It was New Year's Eve in Columbus Ohio as the Wild looked to build off a much needed road win in Winnipeg Monday night. Minnesota is looking to string some wins together to climb back in to the playoff race.

So what does Minnesota have to do? They need to play well in special teams, especially on the power play. That's not an easy task as the Blue Jackets had killed off 23 straight penalties coming into Wednesday's game. The other key to winning is to have Darcy Kuemper build off his win in Winnipeg in which he made some big saves of the athletic/robbery type as the minutes ticked off the clock in the third period.

It hasn't been easy in Columbus recently for the Wild when facing its expansion team brethren. The Blue Jackets were 9-1-1 in the month of December coming into Wednesday's action.

HW Podcast Episode 023: End Of The Year Edition

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Columbus got the game's first five shots on goal and didn't allow Minnesota a single shot until the 6:18 mark of the first period. In fact the WIld had a lot of one-and-done rushes up ice and really couldn't get much zone time or pressure in the Jacket's zone. It changed when Kevin Connaughton gave the Wild its first power play of the game. Minnesota wasn't able to score, but a little established zone time went a long way to even the shot count and provide some decent pressure. Then four minutes later, Tyler Graovac, whose playing in just his second career NHL game, used his size and skill to protect the puck and drew a holding minor from James Wisniewski.

Zach Parise would gather a foiled Mikko Koivu shot and shoot it over the downed left pad of Sergei Bobrovsky. That power play goal snapped a streak of 24 straight killed penalties by the Jackets. As the period went on, the Wild seemed to build the pressure. Nino Niederreiter came close with a back-hander and the Cooke - Graovac - Fontaine line provided a great energy shift following the Parise power play goal.

The second period the Wild started off by getting good pressure in the Jackets' end. They started to take the lead in the possession stats. At one point, Parise was a +9 in Corsi differential as he had not allowed a shot attempted against while he was on the ice. A Ryan Suter penalty for tripping allowed the Beej an opportunity to gain some momentum. Even though Minnesota was able to kill the penalty without allowing a shot on goal the added zone time got the Wild running around their own end.

With Darcy Kuemper playing fairly strong in his crease but he saw some real flurries of action a little more frequently. One such flurry caused Kuemper to lose his stick and in his attempt to gather his paddle, Kevin Connaughton was able to sneak the puck through after taking a quick shot from the left half boards with just 46 seconds left to play in the period. It was a pretty soft goal and the kind we're hoping he could put behind him (figuratively, not literally).

Ryan Suter, who has been struggling in his own end recently, had taken a bad penalty in the second period, took another bad penalty in the third for holding. Brandon Dubinsky did a pretty good job of selling it, but nonetheless, Suter was holding him. The PK started strong as Kyle Brodziak was very good for the first minute of the kill. But the second unit got caught running around. Matt Cooke took a bad angle to try and disrupt the D-to-D pass and left David Savard open for the one-timer that scorched the top shelf behind Kuemper.

Minnesota got two power play chances in the third period and couldn't cash in. One of the those, Columbus made the Wild look foolish. the inability to score and to provide sustained offensive pressure for most of the period ended up hurting the Wild. Sure, Graovac had a nice opportunity to tie it. Nino Niederreiter swung and missed at a rebound. However, the Wild tried flipping the switch too late. In a last minute try to get the tying goal with Kuemper pulled for the extra-attacker, it was Ryan Johansen the would net the empty-netter and seal the game.

Yeo never put Marco Scandella, who has scored nine goals, or Nino Niederreiter, who is tied with Parise for the team lead with 14 goals, on the ice in crunch time. Yeo instead relied on his veterans. Even as the One minute remaining announcement rang over the PA system, Suter, Pominville et all found passing around the perimeter, holding on to the puck for large chunks of seconds, and forcing passes through the slot rather than just shooting the puck into traffic and looking for rebounds was the better option.

Minnesota hasn't won two games in a row since November 20th - 42 days, and 17 games ago. Some of the best shifts of the game came from that third line that featured Graovac as the pivot. Mikko Koivu was brutal in the face off circle. He finished 38 percent on the night and lost two crucial offensive zone face offs with the net vacated at the other end. Stu Bickel only saw 5:12 of total ice time. Graovac finished with three shots on goal and played  just over 12 minutes. If there was a sore spot in his game, it was faceoffs. He was destroyed in the dots only winning 39 percent. Compare that to Columbus' Johansen who was over 80 percent in the dots and won a number of important faceoffs in the third period.

The Wild will now play host to Toronto at Xcel Energy Center Friday night. The Maple Leafs are 20-14-3 with 45 points and are sixth in the Eastern Conference. They are coming off a 4-3 shootout win against the Boston Bruins on New Year's Eve.

Red Wings News

Detroit Red Wings' road marathon should be good for bonding | Detroit Free Press
The Wings are going to be on the road for a while. Anyone else hoping for a Ouellet-Babcock friendship to form?

After two frustrating years, Helm 'stronger, smarter' | The Detroit News
Darren Helm has really begun to prove this season why he is "the best third-line center in the NHL". And to think that just two seasons ago I was questioning whether or not he would ever return to play hockey again.

