The Columbus Blue Jackets are having a tough season, but were winners in their last outing and are looking to launch themselves on a winning streak on Thursday when they wrap-up a four-game homestand against the Nashville Predators. Their last outing was a 4-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers and marks just the third time they've won in January. This will be the final meeting between these teams this season, with Columbus trying to avoid the sweep after having lost the first three matchups.
All three of the games thus far has been decided by one goal and two of them went into overtime. Columbus just has to do a better job of finishing games to make it. The Predators did lose their last outing, a 3-0 shutout at the hands of the Rangers, but they're still winners in 14 of their last 19 games, rallying from a somewhat recent struggle to put themselves back in the Central Division race.
They've got St. Louis, Chicago and Detroit all battling it out, so they can't afford to lose games against, say, the Blue Jackets, who are a whopping 25 points behind them in the standings. Columbus has had a frustrating season, to be sure, but they have been playing well of late. Their schedule is about to hit a rough point and it would be great to hit that rough point running with a winning streak.
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