PREVIEW: Blue Jackets finish California swing vs. Sharks

BLUE JACKETS (35-35-6) at SHARKS (29-34-12)

First, leading goal and point scorer Patrik Laine was unable to play because of injury, then the team lost top defenseman scorer Zach Werenski to injury on his second shift of the game.
With the team already without captain Boone Jenner as well as a host of others, it was a tough way to start the game. Columbus fell into an early 3-1 hole, rallied to tie the game at 3, but then gave up a pair of goals early in the third on the way to the loss.
As one might expect, the Blue Jackets acknowledged it was a tough way to start the game but also said the team had to deal with the injuries just as any other squad would have.
"Honestly, it sucks," head coach Brad Larsen said of the injury woes. "Two real good players for us, but you don't sit here and worry about it. You can't. Guys have to go play, right? And we were in that game. It wasn't like we got blown out. We gave up two there in the third, and that really irritated me because they were two tough goals, but we get within a goal and we just don't get it done."
To Larsen, the biggest issue in the loss was not a concern about effort -- which one might expect so late in the season with the team out of the playoff race, and on the second half of a back-to-back -- but execution.
"I thought we found our legs pretty good on a back-to-back," Larsen said. "Really, just big mistakes tonight. We're right there in the game, but yeah."
The biggest concern for the Blue Jackets might be making sure they're ready to go from the opening faceoff. In both Los Angeles and Anaheim, the team gave up multiple goals in the first 10 minutes and had to play from behind in each game, never quite catching up to ever take the lead in either.
"We've played from behind quite a bit," said defenseman Jake Bean, who scored twice against the Ducks. "It's good to know you can play from behind and get back into games, btu sooner or later we're going to have to start playing from in front if we want to be a serious contender. We know that, but definitely it's nice to know we can come back in games like that."

Know the Foe

San Jose has a history of success, but the Sharks will miss the playoffs for the third straight season this year after making the postseason 13 of 14 seasons from 2004 to 2019.
It's a bit of a rebuild, but there's reason to be confident for San Jose, which was right in the mix at 22-20-3 at the All-Star break but has a 7-14-9 record since then.
The team will have to improve from a goal-scoring standpoint, as the Sharks place tied for 28th in the NHL with just 2.57 goals per game while the power play checks in 23rd at 18.2 percent. San Jose also places tied for 20th in team defense with 3.17 goals allowed per game, though the penalty kill is one of the league's best at 86.1 percent, third overall.
A pair of Europeans has led the way in Timo Meier and Tomas Hertl. Meier is a 25-year-old Switzerland native who has topped a point per game with a 33-40-73 line in 70 games, while Hertl is one of the game's most underappreciated talents as the Czech center has 28 goals among his 62 points on the season.
Logan Couture and Brent Burns are veterans on the squad who are next on the scoring charts, as the former has a 23-27-50 line while the 36-year-old Burns leads the defensive corps with a 9-41-50 line. Alexander Barabonov is next with 10 goals and 37 points, while Erik Karlsson has a 10-25-35 line.
In net, James Reimer has led the way with a 18-16-9 record in 45 games (43 starts), not to mention a 2.84 goals-against average and .912 save percentage. The main backup has been Adin Hill (10-11-1, 2.66 GAA, .906 save percentage), while the team also acquired Kaapo Kahkonen from Minnesota at the trade deadline and he has played in seven games.