The Columbus Blue Jackets have lost their last four outings, and after a seven-day break for the All-Star Game, it's not getting any easier as they continue a six-game road trip at the HP Pavilion in San Jose. They'll take on the Sharks, who haven't been playing their best hockey of late, but still remain in third place in the Western Conference and sit atop the highly competitive Pacific Division.
Columbus, however, has the least amount of points in the NHL, and all of the teams within their Central Division would qualify for the playoffs if they started tomorrow. Needless to say, at the midway point, they need to get things going sooner rather than later. That's going to be tough with the mounting injuries, with players like James Wisniewski, Mark Letestu, Nikita Nikitin and Jeff Carter out for an extended period of time.
San Jose has taken both of the other matchups between these two teams this season, both of them by 2-1 scores and both of them in January. This is the third of four meetings, and the second at the HP Pavilion. They'll meet again on Feb. 21 for the final meeting in Columbus.
The game is set for 10:30 p.m. eastern.
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