Columbus to Take On Hawks
Looking for Continued Success from Preseason
Columbus-Tomorrow night will mark the first time this season that divisional rivals Columbus Blue Jackets and Chicago Blackhawks will meet, and something could be on the line that no one thought would be possible this season. The divisional lead could be up for grabs as Chicago sits one point ahead of the Columbus in the Central Division. If the regular season is anything like the preseason, expect some dirty hits, a couple scraps and a Blue Jacket victory. In the four preseason games between the two teams, Columbus was victorious in each contest. With that however, Jackets coach Robbie Ftorek has made it known that this will be a hard hitting affair, and should be a close competative game.
"Looking at Chicago on paper, they have two lines and thats it, however they've shown that they can play out there, so we won't take them lightly," said Ftorek of the under-rated Hawks team. "Their bottom two lines cause some concern, as they are only out to injure, hopefully our Powerplay will be able to convert for their mistakes."
The Hawks are by far the most penalized team in the OTHL, with an average of just over 31 penalty minutes a game, compare that to Columbus's 15.7 minutes (which is actually 6th highest), and it makes for quite a dirty contest. The team who can convert on the powerplay will most likely be able to scrape out a victory tomorrow night. Columbus centre Jason Allison will be counted upon to find his old form tomorrow night.
"I haven't played my best this season, and getting a chance to play with a guy like Rick Nash I should be doing better," commented Allison on his start to the season. "I've been finding my legs the past couple games though, hopefully it'll show up on the scoresheet tomorrow night."
Jackets Swing Deal
The Columbus Blue Jackets GM Graeme Dickson swung a deal earlier this afternoon, aquiring Karel Rachunek from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Aaron Johnson and Columbus's 3rd round pick in next years entry draft. The deal added to the hatred among Dickson and Detroit GM Ryan Caster. It has been said that Dickson and Caster were talking, and Caster mentioned that St. Louis was offering up Rachunek.
"He told me St. Louis had made Rachunek available, I couldn't resist attempting to obtain a solid young defencemen like him," said Dickson on the issue. "Ryan will have to deal with the fact that I gave a better offer."
It is expected that Rachunek will make his debut for Columbus tomorrow in Chicago