Did you like the barn burner from last night? The 1980’s called. It wants its game back.
On Thursday, the Capitals aim to stop another winning streak. The Columbus Blue Jackets will be looking to clinch their 17th consecutive win. This would tie the 1992-1993 Penguins. Also, this just made me giggle uncontrollably:
Blue Jackets have won 16 straight games over the last 36 days.
It took the Cleveland Browns 1,477 days to win their last 16 games
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 4, 2017
Puck drop is at 7pm.
Columbus Blue Jackets
- Everyone in the hockey universe (including all the writers here) thought the Jackets would be bottom feeders this season. Much to our chagrin, they are leading the league in points.
- How are they doing it? In short, a lot of things are going right for them, and they are, in fact, for real. Let’s break it down:
- Sergei Bobrovsky is putting up similar numbers to his Vezina winning season.
- Their power play? “Not only is their 27.1 per cent conversion rate pacing the league this season, it’s actually the best rate we’ve seen in the past two decades.”
- And that Sam Gagner kid? He’s pretty decent as a 4th liner, and is proving that the dump and grind 4th line mentality may be a thing of the past.
- But on top of all that, the Jackets’ schedule is what has been helping through this streak. The only top teams Columbus has played during that span have been the Penguins and Canadiens. Besides that, the Jackets have simply won against lesser teams (Phoenix, Colorado, Vancouver). The next three they have are against the Capitals, Rangers, and Flyers.
2017: The year dreams do come true.
I’m watching a marquee matchup between two playoff teams and they’re the Blue Jackets and the Oilers.
What a time to be alive.
— Dimitri Filipovic (@DimFilipovic) January 4, 2017
Washington Capitals
- Washington is going for it’s 4th consecutive win tonight, but their upcoming schedule is rough. They have the Canadiens and Penguins one after another. Time to get some points where they can.
- Evgeny Kuznetsov had a 4 point performance last night. Unleash the fury indeed.
- The Capitals have racked up a stupid high amount of penalties their last 3 games. Stop it.
- That said they’re crushing the PK game. PP game not so much.
Columbus won their last 2 against the Caps in low-scoring, 1 goal affairs this season. Let’s stop history from happening.
By Julia Karron
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