Red Wings prospect Dylan Larkin flourishing at World Juniors; Axel Holmstrom's stock rising | MLive.com
This year's WJC has allowed us to have a real profound glimpse at some of our prospects. Larkin has impressed me far more than I expected him to.

NHL News

Troy Brouwer fires late game-winner in Capitals Winter Classic win | Puck Daddy
This year's Winter Classic far surpassed my expectations. The game itself was incredibly exciting, even though the penalty called on Toews at the end of the game was the wrong call. Everything else surrounding the game was well done, and the event was a success for the NHL.

Report: Oilers to return Draisaitl to junior | ProHockeyTalk
Interesting timing by the Oilers. Had they sent him down earlier he would have been able to play for Germany in the WJC.

The story of the 2015 Winter Classic in 27 incredible photos - SBNation.com
Some photos from yesterday's game.

Oilers’ Aulie suspended two games for hit on Stajan | ProHockeyTalk
Well deserved suspension for Aulie.

Top 10 seasons by NHLers in their 30s - Sportsnet.ca

Gretzky's play is still so impressive.

With team getting healthy, can the Blue Jackets make it to the playoffs? | The Hockey News
I doubt that the Blue Jackets would be able to win enough games to pull this off. But, they have been really hot recently, and are not too far out of a playoff spot. Anything is possible.

NHL power rankings: Devils going down in flames - SBNation.com

The Red Wings fell from 9th place to 12th in this week's power rankings.

Let's Go Red Wings!

The Jackets closed out 2014 with their best month (10-1-1) in franchise history. They head out west for a road trip to start off 2015. Can they keep the good mojo flowing?

Columbus Blue Jackets at Arizona Coyotes

January 3rd, 2015 - 8:00 PM EST
Gila River Arena - Glendale, Arizona
Radio - WBNS 97.1 - TV - Fox Sports Ohio
Opponent's Blog: Five For Howling

There's some interesting symmetry here: last season, the Jackets' run started in their first game after the calendar flipped to January. They went on a 9-1-0 run, and that run started in Arizona (nee: Phoenix). Those Jackets were hovering just around (slightly below) .500, and then they kickstarted a playoff run. This year's Jackets are right at .500, and are again starting January in Arizona. The difference? The Jackets are coming off a white-hot month of December that saw them go 10-1-1, good for 21 out of a possible 24 points.

Even cooler? The teams against which they went 10-1-1 are a combined 204-107-54, good for 462 points in 365 games. In other words, they Jackets played a tough, tough schedule in December, and they damn near aced it.

Enter the Coyotes, who are not in the class of the opponents the Jackets have been beating. Arizona is in a down year, and they don't do anything particularly well. When I do these previews, I do the chart at the bottom with the team rankings in offense, defense, and special teams. To my recollection, the Jackets have not one time this season gone into a game better in all four categories posted below. Tonight, they do.

Remember a few years ago when Mike Smith was unbeatable? Well, he's been pretty god-awful to this point, going 5-15-2 in 23 games, posting a 3.48 gaa and a .884 save percentage. And he makes $5.667 million this year and each of the next FOUR seasons. Yowza!

The other nice thing about this trip that includes Arizona, Colorado, and Dallas? After it's done, the Jackets only have to go out of the Eastern and Central time zones twice: once to Winnipeg later this month, and the three game Western Canada swing in mid-March. The season won't be halfway done until later this month, and Columbus will have completed almost all of their tough travel.

So, heading into 2015 as a .500 team can be looked at as good or bad, depending on the context. I think the Jackets are actually in OK shape, all things considered. Guys may continue to get healthy, and the team has built a foundation over the last month upon which they can build. Now would be as good a time as any to climb over the psychological hurdle of .500.

Optional skate this morning for Columbus, so no expected lineup changes from the lines and pairs that started on Wednesday.

Projected Lineups

Columbus Blue Jackets
(16-16-3, 35 Points; 5th division, 12th conference)

Arizona Coyotes
(14-19-4, 32 Points; 6th Division, 13th Conference)

Season Series

01/03/15 - Columbus at Arizona
02/03/15 - Arizona at Columbus

Head to Head Stats

The Jackets closed out 2014 with their best month (10-1-1) in franchise history. They head out west for a road trip to start off 2015. Can they keep the good mojo flowing?

Columbus Blue Jackets at Arizona Coyotes

January 3rd, 2015 - 8:00 PM EST
Gila River Arena - Glendale, Arizona
Radio - WBNS 97.1 - TV - Fox Sports Ohio
Opponent's Blog: Five For Howling

There's some interesting symmetry here: last season, the Jackets' run started in their first game after the calendar flipped to January. They went on a 9-1-0 run, and that run started in Arizona (nee: Phoenix). Those Jackets were hovering just around (slightly below) .500, and then they kickstarted a playoff run. This year's Jackets are right at .500, and are again starting January in Arizona. The difference? The Jackets are coming off a white-hot month of December that saw them go 10-1-1, good for 21 out of a possible 24 points.

Even cooler? The teams against which they went 10-1-1 are a combined 204-107-54, good for 462 points in 365 games. In other words, they Jackets played a tough, tough schedule in December, and they damn near aced it.

