SETTING THE STAGE: Have you regrouped after last night's game? Holy smokes.
The Blue Jackets moved to 22-5-4 and into first place in the Metropolitan Division with a 7-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in front of a standing-room only, sold-out crowd at Nationwide Arena. Thanks to a tiebreaker with the Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus also holds down the No. 1 spot in the NHL. They've gone unbeaten to this point in December, and will complete a rare back-to-back home set tonight when they welcome another of the NHL's elite clubs: the Montreal Canadiens.
It's probably safe to assume the Canadiens have had this game circled for a while. The Blue Jackets, if you'll recall, scored 10 goals on them back on Nov. 4, a game that coach John Tortorella characterized as a "dumb game" with a lot of weird things going on. The Canadiens will be ready for this game, and they're also completing a back-to-back having played Minnesota last night at the Bell Centre.
The Canadiens get it done with a balanced attack, puck-moving defense and a strong goaltender. Sound familiar? They're a tough match for the Blue Jackets, who will try to walk the fine line between carrying over momentum and energy from an emotional win last night and turning the page to a new challenge. Expect a fast, entertaining game when these two teams reacquaint on Friday night.
NOTEWORTHY NEWS:The Blue Jackets made no changes to their forward lines or defense pairs last night. Cam Atkinson, considered a game-time decision due to a foot injury, played in the game and scored his team-leading 15th goal of the season in the first period. Atkinson is now the NHL's leader in power play points. John Tortorella meets the media at 4:30 p.m., at which point he will reveal his starting goaltender.
PROJECTED CBJ LINEUP:
Saad - Wennberg - Foligno
Jenner - Dubinsky - Atkinson
Calvert - Karlsson - Anderson
Hartnell - Sedlak - Gagner
Werenski - Jones
Johnson - Savard
Murray - Nutivaara
\\goaltender TBD
