Blue Jackets at Predators
The Columbus Blue Jackets have answered the franchise-best 16-game winning streak by surrendering 33 goals to record losses in six of their last 11 games. The Blue Jackets look to tighten their defense and resume their pursuit of the top spot in the Metropolitan Division on Thursday when they visit the Nashville Predators.
"We've got to find ways to be desperate here," Columbus captain Nick Foligno said on the heels of Tuesday's 4-3 loss to the New York Islanders. "We've got to find ways to sustain a good game all the way through. We have not done that in a while here. That's cause for concern." Nashville isn't ready to sound the alarm, but squandering a two-goal advantage with less than six minutes remaining in regulation in Tuesday's 5-4 overtime loss to Buffalo left a sour taste in the mouth of coach Peter Laviolette. "We should carry it with us for a little bit and take it into the next game," Laviolette said. "Hopefully, we'll be irritated with the way we played."
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN Ohio (Columbus), FSN Tennessee (Nashville)
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (32-11-4): Cam Atkinson scored his third goal in two games on Tuesday to increase his team-leading total to 24, which is three shy of his career high set last season. Atkinson reportedly has weekend plans but would cancel them immediately should he be extended an invitation to the NHL All-Star Game as a replacement for Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin (lower body), according to the Columbus Dispatch. Like Atkinson, fellow forward Foligno has also tallied in back-to-back contests to up his point total to 38, surpassing his 2015-16 total (37) in 27 fewer games.
ABOUT THE PREDATORS (23-17-8): Filip Forsberg scored versus the Sabres for his fourth goal in as many games and 12th in his last 19. Fellow forwards Viktor Arvidsson and James Neal are also enjoying quite the surge, as the former has two tallies and three assists on his four-game point streak while the latter has scored three goals and set up another during that same stretch. Former Blue Jackets forward Ryan Johansen, who leads the team with 28 assists and 36 points, has scored one goal and set up five others on his three-game point streak.
OVERTIME
1. Columbus G Sergei Bobrovsky owns a 7-3-0 career mark with two shutouts versus Nashville.
2. Predators D Ryan Ellis has chipped in offensively with five points (three goals, two assists) in his past four contests.
3. Columbus D Seth Jones' 22 points are just nine shy of the sum total he accumulated while competing with both the Predators and Blue Jackets last season.