Vegas @ Columbus preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 9, 2019 ) Columbus 4, Vegas 3

The blueprint to beating the Columbus Blue Jackets is becoming fairly evident through the first month of the season: force them to play from behind. Having dropped all nine games (0-6-3) when surrendering the opening goal, the Blue Jackets will look to put an end to a four-game losing streak when they host the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night.

Columbus' slide continued in its first shutout defeat, falling to Calgary on Saturday despite pouring 43 shots on goal -- its second-highest total of the season. "We just gotta get ourselves out of it. We have to get back to the way we were playing," coach John Tortorella said. "Sometimes, there's no explanation. You lose your game, and I think there's a number of guys that are really squeezing their sticks. We just have to work ourselves through it." The Golden Knights have been among the league's toughest teams at home since their inception, but they are coming off back-to-back overtime losses at T-Mobile Arena. Vegas squandered a two-goal third-period lead in each of the two setbacks -- to Montreal and Winnipeg -- and now must try to regroup in the first of four straight on the road.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, AT&T Sportsnet-Rocky Mountain (Las Vegas), FS Ohio (Columbus)

ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS (8-5-2): Vegas continues to have trouble clearing the puck out of its own end, which led to the decisive goal in its latest defeat. “Our M.O. the last few years has been getting the puck out of the zone really quickly, and we haven’t been doing that,” defenseman Nate Schmidt said. “There’s times when they come in with one forward and they keep the puck in the zone. That just can’t happen.” Marc-Andre Fleury, back at practice after missing Saturday's game with the flu, is 1-2-0 with 10 goals allowed versus Columbus since joining Vegas.

ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (5-6-3): Kole Sherwood had an eventful season debut hours after he was called up from the minors, recording a team-high four hits, three shots on goal and two takeaways. Sherwood also was on the receiving end of a gloved punch to the face by Milan Lucic after he stripped the Calgary forward of the puck and poked at a rebound in the crease. "When you whack the goalie, you're going to get something back," Sherwood said of the play that earned Lucic a two-game suspension. "It's expected. I think (Lucic) was mad I stripped him of the puck."

OVERTIME

1. Vegas F Alex Tuch did not accompany the team to Columbus and is day-to-day after taking a hit to the head Saturday.

2. Blue Jackets G Joonas Korpisalo stopped 37 of 38 shots to beat Vegas in March 2017.

3. Golden Knights F William Karlsson, who played two seasons with Columbus, has three goals and two assists during a four-game point streak.

PREDICTION: Golden Knights 3, Blue Jackets 2