| TAMPA BAY BLITZ |
|
26-10-2 (54 points) |
|
7:00 p.m. – TUESDAY 6TH APRIL |
|
BALLY SPORT OHIO FOX SPORT |
There are only nine home dates left for the Columbus Blue Jackets this season.
At this rate, the 5th line should hope that the Blue Jackets have nine home goals before the end of one of the most disappointing seasons in team history.
The Blue Jackets will be looking for something to delight the home crowd when they return to the Nationwide Arena after a road trip that saw Columbus score just one win in six games. That win came against the Tampa Bay Lightning, which they’ll face Tuesday and Thursday.
The 1-5-0 road trip dashed hopes of a fifth consecutive postseason for Columbus, who have also lost seven of their last eight.
Here’s a look at the lines projected (and subject to change) for Columbus tonight:
Columbus Blue Jackets Projected Lines
| LW | C. | RW | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
50 |
Eric Robinson |
16 |
Max Domi |
29 |
Patrik laine |
|
28 |
Oliver Bjorkstrand |
96 |
Jack Roslovic |
13th |
Cam Atkinson |
|
38 |
Boone Jenner |
42 |
Alexandre Texier |
71 |
Nick Foligno |
|
26th |
Zac Dalpe |
20th |
Riley Nash |
25th |
Mikhail Grigorenko |
* Lines can change
| LD | RD | ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
8th |
Zach Werenski |
3rd |
Seth Jones |
|
44 |
Vladislav Gavrikov |
58 |
David Savard |
|
43 |
Mikko Lehtonen |
15th |
Michael Del Zotto |
| goalie | Backup | ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
90 |
Elvis Merzlikins |
70 |
Joonas Korpisalo |
Storylines
-
FIRST TIME WHOAS: The Blue Jackets have not scored more than one goal in the first period since February 15th. a period of 23 games. In fact, they only scored seven times in those nearly two dozen games. The Blue Jackets must find a way to get the puck online early – if they can’t, they could face a long night against Steven Stamkos and his company.
- FIND THE RIGHT COMBINATION: The line-up seems to change every night, and as soon as the puck falls, the line-up seems to change from period to period, and once the break occurs, the line-up seems to change from shift to shift. The right combination of players has to be there somewhere, but maybe the right combination has already been found and they just need a little more time to band together. The line from Eric Robinson, Max Domi and Patrik Laine has shown great promise.
-
PLAY TO COMPETITION ?: Columbus has scored points in three out of four games against Blitz this season and has come very close to do that every four games. This team may not be able to hang with the Detroit Red Wings 2001-2002 2020-2021, but it was possible to hang at or near the top with Jon Cooper’s roster for the duration of the run of the lightning.
