The NHL is back in Europe as the Colombus Blue Jackets face the Colorado Avalanche in Finland. The Blue Jackets have a 3-7 record and with three losses in a row, have fallen to last place in the Metropolitan Division. The Avalanche have a 4-4-1 record and are hoping to rebound from two consecutive losses. Both teams are looking to improve in their divisions and the upcoming game should be a great one.
The Blue Jackets are off to a rough start to the season with their offense struggling and scoring 2.60 goals per game. Johnny Gaudreau, Kent Johnson, and Yegor Chinakhov have scored 10 goals and 10 assists to lead the top two lines but the rest of the offense has struggled. The hope is that Boone Jenner and Sean Kuraly can step up as they play a pivotal role in the forward unit but have only scored two goals and five assists this season.
The offense has struggled but the defense has been one of the worst in the league, allowing 4.40 goals per game including 17 goals in the last three games. Andrew Peeke and Vladislav Gavrikov have led the top two pairings but the rest of the defense has been awful, allowing opponents to find open shots on the net at will. Furthermore, goaltender Elvis Merzlikins is having a rough season in the net with a .864 save percentage and a 4.75 goals-against average on 213 s hots