Enter the Coyotes, who are not in the class of the opponents the Jackets have been beating. Arizona is in a down year, and they don't do anything particularly well. When I do these previews, I do the chart at the bottom with the team rankings in offense, defense, and special teams. To my recollection, the Jackets have not one time this season gone into a game better in all four categories posted below. Tonight, they do.

Remember a few years ago when Mike Smith was unbeatable? Well, he's been pretty god-awful to this point, going 5-15-2 in 23 games, posting a 3.48 gaa and a .884 save percentage. And he makes $5.667 million this year and each of the next FOUR seasons. Yowza!

The other nice thing about this trip that includes Arizona, Colorado, and Dallas? After it's done, the Jackets only have to go out of the Eastern and Central time zones twice: once to Winnipeg later this month, and the three game Western Canada swing in mid-March. The season won't be halfway done until later this month, and Columbus will have completed almost all of their tough travel.

So, heading into 2015 as a .500 team can be looked at as good or bad, depending on the context. I think the Jackets are actually in OK shape, all things considered. Guys may continue to get healthy, and the team has built a foundation over the last month upon which they can build. Now would be as good a time as any to climb over the psychological hurdle of .500.

Optional skate this morning for Columbus, so no expected lineup changes from the lines and pairs that started on Wednesday.

Projected Lineups

Columbus Blue Jackets
(16-16-3, 35 Points; 5th division, 12th conference)

Arizona Coyotes
(14-19-4, 32 Points; 6th Division, 13th Conference)

Season Series

01/03/15 - Columbus at Arizona
02/03/15 - Arizona at Columbus

Head to Head Stats

The Arizona Coyotes will attempt to turn the page on a disappointing year with tonight's game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Arizona Coyotes will start 2015 with new ownership. They will also try to start 2015 with a win against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Matchup at a Glance

View from Columbus

The Columbus Blue Jackets are the quintessential case of a good team turned bad because of injuries. Only three Jackets (Jared Boll, Ryan Johansen, and David Savard) have dressed for all 35 games the team has played thus far. Columbus has lost several key pieces for various stretches this season, and as a result, has been well out of the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference for most of the season.

Yet Columbus is also 8-1-1 in its past 10. A big reason why has been the play of Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky, whose .921 save percentage belies his 14-9-2 record. He just might be able to pull this team back into playoff contention, should he stay healthy of course.

View from Arizona

Do-over?

That's what Coyotes fans are undoubtedly asking for after the 6-0 drubbing they faced against Dallas on New Year's Eve. Before that game however, Arizona was riding much more consistent defensive play and strong goaltending from Devan Dubnyk.

The plus side for the Coyotes going forward is that management now seems to fully realize that a long-term plan is needed to make the Coyotes a competitive team. Both majority owner Andrew Barroway and general manager Don Maloney are looking toward slowly building the team up from within, in the face of a disappointing regular season performance.

Keys to the Game

• New Year, Clean Slate - A lot of the past year has been frustrating, to say the least. 2015 will offer the Coyotes a chance to start fresh.
• Stay Out of the Box - Columbus has the most lethal power play in the NHL, while Arizona has the second worst penalty kill. That's not a matchup Arizona wants to have on the ice very much in this game.
• Pepper Brobovsky - The Columbus netminder is good. Really good. But Columbus' possession stats are not. If Arizona can control the flow of the game, they can put the pressure on Bobrovsky to steal this one.

Who's Hot

Nick Foligno is having himself a career year. He is poised to blow past his previous career best of 15 goals and 32 assists in 82 games in Ottawa this season, as he has 17 goals and 15 assists in just 34 games.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson is on the cusp of double-digit goals once again for Arizona. His markedly improved play in the past couple of months is going to be key if Arizona wants to stabilize its defense.

Injury Report

It should become much clearer after viewing this list why Columbus has struggled all year. Currently on injured reserve are Nathan Horton (degenerative back condition - out for season), Ryan Murray (knee), Artem Anisimov (tricep), Mark Letestu (groin), Brian Gibbons (knee), Boone Jenner (back), and Cam Atkinson (upper-body).

For Arizona, Chris Summers (upper body) remains questionable for tonight's game, while Joe Vitale (lower-body) will likely return after missing the previous two games.

Puck Drop

Puck drop is scheduled for 6 p.m. Arizona time in Glendale.

The Arizona Coyotes rode a strong offensive night to victory.

The Columbus Blue Jackets came into Arizona with the NHL's best power play, but it was the Arizona Coyotes that used the man advantage to its advantage.

Sam Gagner scored a pair of power play goals and Oliver Ekman-Larsson added one of his own as the Coyotes scored three times on the power play en route to a 6-3 victory over the Blue Jackets on Saturday night.

"We didn't get that many chances, but I think our power play did a really good job tonight," Gagner said. "Even if we weren't scoring, we were creating momentum, getting shots to the net and creating second chances. So that is something we will have to build on."

While one Arizona team couldn't muster much offense on Saturday, scoring was certainly not a problem for the Coyotes. Goals at even strength, goals on the power play, goals galore as five different Coyotes scored a goal and eight different Coyotes recorded a point, including Martin Hanzal who led the team with four (1-3-4). The Coyotes scored the most goals since Nov. 2, when they scored six goals against the Washington Capitals.

