Game Preview: Blue Jackets vs. Oilers (Game #63) – Must-Win Time

Columbus Blue Jackets (31-24-7, 69pts) vs.
Edmonton Oilers (21-35-8, 50pts)
Rexall Place, Edmonton, Alberta
Thursday, March 3, 2011
9:00 PM EST
TV: FSN-OH / Radio: WBNS 97.1 FM

(Dispatch Preview / SportsDirect Preview)

The Jackets deserved a better fate on Tuesday night, givine the league-leading Vancouver Canucks all they could handle in their building, going to an eight-round shootout before falling. Still, the Jackets got a point that, on paper, they probably weren’t expected to get, and now have points in nine of their past 10 road games (6-1-3). Edmonton is at the bottom of the standings for the second straight year, and dealt away Dustin Penner on Monday. They’re also without several other key players. Even still, as the Jackets have learned at various points this year, Edmonton can still get after you with their young, talented, and speedy players. The Jackets need to bring their A-game, and more importantly given everything at stake, they simply HAVE to win this game.

Projected Lineups

Columbus Blue Jackets:

Edmonton Oilers:

Team Rankings
Scoring:
CBJ – 2.69 gpg (18th NHL)
EDM – 2.47 gpg (27th NHL)

Defense:
CBJ – 2.89 gapg (21st NHL)
EDM – 3.20 gapg (29th NHL)

Power Play:
CBJ – 15.7% (26th NHL)
EDM – 12.8% (30th NHL)

Penalty Kill:
CBJ – 81.3% (t19th NHL)
EDM – 76.2% (30th NHL)

Season Matchups
This is the fourth and final matchup of the season:

10/28/10 – Edmonton 2 @ Columbus 3 – SO – (box) – Highlights
12/16/10 – Columbus 3 @ Edmonton 6 – (box) – Highlights
02/05/11 – Edmonton 3 @ Columbus 4 – (box) – Highlights
03/03/11 – Columbus @ Edmonton – 9:00 PM EST

Who We’re Rooting 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:

Nashville Predators at Vancouver Canucks
Minnesota Wild at New York Rangers
Phoenix Coyotes at Los Angeles Kings
St. Louis Blues at Washington Capitals

Game Notes
One need only look at those numbers above to see why this game is a must-win for Columbus. If they can’t beat a team that’s in the bottom four in the league in all of the four main categories, then they don’t deserve to be talking about playoffs. Columbus played about as well as they could play without winning on Tuesday night in Vancouver. And, while they have just one point out of four in their last two games, they’re still within shouting distance of where they need to go. RJ Umberger, however, cares not for the big picture: “We just need to stay on path with our [five-game] segments. Things will take care of themselves as teams play each other and we keep playing well. We can’t get consumed by the big picture right now.”

In other words, the only thing that matters is beating Edmonton tonight.

The two newest Jackets made their presence felt on Tuesday night, as Scottie Upshall scored the team’s lone goal and Sami Lepisto played over 21 minutes. The Jackets had numerous chances to win the game in regulation, but just couldn’t get the needed goal past Roberto Luongo. The talent level decreases on the other bench tonight, so here’s hoping the Jackets can get back to their winning ways by bringing the same effort and intensity, and wearing down the young Oilers who are by all rights just playing out the string.

The Oilers are also without several key members of their lineup. Dustin Penner is gone to LA. Goalie Nikolai Khabibulin is injured, as are career Jacket-killer Ales Hemsky and defensemen Theo Peckhama and Ryan Whitney.  In other words, the time is right to go in and stomp on the necks of this Oiler team.

One area in which the Jackets have improved and look to have a decided advantage is on Special Teams. The Oilers are literally the worst Special Teams team in the league, last in both categories. The Jackets’ new-look Power Play has been humming along at about 25% over the last 20 games, and their penalty kill has been very good of late, as they’ve now climbed up into the top-20 in the league. The Jackets need to take advantage of all Power Play opportunities they get—and they have been doing that of late. They had scored multiple PP goals in three straight games before getting kept in check on Tuesday night. If they can neutralize Edmonton’s lethargic PP unit, they can afford to be a little more physical when playing 5-on-5.

Finally, Columbus just needs to stick to their game plan over the past 20 games: play tough, tight-checking hockey, get their forecheck going, and get plenty of shots on net. Good things have been happening, and against a clearly inferior opponent it should be enough to get them the much-needed two points.

From The Outside Looking In
Lowe Tide
The Copper & Blue
Puttin’ On the Foil

Next Game For The Jackets
Friday, March 4, 2011
9:00 PM EST
Columbus Blue Jackets @ Calgary Flames