Rewrite the Stars

Columbus and Dallas will face off tonight at Nationwide Arena.

Both teams are coming off an overtime loss, and want to redeem themselves. Last night, Dallas fell to the Boston Bruins and Columbus fell to the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday.

Redemption. Something the Jackets can’t seem to find this season. Their record has been nothing short of embarrassing.

During their California road trip, they went 1-2. They had a great game against San Jose in which they won 4-1, but after that, it was all downhill.

The LA Kings absolutely dominated Columbus on Saturday when they scored two unanswered goals. Their final goal was in the form of a penalty shot that Dustin Brown was able to whip past Bobrovsky.

On Sunday, the team travelled to Anaheim where they received another beating. Though the first period was rather uneventful, Pierre-Luc Dubois was able to put the Jackets on the board first with a goal 3 minutes into the second period. However, Anaheim responded shortly thereafter with a goal of their own from Cam Fowler. With less than, two minutes remaining, Fowler scored again.

Astoundingly, PLD was able to tie up the game with less than 40 seconds remaining in the final period to force it into overtime. Regardless, it didn’t help much as Fowler was able to score once again 36 seconds into OT to secure the victory and his first career hat trick. Prior to that game, the Ducks had lost seven games in a row.

"Obviously, the San Jose game was a good game from us,” Markus Hannikainen said, "but still, consistency is a big thing for us. Night after night we've got to keep grinding. That's the style of play we've got to keep every single night. That's a key factor for us."

Hannikainen has fought hard for the spot he’s in now. He was scratched for the first eight games of the season, but since making his debut, he’s earned his keep.

"He's not coming out of the lineup," Tortorella said on Hannikainen. "He's played that well as far as his effort and around the puck. He ends up making a couple of good offensive plays."

It’s still early in the season, so there’s no reason to be getting in such a huff, but still, it’s frustrating for the fans and players. A big area in need of improvement is the power play. Against the Ducks, Columbus was 0-6. It’s been a recurring theme this season; they just can’t seem to generate any oomph.

Dallas has had some hard games as well, and their record is pretty similar to Columbus, but they at least had back-to-back-to-back wins last week. They defeated Montreal, Toronto, and Washington. They finally ended their hot streak against the Boston Bruins on Monday in OT.

CBJ Projected Lineup

Artemi Panarin -- Pierre-Luc Dubois -- Cam Atkinson Nick Foligno -- Boone Jenner -- Josh Anderson Oliver Bjorkstrand -- Alexander Wennberg -- Anthony Duclair Riley Nash -- Brandon Dubinsky -- Markus Hannikainen

Zach Werenski -- Seth Jones Ryan Murray -- Markus Nutivaara Scott Harrington -- David Savard

Sergei Bobrovsky Joonas Korpisalo