Game Day Notepad: Struggling Canucks visit streaking Blue Jackets

The struggling Vancouver Canucks (11-6-5) will play the first of three straight games on the road tonight when they visit Nationwide Arena to battle the suddenly-streaking Columbus Blue Jackets (7-12-4).

Read the entire Tale of the Tape preview exclusively at Canucks.com.

• The Canucks, coming off a 3-2 shootout loss on Tuesday, have just one win in their last five outings (1-3-1) and just three wins in their last 10 games (3-4-3).
• The Canucks are beginning a three-game, six-day road trip tonight in Columbus that will end next Tuesday in the same city that it begins in. Excluding playoffs, this is the first time the Canucks will face the same team twice on the same road trip since the 2005.06 season. Vancouver has lost two straight road games entering tonight's contest.
• The Blue Jackets are playing the third game of their four-game home stand tonight and are looking to build on their perfect 2-0 start so far.
• Columbus is coming off back-to-back wins for the first time this season and has also earned points in a season-high four games (2-0-2).
• Injured Canucks D Kevin Bieksa and D Keith Ballard are with the team on this current road trip. Ballard left Tuesday's game with a charley horse while Bieksa has missed the last two games and four of the last five overall.
• This is the first of three meetings between the Canucks and Blue Jackets this season. Vancouver and Columbus will face one another three times in the next 19 days.
• The Canucks won three of the four head-to-head meetings against the Blue Jackets in last year's season series (3-0-1). Their lone blemish was a 2-1 shootout loss in their most recent visit to the Nationwide Arena.
• Vancouver's shootout loss in their last trip to the Nationwide Arena snapped a five-game win streak they had in that building although they have still earned points in six straight visits there (5-0-1). Overall, the Canucks are undefeated in regulation in their last 11 head-to-head meetings against the Blue Jackets (10-0-1).
• Canucks G Cory Schneider was responsible for all three of his team's wins against Columbus last season. He finished with a 2.00 GAA and a .945 save percentage in three starts.
• Vancouver could see a new face in the Columbus net in the form of ex-Flyer G Sergei Bobrovsky. Bobrovsky has won two in a row, including stopping all 21 shots he faced on Tuesday in a 4-3 shootout win over Edmonton after relieving starter Steve Mason. Bobrovsky's only career appearance against the Canucks came on December 28, 2010 at Rogers Arena. He made 19 saves on 21 shots after relieving Flyers' starter Brian Boucher midway through a game that turned out to be a 6-2 win for the Canucks.
• Canucks F Jannik Hansen comes into the game with a personal career-high three-game goal streak. Overall, all six of his total goals this season have come in second periods.
• Canucks F Daniel Sedin led all players in last year's season series against the Blue Jackets with five points (3-2-5). No Columbus player had more than two points.
• Tonight marks the first time the Canucks will face the Blue Jackets since the departure of Columbus' former captain Rick Nash on the off-season. His absence might not be too noticeable though considering last year Nash managed just one assist and had a minus-three rating in the season series.
  

FOLLOW THE GAME

Tonight's game faces off at 4 pm PT and can be seen on Rogers Sportsnet Pacific. Listen live on The TEAM 1040 Sports Radio or online at teamradio.ca.

Those away from a TV or radio can follow @CanucksGame on Twitter for live in-game play-by-play.