Defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic will play in his 1,300th NHL game Thursday when the San Jose Sharks face the Columbus Blue Jackets

Welcome back to NHL Predictions! Tonight, the San Jose Sharks take on one of the surprise teams in the league, the Columbus Blue Jackets. Today, like every day, Last Word on Hockey looks at the games happening and gives our predictions for each one,

The latest victory, Tuesday night’s 3-2 shootout triumph over Philadelphia, was a bit of a slog the entire way – a “grinding, in the mud” game, as head coach Dean Evason said – but the Blue Jackets stuck with it and got the two points.