In less than a week, the Columbus Blue Jackets will try to find some momentum when they return home for a showdown against the powerhouse Vegas Golden Knights on Nov. 28.
Columbus will come home to Nationwide Arena two days after visiting their former Central Division rivals in the Nashville Predators. Monday will mark the first of two regular-season meetings with Vegas; the other one will take place at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada on Mar. 19.
We’re only roughly a quarter of the way through the 2021-22 NHL regular season, so there is plenty of time for the Jackets to turn it around. But it’s hard for Columbus fans not to feel frustrated over the team’s slow start, considering they signed longtime Calgary Flames superstar Johnny Gaudreau in free agency to improve the offense.
The Blue Jackets and Golden Knights split the 2021-22 season series, with the home team winning each game.
Vegas won 3-2 at T-Mobile Arena on Nov. 20, but the Jackets repaid the favor by winning 6-4 at Nationwide Arena on Mar. 13. The two teams didn’t play each other due to divisional realignment and schedule adjustments for the 2020-21 season, but they did split the 2019-20 season series.
Scoring has been a problem for the Jackets all season long. Not having All-Star sniper Patrik Laine for most of the season can be cited as a key reason for the offensive woes. But Gaudreau and Boone Jenner cannot be asked to carry the offense by themselves.
Veteran mainstays Jakub Voráček, Gustav Nyquist and Jack Roslovic aren’t playing up to expectations. Star blueliner Zach Werenski is done for the season with a shoulder injury, and the Jackets just aren’t getting enough offensive production from the blue line.
It’s hard to fault goaltender Elvis Merzļikins for the disappointing stat line. He’s not getting much defensive help in front of him, and Columbus’ lack of scoring doesn’t help matters.
The Golden Knights, under new head coach Bruce Cassidy, are far and away the best team in the Western Conference right now. Jack Eichel, enjoying his first full season in Sin City, is playing the best hockey of his career.
Mark Stone, Reilly Smith, Chandler Stephenson and Jonathan Marchessault continue to provide steady offense. Defenseman Shea Theodore and Alex Pietrangelo are providing ample offense from the blue line to complement their always-strong defensive play.
With Robin Lehner out for the entire season, Vegas had no choice but to turn to Logan Thompson. The 25-year-old has been up to the challenge, putting up Vezina-like numbers in his first NHL season as the undisputed starter.
The Golden Knights are a well-rounded team built around world-class speed and skill with plenty of physicality to go with it. They’re a tough team to play against. They roll out four effective lines that can take over a game at any given moment.
Prediction: Golden Knights Win 4-2
Upsets happen all the time in hockey, to the point where you can’t ever be especially “shocked” if a heavy favorite loses to an underdog.
The Blue Jackets have enough talent up front to keep this game close against Vegas. But at the end of the day, the Golden Knights have the edge across the board: Forward, defense and goaltending.
Vegas is so well structured and defensively sound under Cassidy. It’s going to take a near-perfect game for the Blue Jackets to beat the star-studded Golden Knights, and based on how both teams have performed thus far, it’s hard to go against the favorites.
Led by Eichel’s three points, the Golden Knights will cruise to a 4-2 road win over the Jackets.
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