However, it was more than just offense that led the Coyotes to victory. Mike Smith got back on track in his first appearance since Dec. 22. He only stopped 23 of 26 shots, but he played much better than his stats indicate -- picking up his sixth win of the season.

"I felt good. I felt at ease going into that game. I felt like I was prepared," Smith said. "Mentally, I was prepared to get back in there, so there were no issues tonight. A couple goals were a little jumpy, but that's just with not playing."

Unfortunately for his counterpart, Sergei Bobrovsky, it was a night to forget. Jay Onrait is sure to take Bobrovsky off the case after allowing six goals on 31 shots before getting pulled early in the third period.

Arizona scored early and often. Despite the Coyotes' poor overall record, they are 8-4-2 this season when scoring first.

The Coyotes controlled the game's flow for most of the opening period, striking first on Tobias Rieder's fifth goal of the season. Reider capitalized on a Lauri Korpikoski shot that went wide, backhanding the loose puck just over the goal line. The goal broke a 12-game goalless streak since his two short-handed goal performance in a 5-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Dec. 1.

As good as things went for Arizona in the first, things went awry early in the second period. Columbus scored two goals in a little more than two minutes.

Fedor Tyutin potted his first of the season off a shot that just slipped under Smith's right arm. Just 2:04 later, Columbus capitalized on the power play, as James Wisniewski finished off a beautiful pass by Brandon Dubinsky that ricocheted off Brandon Gormley's skate and through Mikkel Boedker.

The Coyotes responded with a trio of goals.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored his 10th goal of the season, crashing the crease to tap in a loose puck. He proceeded to crash into net, just under the crossbar, but did so as a happy man.

"I saw (the puck) laying there so I drove the net pretty hard," Ekman-Larsson said. "I should get two goals for that one."

Ekman-Larsson's 10 goals ties Antoine Vermette for the team lead and brings the 23-year-old into a five-way tie for the league lead among defensemen. He leads all NHL defensemen with seven power play goals.

Arizona then dominated the final two minutes of the middle frame, scoring twice to take a two-goal lead.

With Ryan Johansen in the box for throwing his own goalie's stick, Gagner buried a backdoor shot for his sixth goal of the season.

The Blue Jackets began to unravel, as an innocent backhander by Martin Hanzal, coming off his own rebound, snuck through Bobrovski's five-hole less than a minute after Gagner's tally.

The Coyotes continued to pour it on in the final frame, scoring a pair of goals and pushing the game out of reach.

Kyle Chipchura wristed a feed from Rieder over Bobrovsky's right shoulder for Arizona's fifth goal of the night. Gagner scored his second power play goal by redirecting a Keith Yandle shot-pass after a defensive zone break-up sent the Coyotes on an odd-man rush.

Johansen slightly atoned for his earlier penalty, scoring an unassisted slapshot goal in the waning seconds of the game.

The Coyotes have won their last four games on home ice. There are five more games left in their current homestand.

Paw Prints

• Columbus' perspective: The Cannon
• Tobias Rieder had an excellent game. He scored a goal, had two points and coach Tippett called him the game's best player early on.
• The physical game had 85 combined hits and one fight. The scrap between Joe Vitale and Jake Skille was retribution for a Skille slew foot that briefly injured Ekman-Larsson.
• Columbus had won eight of its last 10 games coming into the game.
• Keith Yandle's two-point night gives him the team lead in assists (22) and points (26).
• Attendance: 13,159

Three Stars

Looking Ahead

For a short time, if you can believe it, the Blue Jackets had a lead in this game. That didn't last long.

Once upon a time, I headlined a recap of a 8-1 Jackets loss to the Red Wings with a picture of dog feces, because it really seemed to capture the ambiance of the game.

I'm not being quite that mean tonight, but at the same time, I think it could be justified.

Instead, let me thrill you with the many uses of another Coyote byproduct:

Yup, they sell this by the gallon.

Coyote urine is a surprisingly versatile substance for anyone who works a farm, wishes to protect land, or intends to freak the hell out of their neighbors' pets. (That last one may be considered an "off label" use.)

The most common use of this stuff is to keep animals away from gardens or crops by spraying it periodically around the perimeter. By establishing that "barrier", most prey animals who would normally be feasting on ma's prize tomaters will avoid it out of survival instincts, while other predators (including other coyotes!) will avoid it because they believe they would be attacked for violating someone else's territory. (If you somehow managed to buy a bottle of "product" from the coyote pack who happen to be in your area, I guess you're SOL. But it's a small risk, right?)

Interestingly, another major use of Coyote Urine is to "fence in" a predator so that it will be easier to contain, trap, and transport it away from the area.

If you watched tonight's game, you're probably starting to wonder if Shane Doan and Keith Yandle dropped trou in the pre-game to "baptize" the rink, because "contained, trapped, and transported away" is a pretty good description of what happened to the Columbus Blue Jackets for most of this game. Worse, the team was without Brandon Dubinsky (injury) and Scott Hartnell (ejected) for a significant portion of the night - though thankfully the team says Dubi was just out as a precaution, and he is likely to draw back in tomorrow.

