Welcome to Columbus, Guy Boucher

Who am I kidding?  This post is just an excuse to use this graphic.

It took a year and a half, but Nationwide Arena will finally be graced with the presence of coaching wunderkind Guy Boucher.  Yup, the man who spurned Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson at the altar succumbed to the siren call of Steve Yzerman (and perhaps no income tax?) brings his Tampa Bay Lightning into Columbus tonight at 7PM.

Unlike last season where Boucher's Lightning made plenty of noise in the Stanley Cup playoffs, this season's edition isn't playing quite so well.  Tampa is in 13th place in the East with 28 points (only six points above the last-in-the-NHL Blue Jackets).  Boucher's innovative 1-3-1 trap was openly mocked on national television, too.  It's been a rough haul, apparently.  Is Boucher still a coaching genius?

I haven't followed Tampa enough to know what ails them in any detail, but this has the potential to be an inspired game from both benches.

Go Jackets!