The second game of the season is at home for the Blue Jackets tonight where they take on the defending Western Conference Champions- the San Jose Sharks.
The Sharks were really impressive last season make it so far to the Stanley Cup Finals, being two games short of their first ever Stanley Cup. Over the course of the offseason, the Sharks made a few changes, adding to the offense and defense, but losing in between the pipes.
The Sharks lost wingers Nick Spaling (EUR) and Jeremy Morin (TBL); defenseman Roman Polak (TOR); and goalie James Reimer (FLA), all who they originally acquired from Toronto at the trade deadline. Internally, they also lost defenseman Matt Tennyson (CAR). They added two former Arizona Coyotes in winger Mikkel Boedker and defenseman David Schlemko.
With the Blue Jackets, Ryan Murray is out tonight with a foot injury, meaning Dalton Prout slides into the lineup for his season debut. They are looking to rebound after losing to the Bruins on Thursday night.
Projected Lineups
San Jose Sharks
Tomas Hertl--Joe Thornton--Joe Pavelski
Mikkel Boedker--Logan Couture--Joonas Donskoi
Patrick Marleau--Chris Tierney--Joel Ward
Matt Nieto--Tommy Wingels--Melker Karlsson
Paul Martin--Brent Burns
Marc-Edourad Vlasic--Justin Braun
Brandon Dillion--David Schlemko
Martin Jones
Aaron Dell
Columbus Blue Jackets
Boone Jenner--Brandon Dubinsky--Cam Atkinson
Brandon Saad--Sam Gagner--Nick Foligno
Scott Hartnell--Alex Wennberg--Oliver Bjorkstrand
Matt Calvert--William Karlsson--Josh Anderson
Zach Werenski--Seth Jones
Jack Johnson--David Savard
Markus Nutivaara--Dalton Prout
Sergei Bobrovsky
Curtis McElhinney
Scratched: Lukas Sedlak,
Injured: Cody Goloubef (oblique), David Clarkson (back), Joonas Korpisalo (groin), Ryan Murray (foot)
Some things to look at in this game against San Jose.
1. Joonas Donskoi came out of nowhere to become a top six forward for San Jose during the playoffs.
2. Brent Burns is a rover and could give the young defense a hard time tonight.
3. Patrick Marleau is on the decline from what he used to be just a couple seasons ago.
4. Joe Thornton is still a number one center at his veteran age.
5. Martin Jones has developed into a number one goalie.
What are your thoughts on the San Jose Sharks?
Enjoy the games tonight. More to come…
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