The Columbus Blue Jackets' resurgence was short-lived, but at the very least, they no longer have that aura of a helpless team. They had a stretch where they were winning games and playing very competitively, but have stumbled in recent weeks. They aren't on some huge losing streak though, which is a plus. They suffered a loss in their last outing, a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings, a demoralizing loss what with how poor the Kings have been lately.
Still, they're at a better place at this point than many expected them to be, so they'll enter into Saturday's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning with a lot of confidence. The Lightning are having a similar season to the Blue Jackets, but theirs is marred with an awful lot of disappointment, because most expected them to be much better at this point in the season.
Tampa Bay did snap a two-game losing streak in their last outing, a 5-4 overtime victory over the Calgary Flames on Thursday. This is the first of two meetings between these two teams this season, the other one not coming until the new year. The Lightning won the only meeting between the two teams last season, a 3-2 shootout victory.
The game is set for 7:00 p.m. eastern on Saturday.