I freely admit that I am writing about this game by NOT writing about this game, but on the other hand, look at the editorial direction I received:

Gotta be honest, I very nearly pulled the Spider Jerusalem tonight, but I decided this was marginally more acceptable. On the other hand, if SBNation pulls my credentials and just sends me an email titled "coyote urine", know that I died as I lived.

So. Sugar Coating...sugar coating...

I think it's fair to say that the entire team would really like this one back - Sergei Bobrovsky didn't get any help in front of him (nor did Curtis McElhinney when he came on in relief), and neither goaltender had their best game. We've seen Bob keep this team alive on off nights - but tonight, it wasn't going to happen.

The good news is that they can put this behind them, get on the plane, and move on. They don't play Arizona again at home this year (where the Coyotes are, I will admit, quite impressive), and I suspect that the Jackets will be able to tilt the ice back in their favor when they regroup. The Jackets will play Colorado tomorrow, and have the chance to fix things up by shaking off the stomping they received tonight by stomping someone else in return.

The team still owns the top power play in the NHL tonight, with James Wisniewski cashing in a 2nd period PP goal to give the team their lone lead of the game, and Fedor Tyutin finally netted his first of the year early in that same period to tie things up.

Unfortunately, after that, the wheels fell off, particularly on the penalty kill, where no less than three goals were surrendered - two of them to Sam Gagner, who hadn't tickled the twine since December 23rd. I suppose we can call those his late Christmas gifts.

Ryan Johansen would net one more goal to cut the deficit to three with just under a minute left in regulation, so at least we have proof that our forwards CAN score while a goaltender is in the net, but it's not much to hang your hat on.

Anyone who watched the postgame or listened to the radio show heard the phrase "they need to forget this game" quite a bit. Perhaps that's the best advice I can give you as well.

Oh - and one last upside - at least Pittsburgh, Boston, and Philly all lost tonight, too.

The Jackets are already on their way to Colorado as I write this. With three games left in their trip, they'll do their best to move on.

We must endeavor to do the same.

UMass-Lowell's Dylan Zink was named MVP of the 24th annual tournament. Three of the four schools are represented.

MINNEAPOLIS- UMass-Lowell defenseman Dylan Zink, who scored three goals in two games, was named the 24th annual Mariucci Classic's Most Valuable Player.

Zink is joined by three River Hawks teammates in being honored after UMass-Lowell's 3-1 victory over Merrimack Saturday. Defenseman Zack Kameras and forwards Evan Campbell (Edmonton Oilers) and Adam Chapie were named to the all-tournament team, which was represented by three of the four schools participating.

Goalie Rasumus Tirronen and forward Brett Seney both represent Merrimack on the team.

Defenseman Mike Reilly (Columbus Blue Jackets) was the only player from host Minnesota named. The Gophers defeated RIT 3-2 in overtime Saturday night to take home the consolation game.

The full Mariucci Classic All-Tournament Team:

• G Rasmus Tirronen (Merrimack College)
• D Zack Kameras (UMass-Lowell)
• D Mike Reilly (Minnesota)
• F Evan Campbell (UMass-Lowell)
• F Adam Chapie (UMass-Lowell)
• F Brett Seney (Merrimack College)
• MVP: Dylan Zink (UMass-Lowell)

-------------------

Nathan Wells is a college hockey columnist for SB Nation. You can also follow him on Twitter -- Follow @gopherstate

Only a couple teams can say they were hit harder by injuries this season than the Avs, and tonight they face off against one: the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Columbus Blue Jackets and the Colorado Avalanche have a lot in common at the moment. Both rang in the 2014-15 season with a boatload of injuries and a pile of losses. Both teams have got some formerly-injured guys back on the roster now. Both teams had an improved December, although Columbus certainly has the edge there at 10-1-1 for the month.

Both teams currently sit in similar positions for playoff positioning:

The Blue Jackets are 16-17-3 with 35 points and are currently 10 points out of a Wild Card playoff berth.

The Avalanche are 15-15-8 with 38 points and are currently 7 points out of a Wild Card playoff berth.

Bearing in mind the Avs have played two games more than the Jackets, that distance from the playoffs looks mighty similar.

Of note for the Blue Jackets is that lovable pest and constant antagoniser of Sidney Crosby, Brandon Dubinsky, is back in the lineup. Expect him to factor into the play in a big way, because while he often isn't thought of as a top-level NHL talent, he's a sneaky playmaker who sets up goals from a couple plays back, reminiscent of Matt Duchene when he's in sneaky playmaker mode.

The Avalanche are coming off a 2-1 shootout victory over the Edmonton Oilers where they were brutally outshot in the third period. While a win is a win, let's hope the reality of allowing nine unanswered shots to the Oilers lights some fire under some butts.

In their last 10 games, the Avs are 6-2-2 and have taken 14 of a possible 20 points.

LINES

At the moment these lines are subject to change to God knows what. Holden may or may not be a defenseman. And when he is a defenseman, Zach Redmond may or may not be on nacho duty in the press box. These were the lines as per last game, but Coach Roy shuffled them throughout the game, so we'll wait and see.

