Tonight at 10:00 p.m. ET, the Columbus Blue Jackets (8-11-3, 19 points) and Vancouver Canucks (11-8-4, 26 points) hit the ice live from Rogers Arena in the second and final meeting between these two teams this season. The game can be live streamed here. Columbus fans can hear all of the hard-hitting action by tuning their radios to Sports Radio 97.1 The Fan while Vancouver fans can do the same on TEAM 1040.
Columbus enters play looking for a season sweep over a reeling Vancouver team that has scored just six goals during a five-game losing streak and is in desperate need of some offense.
The Canucks latest loss came at the hands of the lowly Florida Panthers in a 3-2 shootout defeat on Tuesday. The Canucks enter their fourth game of a six-game homestand hoping to turn around their recent woes.
"It was easily our worst game of the year. We didn't deserve a point. I just don't know what we're thinking as far as how we started the game," coach John Tortorella said via NHL.com of Tuesday's loss. "If it isn't for [Roberto Luongo], we are down, 3-0, 4-0. I can't explain it."
Luongo is 9-6-4 this season with a 2.33 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage.
Columbus bounced back from a crushing 7-0 defeat against the Edmonton Oilers with a 2-1 win the very next night over the Calgary Flames in overtime on Wednesday.
"The great thing about sports is you always get a chance to prove yourself. Coming off [Tuesday] night, sometimes as a coach you're not sure what you're going to get. I'm real happy the way the guys stepped up tonight," coach Todd Richards told NHL.com about the bounce back.
In net, reigning Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky is 7-9-2 with a 2.77 GAA and a .909 save percentage this season.
If Bobrovsky gets the nod, he'll go up against a struggling Vancouver lineup that is led by the Sedin twins as Henrik has 22 points off of four goals and 18 assists while Daniel has 17 points off of seven tallies and ten helpers. Ryan Kesler ranks third on the team with 15 points while lighting the lamp nine times and adding six assists.
Columbus will be without two of its top scorers as Marian Gaborik (5-6-11, knee injury) and Brandon Dubinsky (5-10-15, foot) are both sidelined. James Wisniewski leads the team with 16 points off of two goals and 14 assists while Ryan Johansen is third in scoring with 13 points while finding the back of the net six times and adding seven helpers.
The Blue Jackets look to build on a positive win while the Canucks hope to find their offense when the lights come on at Rogers Arena tonight in Vancouver.
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