Flyers and Blue Jackets Meet at the Bottom of the Metro
Philadelphia's road woes run into a Columbus team on a three-game losing streak, with both clubs still hanging around the wild-card chase.
Written before the game
Strip away the records and these two teams have looked almost like mirror images over their last ten games. Neither has been able to keep the other side's chances down, and both have been giving up a little more than they create.
Philadelphia has averaged 3.03 expected goals for per game over that stretch (expected goals measure how many goals a team's chances were worth) against 3.22 allowed. Columbus sits at 2.98 for and 3.3 against. That is a coin-flip matchup on paper, with the Blue Jackets' defending a touch leakier.
The standings explain the stakes. The Flyers are 5-10-6 with 16 points, seventh in the Metropolitan and ninth in the wild-card order, and just 2-6-3 on the road. The Blue Jackets are 7-10-0 with 14 points, eighth in the division, but they have played four fewer games. They also arrive on a three-game losing streak, though their home record of 6-5-0 is the best part of their season.
Both teams have won only a handful of their last ten: Philadelphia went 3-4-3, Columbus 4-6-0. Something has to give in a building where the Blue Jackets have been much more comfortable than the Flyers have been anywhere away from home.