FORWARDS, MARCH

Tanguay-O'Reilly-Iginla

Landeskog-Duchene-Briere

Talbot-Mitchell-MacKinnon

McLeod-Cliche-Rendulic

BLUEJACKET BLUE-LINE BLOCKERS

Hejda-Johnson

Guenin-Barrie*

Stuart-Holden*

These last two parings subject to change based on approximate position of the stars, phase of the moon, local pollen levels, and whether Mercury is in retrograde.

GUARDIAN OF THE CREASE

Semyon Varlamov

ENEMY INTELLIGENCE

- The Blue Jackets are coming off a reeling 6-3 loss to the Arizona Coyotes that goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky would likely want to put behind him. Bobrovsky was named one of the NHL's three stars for the month of December, and with good reason. He's rocking a .921 save % at the moment.

- A complete list of the Blue Jackets' current injured players: centermen Artem Anisimov, Mark Letestu, and Brian Gibbons are all out. Wingers Boone Jenner, Cam Atkinson, and Nathan Horton are out as well. Their defense has mostly recovered, with only Ryan Murray remaining on IR. Still, that's seven guys.

- The Jackets were a white-hot 10-1-1 in December despite an awful, injury-riddled start to the season.

- Congratulations to forward Nick Foligno on his recent contract extension! The six-year, $33 million deal secures him a spot on the roster long term.

GAME INFO

Game airs at 6:00PM Mountain Time.

TV: ALT

Or listen live online here.

Well, last night was the letdown to end all letdowns. The Jackets got completely dismantled by an inferior (at least on paper) team. Can they bounce back?

Columbus Blue Jackets at Colorado Avalanche

January 4th, 2015 - 8:00 PM EST
Pepsi Center - Denver, Colorado
Radio - WBNS 97.1 - TV - Fox Sports Ohio
Opponent's Blog: Mile High Hockey

Welp.

Hmm.

Words.

Words go here.

Another game tonight. Corsi Trolls. Crap fest last night.

Words.

Game.

Projected Lineups

Columbus Blue Jackets
(16-17-3, 35 Points; 5th division, 12th conference)

Colorado Avalanche
(15-15-8, 38 Points; 7th Division, 12th Conference)

Season Series

01/04/15 - Columbus at Colorado
03/07/15 - Colorado at Columbus

Head to Head Stats

Well, last night was the letdown to end all letdowns. The Jackets got completely dismantled by an inferior (at least on paper) team. Can they bounce back?

Columbus Blue Jackets at Colorado Avalanche

January 4th, 2015 - 8:00 PM EST
Pepsi Center - Denver, Colorado
Radio - WBNS 97.1 - TV - Fox Sports Ohio
Opponent's Blog: Mile High Hockey

Welp.

Hmm.

Words.

Words go here.

Another game tonight. Corsi Trolls. Crap fest last night.

Words.

Game.

Projected Lineups

Columbus Blue Jackets
(16-17-3, 35 Points; 5th division, 12th conference)

Colorado Avalanche
(15-15-8, 38 Points; 7th Division, 12th Conference)

Season Series

01/04/15 - Columbus at Colorado
03/07/15 - Colorado at Columbus

Head to Head Stats

Openly pining for OT is just a stupid, stupid thing you guys.

Gonna do a stream of consciousness recap tonight. Gotta get some sleep...
Redmond the scratch, BJ's on back end of B-2-B

First Period:

Backup goalie Curtis McElhinney net for BJ's.  Must be nice to have one of those at the NHL level.

30 seconds in, giveaway by David Savard to Jarome Iginla in the middle of the slot and he buries it glove-side low for a quick 1-0 lead.

3 minutes later, Iggy loses his shadow and Radar has a sweet takeaway and feeds him in the slot for a miss.

Nice 2-man forecheck giving the BJ's fits for a bit here.

About 7 minutes in and the BJ's get their first good shots on Varlamov, through a screen and then a good look in the slot, but Varly fought them off.  Then a quick TO just outside the blueline leads to a psuedo-breakaway and the wristshot goes wide.

Guenin loses his twig and BJ's get a few good chances.

Has Varly ever given up a wraparound?

Looks like we wasted money on the firewood this year.  This crap sucks.  Just smolders and smokes. Needs constant attention or it embers to nothing, kinda like foreplay, am I right fellas?

Mini-me has joined me on the coach wearing his new #29 jersey. And now he's trying to convince his bro to play some football/soccer hybrid in the hallway.

MacK gets called for holding. Superfan 29 is bummed.   BJ's #1 PP goes to work.  Varly save, cleared immediately.  Some possession after a faceoff on a dump and cover, but even with Radar having a broken stick, the puck is cleared.

Just after it's over, a few rims around before Cody Goloubef (seriously) gets a wide shot from the wall and Brandon Dubinsky tips one out of midair to send it past Varly to tie it up.

It's all Columbus now.  Lots of shots, lots of possession.

Goalie Notes:  Varly using the reverse VH on his stick side post. Good coverage.

And the garbage disposal is leaking like a sieve...Guess who gets to meet the plumber tomorrow!?!?!?!

According to the Altidudes, the Avs have gone over 12 minutes without a shot.

More Columbus possession and an icing...

