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Game Preview #25 - Welcome Back, Old Friend

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The Jackets are back at home, and they welcome an old division foe to town.

Nashville Predators at Columbus Blue Jackets

November 27, 2013 - 7:00 pm EST
Nationwide Arena - Columbus, Ohio
Radio - WBNS 97.1 -- TV - Fox Sports Ohio
Opponent's Blog: On The Forecheck
SBN's Predators vs Blue Jackets coverage
Tickets

Hey, you! I know you! I know you!

The Jackets come back home off a huge win to cap off a strange, strange road trip, and an old familiar foe comes to town. The big question for the Jackets will be: can they build off of Monday's game? Can they take the lessons from that--ya know, that you *can* play for 60 minutes and dictate play to a better team--and bring it home to a team with which they're more familiar?

We shall see.

The Preds aren't the same team we've seen in the past. There's been some roster turnover (hey, it's noted Jackets-killer Viktor Stalberg!), and Pekka Rinne is out with his strange e coli issue in his hip. That said, after last year's implosion, the Preds have rebounded nicely (don't they always?) and are playing decent enough hockey again. They don't score (shocker), and their defense has struggled much more without Rinne, but they're finding ways to win. It's just what they do, people. That said, they're still on the outside looking in in the juggernaut West.

Their scoring is low, and Shea Weber is their leading goal scorer; that's generally not the best thing to have a defenseman leading your team in goals. That said, Weber's not the normal defenseman. Speaking of, as much as we've enjoyed Ryan Murray, we'll also get our first look at Seth Jones tonight. I'm interested to see the big man play. He has nine points in 24 games so far, including five on the Power Play.

For Columbus, the injury train keeps on rolling. Sean Collins finally caught up with the team, and with Jared Boll moving to IR Collins will be here for a bit. The Jackets--obviously--will be icing the same lineup again that they had on Monday. Makes sense. Of note: Jack Skille, fresh off his first point with Columbus, has a pretty decent career body of work against Nashville: four goals on 17 shots, two assists, and 12 hits in nine career games against the Preds. Count me among those who, while wishing Boll a good recovery, isn't in a hurry to see Boll back in the lineup over Skille.

Projected Lineups

Columbus Blue Jackets
(9-12-3, 21 Points; 7th division, 13th conference)

Boone JennerRyan JohansenNick Foligno
Matt CalvertArtem AnisimovCam Atkinson
R.J. UmbergerMark LetestuBlake Comeau
Sean CollinsMichael ChaputJack Skille
Fedor TyutinJack Johnson
Ryan MurrayJames Wisniewski
David SavardDalton Prout
Sergei Bobrovsky
Curtis McElhinney

Nashville Predators
(12-10-2, 26 Points; 6th division, 11th conference)

Colin WilsonMike FisherEric Nystrom
Gabriel BourqueDavid LegwandViktor Stalberg
Nick SpalingMatt CullenCraig Smith
Rich ClunePaul GaustadMatt Hendricks
Shea WeberRoman Josi
Seth JonesKevin Klein
Victor BartleyRyan Ellis
Marek Mazanec
Carter Hutton

Season Series

11/27/13 - Nashville at Columbus
03/08/14 - Columbus at Nashville

Head to Head Stats

NashvilleColumbus
2.33 (24)GPG2.54 (18)
2.79 (20)GAPG2.92 (23)
21.0% (9)PP%19.0% (15)
83.5% (12)PK%78.7% (23)
Shea Weber, 7G leaderRyan Johansen, 8
David Legwand, 15A leaderJames Wisniewski, 16
David Legwand, 19Pts leaderJames Wisniewski, 18
Rich Clune, 54PIM leaderBrandon Dubinsky, 40
6-7-1Road/Home4-6-1
11/25 vs. Phoenix, W 4-2Last Game11/25 @ Toronto, W 6-0
5-5-0Last 104-3-3

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