Preview: Blue Jackets at Blackhawks

[March 06, 2014]  With a three-game winning streak under their belt, the Columbus Blue Jackets have put themselves in a good position to vie for the franchise's second postseason berth. The Blue Jackets look to improve their standing on Thursday, when they attempt to snap an 11-game winless streak against the host Chicago Blackhawks. Columbus addressed its injury-depleted defense by acquiring veteran Nick Schultz from Edmonton at the trade deadline and jettisoned last season's prized pickup Marian Gaborik to Los Angeles in a pair of separate deals.

While the Blue Jackets were active on Wednesday, the Blackhawks were content to let a pair of minor deals earlier in the week serve as their only business. Chicago features 19 players from last season's Stanley Cup-winning team — and general manager Stan Bowman is pretty content with the familiar look of his club. "There are a lot of components to our team similar to a year ago. Some of the younger players are better now than a year ago, and that's exciting to see," he said. "We haven't had any guys drop off and lose their talent the last six months."

TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN Ohio (Columbus), CSN (Chicago)

ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (32-25-5): With defensemen Fedor Tyutin (ankle) and rookie Ryan Murray (knee) sidelined, Columbus addressed its ailing blue line by adding Schultz for a fifth-round draft pick. Gaborik, who was part of Columbus' blockbuster deal with the New York Rangers 12 months ago, has been hampered by injuries and only played in 34 of the team's 74 games. The 32-year-old was shipped to the Kings for forward Matt Frattin, a second-round pick and a third-round selection.

ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (36-13-14): Captain Jonathan Toews scored a power-play goal for his third tally in two contests on Tuesday, but Chicago suffered its third setback in four games with a 4-2 loss to Colorado. Brandon Saad was elevated to Toews' line as the Blackhawks played without injured forward Marian Hossa, who is sidelined two-to-three weeks with an upper-body injury. Thursday's tilt could be the first for David Rundblad in a Chicago uniform as he was acquired with fellow defenseman Mathieu Brisebois from Phoenix for a second-round pick in this June's draft.

OVERTIME

1. Blue Jackets C Artem Anisimov has scored five times during his four-game goal-scoring streak.
   

2. Although he still is looking for his pads from Soldier Field, Chicago G Corey Crawford can take solace in the fact that he owns a 9-2-0 mark with a 1.89 goals-against average versus Columbus.
   

3. Columbus is 4-for-7 on the power play during its winning streak.
   

PREDICTION: Blackhawks 3, Blue Jackets 2

[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.