early rush. The 'Hawks, who know this upcoming "road swing from hell" will test their mettle, will try to come out and take the CBJ out early. The CBJ have to be ready; otherwise, this game could be a laugher. The other hope is that the 'Hawks are, indeed, looking ahead to tomorrow's nationally-televised game against the Red Wings, and come out flat.
Columbus also lost five straight games from Oct. 25 through Nov. 5. Meanwhile, the Blackhawks are in the midst of their second eight-game losing streak and have lost 16 of 17 games. Columbus activated Adam Boqvist off injured reserve (foot) on Thursday, and Cole Sillinger was placed on injured reserve retroactively to Dec. 17. Here's what to know when the Blue Jackets and Blackhawks drop the puck in the Windy City: CBJ SEASON STATS CHI 2. 72 GOALS FOR 2. 26 4. 03 GOALS AGAINST 3.
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