Preview: Blue Jackets vs. Sharks (Game #14)

San Jose Sharks (10-4-1, 21pts) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (7-5-1, 15pts)
Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
7:00 PM EDT
FSOhio HDTV/WWCD(fm)/WBNS(am)

(Dispatch Preview / SportsDirect Preview)

The Jackets are back at home after a rousing come-from-behind win in overtime on Sunday against the Capitals. They’ve played better in their last two games, earning three out of four possible points. But, the Sharks bring all manner of challenges: in their first meeting of the year back in the opening stretches of the season, the Jackets had no answer for Dany Heatley who notched a hat-trick against them in his first Sharks home game. The Jackets get a big boost with the return of Jan Hejda tonight, and their beleaguered defense could certainly use the help. Without The Big Czech in the lineup, the Jackets were 3-4-1, and their goals-against average as a team jumped from 2.20 to 4.25. In other words, welcome back Jan! But, the news up front is not good, as Columbus was dealt a big blow with two injuries to their top-6 forwards.

Projected Lineups
San Jose Sharks:

Columbus Blue Jackets:

Team Rankings
Scoring:
SJS – 3.40 gpg (6th NHL)
CBJ – 3.23 gpg (8th NHL)

Defense:
SJS – 2.47 gapg (7th NHL)
CBJ – 3.46 gapg (t26th NHL)

Power Play:
SJS – 25.0% (6th NHL)
CBJ – 22.8% (8th NHL)

Penalty Kill:
SJS – 85.0% (6th NHL)
CBJ – 79.3% (t18th NHL)

Prior Matchups
1. Columbus 3, San Jose 6 (10/8/09)[box]

Game Notes
The Jackets are finally getting healthy on the back end. They had Hejda for the first game, but did not have Mike Commodore, who paired with Hejda last year to form their top D pair. And, with late word that Commodore will miss tonight’s game as well, Columbus is back in the same boat again. Cnsidering the way the Sharks handled Columbus in their last matchup, Columbus will again have its hands full. While they are without Devin Setoguchi on their top line, Dany Heatley and Joe Thornton still make it a juggernaut.

Heatley owned the Jackets last time out, scoring three goals himself. But it doesn’t end there: Patrick Marleau is the league’s third-best point scorer so far this year with 11 goals and 10 assists. Thornton isn’t scoring goals (only 3), but he remains tied for fifth in points due to his 16 assists. The beneficiary there? Heatley, whose 9G/8A/17P tie him for the seventh-most points in the league.

The Sharks are solid on defense as well. They’ve split up Rob Blake and stud Dan Boyle from their top pair, but all that does is make their offense that much more potent by spreading those guys around. In short, the Jackets need to bring their “A” game tonight, and had better carry their finish from Sunday into their start tonight, lest they find themselves in a hole early. A big stat to think about with respect to Hejda as well is that Columbus was killing penalties at a 94.7% rate with him, and at a 71.7% rate without him. Against a dangerous Power Play unit, that stat is very relevant.

The silver lining for Columbus? They’ve been scoring more themselves, with 28 goals in their last eight games (including last Wednesday’s 1-goal clunker against Phoenix), good for 3.5 goals a game. They scored under 2.7 goals per game all of last season, so it’s good to see them putting up more goals. However, it looks like the Jackets will be short-handed on offense tonight. They called up Derek MacKenzie on an “emergency” basis, which means Derick Brassard is probably not playing. Also came word that winger Kristian Huselius is out tonight. Both are big blows. It will make for some interesting lineup changes. Originally it was believed that Nikita Filatov would be scratched due a back bruise, but they have no choice but to play him tonight due to the lack of warm bodies.

If they can shore up on the defensive end with Hejda back, play disciplined hockey and limit the Sharks’ Power Play chances, and get a solid performance from Steve Mason, you have to give Columbus a chance. But, the margin for error is slim, especially with the guys that will be out of the lineup. The only other potential edge for the Jackets: San Jose plays tomorrow night in Detroit, and those games are always battles between the two best teams in the conference from last year. If the Sharks get caught looking ahead, it could definitely help Columbus.

To recycle some earlier news and notes from my last Jackets/Sharks preview, there’s some “familiarity breeds contempt” potential tonight, as San Jose’s roster has both Jody Shelley (traded from Columbus in 2007/2008 for a 4th round pick) and Manny Malhotra (somewhat-spurned by Columbus after many years following the signing of Sammy Pahlsson). In addition, the aforementioned Pahlsson spent many a year with Anaheim, and knows these Sharks well—specifically, Mr. Thornton.

From The Outside Looking In

Sharkspage
Working the Corners (SJ Mercury)
San Francisco Chronicle

Next Game For The Jackets

Thursday, November 5, 2009
7:00 PM EDT
Columbus Blue Jackets at Atlanta Thrashers