Gameday Guide: Jan. 6 at New Jersey

When the Blue Jackets
take to the ice tonight in New Jersey
, they'll run the gamut from players who have played 1,000 career games to a youngster making his NHL debut.
While much of the focus will be on
the milestone night
of Jakub Voracek, on the other side of the spectrum, defenseman Jake Christiansen is expected to play his first-ever game tonight against the Devils. The 22-year-old from West Vancouver, B.C., is an intriguing offensive talent from the blue line and is having an excellent season with Cleveland of the AHL.

"He's got a skill set for sure," head coach Brad Larsen said. "He's very headsy with the puck. He is good in the offensive zone. I think he's been working at the defensive side of it, getting more competitive, like we've been talking about with all of our players. He's a guy that's very interesting. He's a player that could look really good with NHL players."
PROSPECT REPORT: Christiansen making his mark with the Monsters
The left-shot defenseman seems likely to be paired with another young blueliner - heck, that's all the Jackets really have at this point -- in Andrew Peeke based off of Wednesday's practice. Christiansen is having a solid season with the Monsters, posting a 5-13-18 line and plus-4 rating in 21 games to tie for third in the AHL in points among defensemen.

He also was a scorer in juniors, closing his career with Everett of the WHL in 2019-20 with 22 goals and 50 points in 38 games before signing with the Blue Jackets that March.

3 Keys to the Game

Better defensively: This is a big one, obviously, but giving up seven goals in consecutive games is no way to win in the NHL. Seeing such players as Dean Kukan and Joonas Korpisalo shake off the rust Tuesday night should help in this one.
Stay positive: As Larsen says, it's easy to feel good when you're winning and it's easy to go the other way when the losses pile up. The Blue Jackets just have to stick to the task and keep working through this slump to come out the other side.
Win puck battles: This might be the key to the game, as it's been the focus to practice in recent days. Everything else offensively and defensively comes from this.

Notable

Voracek will be the fourth player in franchise history to play in his 1,000th NHL game tonight when he suits up for the Blue Jackets. The others are Sergei Fedorov, Scott Hartnell and Vinny Prospal. … Voracek and Rick Nash (1,060 NHL games) are the only CBJ draft picks to reach the milestone. … Voracek has a 40-117-157 line in 272 career games in union blue and a 217-544-761 line overall in his 14 seasons. ... He is also tied for first in the NHL with 18 primary assists with four other players. … Forward Gus Nyquist has a goal and an assist in each of his past two games. ... With seven goals, Adam Boqvist is tied for sixth among NHL defensemen in tallies. … Boqvist is also three games from 100 in his NHL career. … Boqvist's brother, Jesper, is a 23-year-old center who has an 0-3-3 line in 12 games this year for the Devils. ... Max Domi is three goals from 100 and seven assists from 200 in his NHL career. ... The Blue Jackets have trailed in 10 of their 15 wins this year and have an NHL-best five wins when trailing after two periods. … Columbus is 7-1 in extra time this year (4-0 in overtime, 3-1 in shootouts). … The Blue Jackets won the previous matchup this year between the teams by a 4-3 score in a shootout on Halloween in New Jersey. Oliver Bjorkstrand, Patrik Laine and Boone Jenner scored for Columbus, while Voraeck had the lone shootout goal. ... Columbus is 7-0-1 in its last eight games at The Rock.

Projected Lineup

(Subject to change)
Patrik Laine - Boone Jenner - Gustav Nyquist
Jake Voracek - Cole Sillinger - Oliver Bjorkstrand
Yegor Chinakhov - Sean Kuraly - Max Domi
Eric Robinson - Jack Roslovic - Emil Bemstrom
Vladislav Gavrikov - Jake Bean
Dean Kukan - Adam Boqvist
Jake Christiansen - Andrew Peeke
Joonas Korpisalo
Jean-Francois Berube
Scratches:Alexandre Texier (illness), Gabriel Carlsson, Elvis Merzlikins (lower-body injury; day to day)
Injured Reserve:Justin Danforth (left knee sprain; six weeks as of Dec. 31); Daniil Tarasov (lower body; out indefinitely as of Jan. 4)
COVID-19 protocol:Zach Werenski, Gavin Bayreuther
Taxi squad:Liam Foudy, Scott Harrington
Non-roster: Gavin Bayreuther
Roster Report: The return of Bean from illness and the debut of Christiansen will be the two changes to the CBJ lineup. Larsen said Sillinger is a game-time decision after suffering a lower-body injury in the third period of Tuesday's game vs. Tampa Bay but is expected to play.

This Day in CBJ History

Jan. 6, 2014: Mark Letestu scores the deciding goal in a shootout as the Blue Jackets post a 4-3 win in Madison Square Garden over the New York Rangers. Columbus would go on to win eight straight games to zero in on the second playoff appearance in franchise history.
Jan. 6, 2015: In a massive trade, the Blue Jackets send center Ryan Johansen to Nashville in exchange for defenseman Seth Jones, who would go on to post 20 points in 41 games the rest of the season for the Blue Jackets.
Jan. 6, 2021: Oliver Bjorkstrand signs a five-year contract extension that is expected to keep him in Columbus through the end of the 2025-26 season.