PREVIEW: Blue Jackets looking for their identity in rematch vs. Stars

BLUE JACKETS (4-4-3) vs. STARS (5-1-1)

Teams have had to bring their lunch pails for 60 minutes to beat the Blue Jackets, but head coach John Tortorella thinks this year's team hasn't quite reached that level yet.
"I do think the biggest thing for all of us as a team here, and I think it's a major problem as a group, is we have been an identity team," Tortorella said yesterday. "We know what our identity is, and we need to get back to that, of being a team that is just hard to play against. I do not think we're hard enough to play against, and we're playing against a very hard team tomorrow again, a very good team.
"It's a good challenge for us just to be harder in certain areas, and then the offensive stuff and the feel with the pucks and the passing, I think comes off of that. It's not an individual, I think it's just a team outlook that we need to be a hard team to play against."
To that end, Tortorella has put together a line -- Mikko Koivu centering Nick Foligno and Boone Jenner -- that he hopes will drag his team into the fight in tonight's rematch with Dallas. Two years ago, whenever the team got away from its game, Foligno, Jenner and Josh Anderson were reunited on a line and showed the way, and the hope is that trio of veterans will do the same against the Stars.
Searching for that identity will happen after a 6-3 loss, which is what the Jackets suffered Tuesday against the Stars in a game in which Dallas was rampant through 40 minutes, building a 5-1 lead and looking every bit as good as the scoreline.
It was a second straight loss for Columbus after a seven-game point streak, but the reality is the team's game still wasn't always consistent even while the Jackets were grabbing points.
"It just seems like there's been a little disconnect with everybody," defenseman Zach Werenski admitted Wednesday. "We're working hard. We're trying hard. No one likes struggling. No one likes losing. If we could just turn a switch on and play better, we would, but that's not the case. It's a hard league and there's other good players in this league. We know we have to be better. We know we have way more to give."
As Werenski said, it hasn't been a lack of effort, but the Blue Jackets just haven't been on the same page thus far. Tortorella agrees and hopes getting back to the team's identity can start that process tonight.
"Once they make a couple of good plays -- it may not be a goal scored, it may just be making a good play that they've struggled with for the past few games -- they build on it," Tortorella said. "I'll tell you guys, if it's a situation where, because we've been an inconsistent hockey club, if it's because I didn't think guys were trying to work themselves out of it … there would be an issue and maybe there would be some lineup changes. But I don't see that."
Know the Foe
Let us take a minute to appreciate Joe Pavelski.
The Stars' seemingly ageless forward has been off to nothing short of a ridiculous start this year. In a league where passing the age of 30 anymore means you're trending toward ancient, the 36-year-old has seven goals and seven assists for 14 points in seven games. Yes, an average of a goal and an assist each game, totals he reached while scoring twice and adding two helpers in the Stars' 6-3 win over Columbus on Tuesday.
"Obviously I feel good right now," Pavelski said after the game. "It's been good. I've found myself with the puck and some confidence, and it's been going in."
Pavelski leads a Stars attack that has been potent through those seven games. Dallas currently sits second in the NHL in scoring with 4.14 goals per game, including two seven-goal outbursts and Tuesday's six-goal showing. The power play is also clicking at 40.6 percent, third in the league.
Add in a team defense that is tied for fourth at 2.29 goals allowed per game and you have the makings of a pretty good team, which is why the Stars have won five of seven games thus far even without two of the team's best players. Forward Tyler Seguin (hip) and goalie Ben Bishop (knee) are both out with long-term injuries, whle the team also is missing defenseman Stephen Johns (concussion) and defenseman Andrej Sekera (COVID protocol list).
Defenseman John Klingberg had two assists Tuesday and now has two goals and 10 points thus far, while Denis Gurianov (4-4-8), Alexander Radulov (3-5-8) and Jamie Benn (2-3-5 in three games) each scored goals along with Radek Faksa.
In net, last year's playoff star Anton Khudobin is off to another solid start, as the 34-year-old is 3-1-1 in five starts with a 2.17 GAA and .922 save percentage, and "Dobby" should get the net tonight after rookie Jake Oettinger played Tuesday.
3 Keys to the Game
Better discipline: Columbus was burned for two power-play goals by the Stars' third-ranked power play Tuesday night, and both Dallas goals were scored after high-sticking calls. Those are the ones that are tough to take.
Forecheck: We discussed it above, but the Blue Jackets need to get back to their identity. That means making it hard on Dallas to get out of its own zone and parking the Stars in their own end.
Get 3 and 8 going: The defensive pairing of Jones and Werenski has struggled to create offense and has been on the ice for too many goals against. The duo can be the engine the team, and something has to -- and should -- turn for them soon.
Of Note
Oliver Bjorkstrand has a 3-5-8 line in the past nine games and leads the squad with eight points. … Eric Robinson has collected 2-3-5 in his past six outings, while Mikhail Grigorenko is coming off his first multipoint game as a Blue Jacket. … Patrik Laine has scored 18 goals in 18 career games vs. Dallas. … Cam Atkinson is one goal from 200 in his CBJ and NHL careers. He would be the second Blue Jacket to reach the milestone after Rick Nash. … Foligno is one goal from 200 in his NHL career (138 with Columbus, 61 with Ottawa). … Jones has 197 points in his Blue Jackets career and also has 199 career assists in his time with Columbus and Nashville. … Dallas' win Tuesday snapped the Jackets' eight-game winning streak in the series and five-game winning streak in Nationwide Arena.
Projected Lineup
(Subject to change)
Alexandre Texier - Max Domi - Patrik Laine
Boone Jenner - Mikko Koivu - Nick Foligno
Mikhail Grigorenko - Riley Nash - Oliver Bjorkstrand
Eric Robinson - Jack Roslovic - Cam Atkinson
Zach Werenski - Seth Jones
Vladislav Gavrikov - David Savard
Michael Del Zotto - Dean Kukan
Joonas Korpisalo (confirmed starter)
Matiss Kivlenieks
Scratches: Kevin Stenlund, Scott Harrington, Gabriel Carlsson
Injured reserve:Elvis Merzlikins, Gus Nyquist, Brandon Dubinsky (LTIR)
Roster Report:Rookie Liam Foudy has been sent to the taxi squad and will be out, with likely going back into the lineup in his place after missing Tuesday's game following the birth of his son Rhett. Tortorella also reunited the team's defensive pairs in practice Wednesday after they were split up Tuesday. Korpisalo will earn his second straight start in net as Merzlikins goes on injured reserve with an upper-body injury suffered Wednesday in practice; he is day-to-day, but then again, aren't we all.