The Blue Jackets busy week if games continue where they take on the struggling Calgary Flames.
The Flames are continuing to find a winning way after making the postseason two years ago. This summer, they fired veteran coach Bob Hartley for former Stars coach Glen Gulutzan. They traded Patrick Sieloff to Ottawa. They let a lot of experienced players walk, including goalies Nicklas Backstrom; Joni Ortio; Jonas Hiller and Karri Ramo; wingers Mason Raymond; Josh Jorris; and Joe Colbrone; and defenseman Jakub Nakadal. They acquired Brian Elliot from St. Louis to be their number one. They acquired winger Alex Chaisson from Ottawa. They signed Linden Vey; Kris Versteg; Chad Johnson; and Troy Brouwer. Their biggest add, however, may have been the draft selection of Matthew Tkachuk. He went 6th overall, and played with the London Knights last season.
Tonight, the Flames are without Johnny Gaudreau with a broken finger. Ladislav Smid is out for the year. And Launce Bouma is still out of the lineup. Chad Johnson is the starter.
Columbus has Seth Jones back and Sergei Bobrovsky between the pipes.
Projected Lineups
Calgary Flames
Matthew Tkachuk--Michael Backlund--Michael Frolik
Kris Versteg--Sean Monahan--Troy Brouwer
Sam Bennett--Matt Stajan--Alex Chaisson
Michael Ferland--Freddie Hamilton--Garnet Hathaway
Mark Giordano--Dougie Hamilton
TJ Brodie--Dennis Wideman
Brett Kulak--Deryk Engelland
Chad Johnson
Brian Elliot
Injured: Johnny Gaudreau (broken finger), Lance Bouma, Ladislav Smid
Columbus Blue Jackets
Brandon Saad--Alex Wennberg--Nick Foligno
Boone Jenner--Brandon Dubinsky--Cam Atkinson
Matt Calvert--William Karlsson--Josh Anderson
Scott Hartnell--Lukas Sedlak--Sam Gagner
Zach Werenski--Seth Jones
Ryan Murray--Jack Johnson
Markus Nutivarra--David Savard
Curtis McElhinney
Sergei Bobrovsky
Scratched: Scott Harrington
Injured: Dalton Prout (back), David Clarkson (back),
Players to Watch
Calgary: Matthew Tkachuk. Good young rookie. Can be an elite forward one day.
Columbus: Bobs. Star goalie with continuing winning efforts.
Enjoy the games tonight.
More to come...
Notes: Fans, for more information on me and for updates of the game, follow me on Twitter @djzmac12161