PREVIEW: Blue Jackets finish road trip in Vancouver

BLUE JACKETS (40-30-4) at CANUCKS (34-33-10)Sunday, 10 p.m., Rogers Arena, Vancouver (FOX Sports Ohio, CBJ app, FOX Sports app, CD 102.5)
On an off day in one of the most picturesque locations in North America, the Blue Jackets were forced to contemplate an ugly reality Friday.
Looking at the standings showed that if the Stanley Cup Playoffs began, Columbus would be on the outside looking in. For a team that has made back-to-back appearances in the postseason for the first time in franchise history - and one that made bold moves acquiring four reinforcements at the trade deadline - that was a difficult pill to swallow.
So after Thursday's loss in Edmonton, Blue Jackets players had a decision to make, even if they needed a mental break. Just how much of an off day -- Columbus did not practice Friday after traveling from Edmonton to Vancouver -- could that off day be?

"It's hard not to think about it with the situation that we're in right now," defenseman Seth Jones said. "It was nice to have a day off yesterday and get away a little bit, but at the same time, this is our life right now. This is the most important thing in my life is making this team better and succeeding, whatever we have to do to make that happen."

Columbus was back on the ice Saturday ahead of Sunday night's contest with the Canucks, and the team will have an optional morning skate Sunday morning. The road they face is now more daunting, with the two wild cards in the Eastern Conference -- Carolina and Montreal -- picking up wins Saturday night, leaving the Blue Jackets five points behind the Hurricanes and three behind the Canadiens for the final playoff spot.
But scoreboard watching won't do Columbus any good at this moment. The Blue Jackets must fix what ails them and do it quickly after a 4-1 setback to the Oilers that looked like it was missing the urgency necessary given the situation.
"The frustrating part for me with the Edmonton game is our energy level just wasn't where it needed to be," head coach John Tortorella said after practice Saturday. "I don't know what happened there. I haven't asked the question of the team. I'm going to rely on the four or five games prior to that Edmonton game that they know they have to play that way.
"We are going to have a dinner tonight as a team, sit down as a group and have dinner, have a beer together and get ready to play our next game."

But as Tortorella said after the setback to the Oilers, the time for talk really is over. The need for results is clear amid an 0-2-1 run at the most critical point in the season, and the place the team can make up the biggest ground right now is offensively.
Columbus has just seven goals in the last four games and four in the last three, and Tortorella wouldn't shy away from the suggestion the team's offensive efforts became more about players trying to make superstar individual plays rather than working in concert.
"We need to play as a team," Tortorella said. "I think when you start going through some frustration as far as not getting the results, good players that care end up going the wrong way as far as breaking away from the team -- for the right reasons, though. It's the wrong thing to do but it's the right reason -- because they want to make a difference. We need to stay within our concept and play as a team.
"No matter who is in the lineup tomorrow night, we have to find a way to get points. We just have to think about tomorrow night's game."
No Foligno Again
Columbus will play its fourth game in a row without captain Nick Foligno, who did not join the team on its road trip because he is dealing with a personal matter.
"It's a big deal, but there are bigger priorities in life," said Jones, who is one of the team's alternate captains. "When you have kids and a family, that always comes first. We don't want him to be here with everything that's going on, but he's a voice in the room and he's the leader of this team and he runs the ship, so when you're going through difficult times, this is when myself and other guys can step up and do their part."
Columbus got good injury news when goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who missed Thursday's game with an injury,
was back on the ice Saturday at practice
. The team is still without Foligno and defenseman Ryan Murray, but Tortorella isn't interested in excuses at this point.
"(Nick is) part of our leadership group and he plays in a lot of different situations for our team," Tortorella said. "Sure, we miss him. We miss Murr also. But we have enough people. We have a good team."
Know the Foe
For the second game in a row, the Blue Jackets face a team on the outside looking in of the Western Conference playoff race, though Vancouver had won three in a row and four of five before falling at home to Calgary on Saturday night. Still, the Canucks have 74 points, leaving them six points out of the last Western playoff spot and with five teams to jump to get there.
A simple answer to why is that the team has been below average in both scoring (23rd in NHL, 2.71 goals per game) and defense (18th, 3.03 allowed). Add in the game's 26th-ranked power play (16.2 percent) and the Canucks have been below league average in many measures this season.
Of course, the most important part of the season for Vancouver has been the rookie sensation that is Elias Pettersson. "The Alien" has impressed throughout the year, compiling 27 goals and 37 assists for a team-best 64 points, all of which lead NHL rookies.
The Canucks have a pretty good young scoring core in Pettersson (20 years old) as well as 23-year-old Bo Horvat and 22-year-old Brock Boeser. Horvat and Boeser are second and third on the team in scoring with a 27-30-57 and a 25-28-53 line, respectively. Unfortunately for Vancouver, no other player has more than 14 goals or 31 points on the season.
In net, Jacob Markstrom has started 57 games this year and gone 27-21-9 with a 2.74 goals-against average and .913 save percentage. Top backup Anders Nilsson is now in Ottawa, and the current reserve is rookie Thatcher Demko (2-2-0, 2.95, .903).
3 Keys
Top line success: The struggles with point production behind had by the Blue Jackets' top line have been well documented. Tortorella said Saturday the team needs goals from Artemi Panarin, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Cam Atkinson, and this is as good a time as any to start.
Play with urgency: Columbus never got sustained pressure on Edmonton in Sunday's loss. Facing another team on the wrong side of the playoff line in the West, the Blue Jackets must impose their will.
A hot start: Too often the Blue Jackets have been playing from behind of late. With confidence flagging, an early goal or two would perhaps help loosen the grip on the sticks.
Of Note
Columbus has lost five straight on the road (0-4-1) after starting the season 20-10-1 away from home. … Columbus lost the first game of the series by a 3-2 score on Dec. 11 at Nationwide Arena. … Columbus has earned points in its last four visits to Vancouver (3-0-1). … The Blue Jackets have lost four in a row in the series. The last win was a 4-3 overtime triumph Dec. 18, 2016, that was the 500th win of head coach John Tortorella's career.
Blue Jackets Projected Lineup
Subject to change
Artemi Panarin - Pierre-Luc Dubois - Cam Atkinson
Ryan Dzingel - Matt Duchene - Josh Anderson
Alex Wennberg - Boone Jenner - Oliver Bjorkstrand
Brandon Dubinsky - Riley Nash - Eric Robinson
Zach Werenski - Seth Jones
Markus Nutivaara - David Savard
Dean Kukan - Adam McQuaid
Sergei Bobrovsky
Joonas Korpisalo
Scratched: Markus Hannikainen, Lukas Sedlak, Nick Foligno, Scott Harrington, Keith Kinakid
Roster Report: Bobrovsky practiced Saturday and Tortorella said he would be able to start Sunday morning after missing the last game with an upper-body injury. Meanwhile, Harrington - who briefly left Thursday's game - and Dubinsky did not practice Saturday, and Tortorella said Harrington will not play vs. the Canucks.
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