Holden can't handle Nick Foligno. Bounces off of him like a Foligno is Baymax.

Now 14 minutes without a shot and the BJ's take an o-zone penalty due to a high stick from Sean Collins so that we can all see the horror of the Avalanche power play in 2015.  The Can has gone silent.  Not a lot to cheer about except for an Iggy behind-the-back chance to Radar that doesn't connect.

Lot of passing, not a lot of substance before Borna Rendulic get tired of it and takes a shot that misses. Half of the penalty gone and zip to show for it.  Ryan O`Reilly tips a bullet pass out of play.

Radar loses the faceoff and it is cleared.  More futility and it's cleared.  No shots on the PP.

Just then John Mitchell gets a break and feeds Nathan MacKinnon on the doorstep and he shoots it straight into McElhinney's glove for the save.

Total discombobulation when Varly plays the puck.  Avs can't get anything going.

Cliche and Talbot go in 2-on-1 and Cliche dumps it into the corner.  Oy vey.

Matt Duchene and Landy work some east-west play for a routine shot on goal that the netminder sees the whole way.  Why not pass-off-pads?

Not a ton to report other than at least it isn't a shutout. Shots are 11-3. Rycroft breaks down the Iggy goal cuz frankly, there isn't a lot of other stuff to talk about.

Fixed the boys some homemade vanilla ice cream with crushed Whoppers on it.  For some reason they start making up an Avalanche theme song.  Mrs. is trying to get a recording...The older one's is decidedly more metal than the 4-year-old's.

Second period:

About 90 seconds in and Stuart and Duchene forget Dubinsky exists and a wacky bounce off the boards goes right to him and he buries his second of the night to make it 2-1 visitors.  Bad for Avs, good for my fantasy team.

Looks like McLeod dinged his shoulder on the forecheck. Stays out even after the puck-out-of-play whistle though.

Soft dumps up the boards don't work in the offensive zone either!! WHO KNEW!!!!

Duchene has a puck come right to him in the slot and he get nothing on it.  Like a negative one-timer as it squirts all the way out of the zone.

A couple of seconds later and Landy powers through the defenseman along the far-side boards, picks up his one chip pass and drives the net.  He one-moves the goalie and wraps it in on the backhand for the tying goal. Pretty sweet hands on that gorgeous man.

Seconds later and a weird bounce lands at Varly's feet, but he handles it and Mitchell has words and shoves for Jared Boll as he whacks away at Varly's pads and stomach like they're a pinata.

My minions are getting washed up with dueling showers.  Let's see who cracks under the pressure of cooling water...

Then a blocked shot springs about 87% of a pass from Radar to Alex Tanguay who gets a clean break but whips the puck off the crossbar and out of play. He had the goalie beat like a rented mule too. I blame the return to the half-shield, personally.

BJ's with some sustained possession and doing a good job activating their points.  Rendulic loses his lumber and starts just throwing his body at the puck. Shot eventually off the iron and out.

On the faceoff and the Avs are puck-watching and MacKinnon leaves his man in the slot and Hartnell passes to a wide-open Marcus Johansen in the far side slot for the tap-in goal.  3-2 Columbus.

Next shift down the ice and the Avs draw a penalty as a Cody-on-Cody crime results in an interference call.

And the 4-year-old bails on the cold shower first.

Avs generate 4 shots on the PP and McElhinney makes a diving Last Son of Krypton attempt but the post bails him out on Iggy's point blank give-and-go from Tanguay.

Yes, let's talk about the shootout some more...

A Duchene shot!! They're like unicorns you guys!!!

Maybe Guenin has heard about our little charity pledge cuz he's throwing everything on net.

Johnson shoots it out of play for another Avs power play. It's fucking brutal as Tyson Barrie single-highhandedly generates two separate two-on-ones with stupid decisions.  And then the Avs dust off a rare part of the rulebook by throwing a stick into play.  Iggy goes to the box for some 4-on-4 time.

Some back and forth and Hejda is on an island with Foligno but Jan handles his biz-ness.

Sounds like ANOTHER TMNT story for the youngest tonight.  Kids have bought into the new show hook line and sinker. Booya-kachow!!

The MacK forecheck generates a great chance that Stuart can't do anything with in front.  Avs kill off the short penalty and the line of Iggy, Radar, and Tangs do some good work moving the puck and getting rubber on net after Iggy exits the bin.

The first black President encourages me to pledge to the USO during the commercial break.

The replay coming out of the break reveals that Barrie may have been responsible for asking for two sticks on the bench and that's why somebody threw one at him.  Good night for Tyson.

Both boys headed to bed.  Youngest likes to fake like he's asleep to see if I'll pass on the tickle hugs and scratchy kisses, but I pinned him to the pillow and nom-nomed his neck till he squealed.  Big brother comes in and they stiff-arm each other to keep the other from doing anything other than long-range hugging.  Then I catch him making faces in the mirror instead of brushing his teeth.

Oh, hey Danny Briere!

A weird wraparound that somehow pops OVER McElhinney's pad nets McLeod the tying goal.  He then almost punches a ref while celebrating. Not quite a Gordie Howe Hat Trick there, Cody.

Off the center-ice drop and Matt Duchene pings his lead-leading 300th post.  Hope they saved the puck for him.

