After a heartbreaking shootout loss on Saturday night against the New York Rangers, the Columbus Blue Jackets look to finish off the homestand on a positive note with two big points against a fast Montreal Canadiens team.
In their previous game, the Blue Jackets physically stayed afloat with the Rangers, but couldn’t get the elusive extra point in overtime after a sloppy finish to the game. So, how do the Blue Jackets turn the tide tonight, and capture the two points before another road trip starts tomorrow night in Winnipeg?
Be Physical on the Forecheck Early
One way to keep a team like the Canadiens at bay is to swallow them with physicality early. The Blue Jackets need to come into the game with a mindset to play physical and to be the ones to start the attack, not react to the Canadiens’ flurry.
How Columbus chooses to use their lines will be another critical piece to this point, as last game Dean Evason chose to roll with three forward lines down the stretch because he needed his team to continue to forecheck well against the Rangers. The Blue Jackets cannot run from this game plan; this is how they are built to excel in games like this.