Consolation seeking Columbus Blue Jackets face Vancouver Canucks – NHL Preview
Columbus Blue Jackets did not have a very ideal National Hockey League (NHL) 2011-12 season as it became the first team to get officially eliminated from the playoff contention.
Now with just 12 games left for them to play in the season, Blue Jackets are seeking consolation while hoping to end the season on a positive note.
Blue Jackets will now face strong, but slumping Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, March 17, 2012, at Rogers Arena, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Canucks are struggling badly these days and a game against the lowly Columbus might get their rhythm back.
Here is a look at both teams.
Blue Jackets
After winning the first four games of the month, Blue Jackets went down to lose three in a row. The defeats came against St. Louis Blues (4-1), St. Louis Blues (2-1) and Edmonton Oilers (3-0).
In their last game, Blue Jackets failed to score even once after getting plenty of scoring opportunities. Oilers got two goals in the second period and one in the final.
Blue Jackets’ captain, James Wisniewski, said after the game:
"We had a lot of passengers tonight. Nobody was really going. We had our chances to score. All year we have had a hard time scoring goals. Things really haven't changed in that department. We had opportunities and just didn't capitalise on them."
After playing 70 games, Blue Jackets are placed at the bottom of the Western Conference with 51 points.
Canucks
They are ranked second in the Western Conference with 92 points after 70 games.
Reaching the playoffs is not a cause of concern for them, but their recent performance is.
Out of the six games they have played this month, Canucks have lost four and are currently on a two-game losing streak with the defeats coming against Montreal Canadiens (4-1) and Phoenix Coyotes (5-4).
Against Coyotes, Canucks kept on scoring goals, but they just could not defend well. After the game, their coach, Alain Vigneault, said:
"There's a lot of things that we have to clean up, because if you look at their chances, that's where their chances came from. It wasn't from spending a lot of time in our end, because they didn't spend a lot of time in our end tonight."
Predictions
Canucks might win the game.
The sum of goals scored by both teams might stay under six.
If Blue Jackets win, the winning margin will be less than two goals.
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