That might be a bit much, but this game--if the Jackets want to continue having playoff aspirations--is absolutely huge.
Detroit Red Wings at Columbus Blue Jackets
March 25, 2014 - 7:30 pm EDT
Nationwide Arena - Columbus, Ohio
Radio - WBNS 97.1 FM -- TV - NBC Sports Network
Opponent's Blog: Winging It In Motown
SBN's Red Wings vs Blue Jackets coverage
So, mathematically, my headline isn't correct. I know this. But, let's be honest: this game is kind of it. Look at the rest of the schedule. Points are going to be tough to get, and anytime you can get two points and beat a team in a playoff spot that you're fighting for... well, this is another one of those huge four-pointers.
Lineup changes. Compressed schedule. Emotional loss on Friday. Flat loss on Sunday. Power Play drought. None of it matters. The Jackets, quite simply, just HAVE to win tonight.
That's all I can say.
Projected Lineups
Columbus Blue Jackets
(36-29-6, 78 Points; 5th division, 10th conference)
| Boone Jenner | Ryan Johansen | Nathan Horton |
| Matt Calvert | Brandon Dubinsky | Cam Atkinson |
| R.J. Umberger | Artem Anisimov | Nick Foligno |
| Derek MacKenzie | Mark Letestu | Blake Comeau |
| Jack Johnson | Dalton Prout |
| Fedor Tyutin | James Wisniewski |
| Nick Schultz | David Savard |
| Sergei Bobrovsky |
| Curtis McElhinney |
Detroit Red Wings
(33-24-14, 80 Points; 4th Division, 7th Conference)
| Johan Franzen | David Legwand | Daniel Alfredsson |
| Tomas Tatar | Riley Sheahan | Gustav Nyquist |
| Mitch Callahan | Darren Helm | Joakim Andersson |
| Drew Miller | Luke Glendening | Todd Bertuzzi |
| Niklas Kronwall | Brendan Smith |
| Kyle Quincey | Danny DeKeyser |
| Jakub Kindl | Brian Lashoff |
| Jimmy Howard |
| Petr Mrazek |
Season Series
10/15/13 - Columbus 1 at Detroit 2
03/11/14 - Detroit 1 at Columbus 4
03/25/14 - Detroit at Columbus
Head to Head Stats
Detroit Columbus 2.59 (19) GPG 2.75 (14) 2.70 (16) GAPG 2.70 (15) 18.1% (17) PP% 16.8% (18) 83.5% (11) PK% 81.9% (16) Gustav Nyquist, 23 G leader Ryan Johansen, 27 Niklas Kronwall, 37 A leader James Wisniewski, 33 Henrik Zetterberg, 48 Pts leader Ryan Johansen, 52 Kyle Quincey, 80 PIM leader Brandon Dubinsky, 94 18-13-4 Road/Home 19-13-3 3/23 vs. Minnesota, L 4-3 (OT) Last Game 3/23 @ NY Islanders, L 2-0 5-3-2 Last 10 5-4-1