Speaking of points, Columbus now trails the Pittsburgh Penguins by one point for second place within the division. The Penguins lost in overtime Friday to the New Jersey Devils, which broke a tie in points with the Blue Jackets after 75 games for each team.
Columbus can gain sole possession of second with a victory against the Blues, who defeated the Vancouver Canucks, 4-1, on Friday at Scottrade Center in St. Louis for their fourth straight win. The Blues now have 89 points and sit one point back of the Colorado Avalanche for the second wild card into the playoffs in the Western Conference.
There's not as much at stake from a head-to-head standpoint for the Blue Jackets as there was going into their 4-0 win Thursday against the Florida Panthers, but it's still a big game for both teams.
"I don't look behind us, I don't look ahead of us," Columbus coach John Tortorella said Friday after practice. "I look at the team we're playing, and I know we have a team, St. Louis, that's in the same situation we're in, that's coming in [Saturday] night and is a very desperate team. [They've] won some really interesting games in overtime, two or three of them here of late, where they come back and win. That's going to be a really good team coming in here, so that's my only focus."
Same goes for his players.
"I'm encouraged with just the team, how they've handled themselves so far here, as we're trying to get in and trying to find ways to get points," Tortorella said. "I'm encouraged about that … I like where the team's mind-set has been, as far as their concentration."
SERIES RECORD
2017-18 Season: (0-1-0). This is the finale of the two-game series, which the Blue Jackets can split with a victory. St. Louis won the first game, 4-1, on Oct. 28 at Scottrade Center.
All-time (W-L-T-O): 30-37-3-12 overall; 20-13-2-5 at Nationwide Arena
WHO'S HOT
Blues: Alex Pietrangelo had an assist Friday against the Canucks and has 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in the past 11 games. He's finished with at least a point in seven of those contests.
Blue Jackets: Cam Atkinson had a goal and assist Thursday against the Panthers and has at least a point in three straight games. Atkinson has seven points (five goals, two assists) in the past five games and 16 points (eight goals, eight assists) in the past 14 games.
SPECIAL TEAMS
POWER PLAY
St. Louis
Columbus
PENALTY KILL
St. Louis
Columbus
SCOUTING REPORT
EYES ON: THE BLUES
EYES ON: THE BLUE JACKETS
PROJECTED LINEUPS
BLUES
Forwards
Jaden Schwartz - Brayden Schenn - Vladimir Tarasenko
Patrik Berglund - Kyle Brodziak - Alex Steen
Dmitrij Jaskin - Vladimir Sobotka - Tage Thompson
Oskar Sundqvist - Ivan Barbashev - Chris Thorburn
Defensemen
Carl Gunnarsson - Alex Pietrangelo
Vince Dunn - Colton Parayko
Joel Edmundson - Robert Bortuzzo
Goaltenders
Jake Allen
Ville Husso
Others: Carter Hutton (neck), Nikita Soshnikov (upper body)
Injured Reserve: Robby Fabbri (left knee), Scottie Upshall (left MCL sprain), Jay Bouwmeester (left hip), Zachary Sanford (shoulder)
BLUE JACKETS
Forwards
Artemi Panarin - Nick Foligno - Cam Atkinson
Sonny Milano - Pierre-Luc Dubois - Oliver Bjorkstrand
Boone Jenner - Alex Wennberg - Thomas Vanek
Matt Calvert - Brandon Dubinsky - Mark Letestu
Defensemen
Zach Werenski - Seth Jones\
Ian Cole - David Savard
Ryan Murray - Markus Nutivaara
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Joonas Korpisalo
Others: Scott Harrington, Taylor Chorney, Lukas Sedlak (upper body), Markus Hannikainen, Jack Johnson, Josh Anderson (knee), Dean Kukan
Injured reserve: None
\NOTE: If Jones doesn't play because of his upper-body injury, look for Jack Johnson to draw back into the lineup, manning Jones' spot next to Werenski.