Gabriel Landeskog runs somebody and Boll tries to retaliate, but Landy moves the puck. Because the Avs can't clear anything, it somehow ends up on James Wisniewski's stick and Varly has to make a screened save on the point shot.

MacK has a good rush but he, Mitchell, and Talbot can't seem to quite connect and bury a good chance when the goalie loses sight of the puck.

Some good possession and point work by the Jackets forces Varly to push out of the VH for a bad angle shot and save.

Goalie Note: Varly is tracking a lot of pucks into his body tonight, which is good.

Now they're trading chances.  I know cuz McNabb told me so. Barrie skates the puck through his own crease while under pressure and I can hear it in Sunnyside's voice that he thought that was a dumb move.  Are we sure Barrie is OK?  Maybe he's got the mumps? No that can't be it, abject stupidity isn't a symptom...

Some clenching time for Columbus in the waning seconds, but not much to show.  Erik Johnson seems to be everywhere in the last 5 minutes.

Avs have caught up in the shots department as they're 23-22 for CBJ.

Sounds like the eldest is being forced to slog through his current chapter book to prepare for an AR test later this week.

McLeod gives tons of credit to "Clicher" for his work on the tying goal.

Third Period:

Rendulic steals the puck from the goalie on the forecheck and we get three or four good chances but the last step just isn't there to bury it in the net as the Jackets are running around all over the place.

Another Duchene shot!

I like how the Avs' D holds onto the puck to courteously allow the BJ's to make a wholesale change.  So nice.

Both boys in bed now.  And...the fire is out.

Evgeni dipsy-doodles and puts MacK offsides.

Johnson with a HAMMER in close, but McElhinney gloves the shot as it goes wide.

This top line with 9, 92, and 71 looks good on these O-zone draws when they control the puck.

Stuart ices the puck, sorta. Timeout? No.

CBJ top line goes to work, but we get a clear.

MacKinnon gets hooked on a far side drive before getting a shot off.  Johansen clenched up pretty hard when Nathan's legs started churning. About 12:40 left in the game.

After a weird 2-on-2 the other way, MacKinnon goes 1-on-4 and gets a shot off.

This powerplay is just so stagnant.  Nobody is working to get open and the points aren't trying to compress the box.  2 shots, but nothing to show.  0-4 on the man advantage.

Lots of sloppy hockey coming out of the power play.  Blocked passes, blocked shots, bleh.

Varly makes a nice glove save on a low shot that's labelled for the left pad.

MacK zips up ice and gets a shot, and a rebound shot after pulling up and waiting for a screen. 9 minutes left.

Guenin trips Calvert in the near corner to put the league's best PP on the ice.

Sunnyside doing his best to jinx the PK.  Foligno and Hartnell starting shit with Tanguay.  Real tough guys there.

Jesus McNabb shut the fuck up! PING!!!!!

Just under 6 minutes left. Mrs. is playing Candy Crush even though science has documented that screen time this close to bed will kill her.

My horse dog just put himself to bed.

Talbot almost gets a break but it's juuuuuuuust out of his reach.

Long dump by Columbus gets called icing only because Hejda hustled because Nick Holden could not give two shits or even a single shit.

Duchene shows off his 48" vertical leap trying to stop a high glass clear after losing an o-zone draw.

Dear Altitude, If the Avs are actively trying to get to overtime with over 4 minutes left in the game, they deserve to lose.

Mitchell, MacK and Talbot work some magic but it doesn't quite get to MacKinnon on the backside doorstep.  Good pass breakup by McElhinney's left toe.

Radar tips an Iggy shot out of play.

Johnson races Hartnell and puts him in the wall but a quick centering pass and blueline shot from Savard tips off of either Duchene or Rendulic and gets past Varly. 4-3 Jackets. Well that strategy worked perfectly...

Avs win the center-ice draw with Varly on the bench and get a good bang-bang play in front of the net to get the draw in the o-zone.

Radar, Landy, Tanguay, Iggy Johnson, and Barrie out there. Lots of wall work and a couple of blocked shots and we're looking at another loss.  At least we won the shots category though (29-27).

McNabb and Co. can only lament the lost opportunity to get to overtime. We're gonna go watch the Preds/Ducks OT.

MHH Three Stars:

#3 - Erik Johnson
#2 - Jarome Iginla
#1 - Gabriel Landeskog

Next Game is at Chi-town on Tuesday night at 6:30 Mountain.

A quick single shot for your Monday reading.

Just one quick story to share today - Josh Cooper interviewed Ryan Johansen over at Puck Daddy. The interview is a little all over the place, but it's always nice to hear more from one of the players who can be a little quieter at times:

What started to click for you last year? It was a pretty big breakout just in general.

There were a ton of things that fell into place. I started getting bigger and stronger and growing as a person and on the ice, and confidence is a huge thing with every successful player in the league. I got off to a pretty good start and was playing with some great players. Coach had me on all the power plays and just wanted to take that next step in my career and become the player I wanted to be. A lot of things were just going well. One thing I looked back at that I was happy with was how consistent I stayed. Through such a long season it's hard to do and keep going strong.

You can read the full interview here.