Game Preview: Blue Jackets vs. Coyotes (Game #60) – Once More Into the Breach…

Phoenix Coyotes (33-20-9, 75pts) vs.
Columbus Blue Jackets (30-23-6, 66pts)
Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH
Friday, February 25, 2011
7:00 PM EST
TV: FSN-OH HD / Radio: WBNS 97.1 FM

(Dispatch Preview / SportsDirect Preview)
WFNY Tickets

It was January 11th when these teams last met, also at Nationwide. The Jackets had just come off of a horrific four game road trip, and did end up losing to the Coyotes that night on a fluky third period goal. But, coach Scott Arniel points to that game as a turning point as to when the team really got back to playing their style of hockey. The results would bear that out. In the 16 games since, the Jackets are 10-3-3. Advantage: Jackets? Maybe not so fast. The Coyotes have been as hot as anyone, finally losing on Wednesday in Tampa after ripping off eight straight wins.

Projected Lineups

Phoenix Coyotes:

Columbus Blue Jackets:

Team Rankings
Scoring:
PHX – 2.82 gpg (11th NHL)
CBJ – 2.69 gpg (17th NHL)

Defense:
PHX – 2.81 gapg (17th NHL)
CBJ – 2.92 gapg (t20th NHL)

Power Play:
PHX – 16.7% (24th NHL)
CBJ – 14.7% (27th NHL)

Penalty Kill:
PHX – 79.3% (24th NHL)
CBJ – 80.9% (21st NHL)

Season Matchups
This is the third of four matchups this season:

01/04/11 – Columbus 2 @ Phoenix 4 – box – Highlights
01/11/11 – Phoenix 4 @ Columbus 3 – recap
02/25/11 – Phoenix @ Columbus – 7:00 PM EST
03/24/11 – Columbus @ Phoenix – 10:00 PM EDT

Who Else We’re Pulling For…
Thanks to the wonderful site Sports Club Stats, we can look at other games going on tonight and see who to root for to aid the Jackets’ playoff push:

San Jose Sharks at Calgary Flames
Minnesota Wild at Anahiem Ducks
St. Louis Blues at Edmonton Oilers

Game Notes
This is a matchup of two hot teams, both jockeying for playoff position. Between the two of them over their last nine games, they are a combined 15-2-1. That’s some pretty good hockey. The Jackets, however, are coming off of one of their better wins of the season, in which they dominated Nashville in the third period en route to four goals and a 4-0 shut-out win. The Coyotes, however, got pasted in Tampa on Wednesday their last time out, to the tune of 8-3. This is the Yotes’ last game of a road trip; are they just ready to get home, or are they ticked off enough from Wednesday’s game that they’re looking for some frustration ventilation?

Columbus will bring essentially the same lineup to the ice that they used on Tuesday. They are still without forwards Derick Brassard and Kristian Huselius, but Antoine Vermette looked more than comfortable centering the top line on Tuesday and Matt Calvert shined in his debut on the scoring second line. The Jackets haven’t truly felt the absence of those guys, but it has also only been a couple of games without them. Calvert has been particularly impressive, as the rookie never looks overwhelmed. He skates hard, and wins battles for the puck despite his diminutive size. And, as Rick Nash pointed out Tuesday night after the game, his hands around the net have been as good as advertised.

Steve Mason was solid on Tuesday, making 20 saves in as many chances. He had a lot of help, as the Jackets’ defense held Nashville to just six shots in the first period, and just three shots in the third. Phoenix is a similar style of team to Nashville, in that they don’t overwhelm you with talent, but they do bring their lunch pails every game. But, that means that, if Columbus can again bring the hard-nosed, tight-checking responsible defensive game again, they can make life tough on the Coyotes.

Rick Nash has been a one-man wrecking crew for the Jackets of late, notching 9 goals, 11 asssists over the last 16 games. That’s what you want from your Captain. His 28th goal of the season came just 1:11 into the third period on Tuesday, and broke a scoreless tie. You could just sense the team jumping on his back. His 29th goal, with just 50 seconds remaining, capped the four-goal period. Nash has been a complete beast over this last 16 game stretch (coincidentally, the 16 games since they last played Phoenix that we talked about in the opening), and his teammates have been following him. That’s called being the Captain.

Finally, the Jackets’ special teams deserve some mention. They’re 6 for their last 19 on the Power Play (31.6%), and have killed off 29 of their last 31 penalties (93.5%) on the PK. In fact, despite their overall pedestrian numbers (see above) on the season on special teams, going back to (and including) that last Phoenix game (17 games), the Jackets have gone 13-for-61 (21.3%) on the Power Play, and 50-for-57 (87.7%) on the Penalty Kill. If you want to see one of the biggest factors for their surge in the standings, look no further.

The Jackets embark on a five game, must-get-points-against-tough-teams road trip beginning on Sunday. Here’s hoping the last bit of home cooking in awhile tonight serves them well.

From The Outside Looking In
Five For Howling
The Good, The Bad, The Coyotes
Howlin’ Hockey

Next Game For The Jackets
Sunday, February 27, 2011
3:00 PM EST
Columbus Blue Jackets @ Nashville Predators