Gameday Guide: Dec. 7 at Toronto

If there's one area the Blue Jackets have struggled with this year, it's in keeping pucks out of the back of their own net.
Columbus enters
tonight's game in Toronto
having allowed 3.26 goals per game, which places 24th in the NHL. It's something to be expected on a young team with a number of players in bigger, better roles, but at times the team has been plagued by turnovers, positional mistakes and other minor breakdowns that at the highest level mean trouble.

That means tonight is a big challenge for the Blue Jackets. While Toronto hasn't set the world on fire offensively all year -- the Leafs are 13th in the NHL with 3.08 goals per game -- it's still a team that boasts such names as Tavares, Matthews and Nylander.
And with the Leafs having scored 32 goals in their last seven contests (4.57 per game), the phrase "managing the puck" takes on a big meaning tonight in Scotiabank Arena.

"It's in all three zones," head coach Brad Larsen said. "Every situation is different. So when you're on the attack, you might be four on the rush. You start forcing passes through the middle, generally if you don't succeed on that, they turn and go. (Defensive) zone, forcing pucks to the middle of the ice if maybe the play is not there and giving them second and third opportunities to attack you as you're tired. Same thing in the neutral zone - cross-ice plays are great if they're there, but if not, you have to get to the red line and get it in.
"Managing the puck, there's a lot of different scenarios within that. When we talk about it, we try to show it in set examples and playing a more simple north-style game, especially against a team like that. They make you pay for mistakes and they have the high-end talent."
The good news is there is a guide for how the team has to play, one many members of the squad should remember. The last time these teams met was in the 2020 playoff bubble in Toronto, with the Blue Jackets winning the qualifying playoff series by a 3-2 margin. The Blue Jackets held the Maple Leafs to 10 goals in the five-game series, including a pair of shutouts.

3 Keys to the Game

Ride the goalie: Elvis Merzlikins gets the net having won 10 of his first 14 appearances, making him the fastest CBJ goalie ever to 10 wins in a season. The Jackets will need another strong showing from him against a team that can score.
We the north: As Larsen said, simple might often be best against a team that can make you pay for mistakes. Getting the puck deep and forechecking isn't a bad thing in this one.
Be annoying: We'll see if an off day after a stretch of six games in 10 days helps the Jackets, who need their legs to be effective. As Adam Boqvist said, the Jackets have to be annoying to play against to have success.

Notable

Boqvist is tied for sixth in the NHL among goals for defenseman with six, five of which have come in the last six games. Boqvist also has a pair of two-goal games in that span. … After scoring his 11th goal of the year last Thursday at Dallas, Boone Jenner leads the team in tallies and is the only player in double digits. … Oliver Bjorkstrand is four points from 200 in his NHL career (89-107-196) … Jakub Voracek second in the NHL with 15 primary assists, one behind Calgary's Johnny Gaudreau. … Alexandre Texier already has a career-high eight goals after scoring Sunday night. … The Blue Jackets have trailed in nine of their 13 wins this year, tying Florida for the most comeback victories in the NHL. … Columbus is ranked second in the NHL in penalty kill percentage since Oct. 31 (89.7 percent). The Blue Jackets did not take a penalty for the 18th time in franchise history in Sunday's win over San Jose. … Twenty of the 24 skaters to play this year for Columbus have scored a goal and 22 have at least one point. … The Jackets are in a stretch of 13 of 17 games from Nov. 18-Dec. 20 played on the road. ... The last time these two teams met in the regular season was October 2019, with the Maple Leafs beating the Jackets in the CBJ season opener by a 4-1 score on Oct. 4. Columbus traveled to Toronto and won 4-3 in overtime on Oct. 21 on Gus Nyquist's penalty shot in overtime, the only one of those in team history. ... The Blue Jackets are 9-6-1 all-time in Toronto in regular-season play.

Projected Lineup

(Subject to change)
Gustav Nyquist - Boone Jenner - Oliver Bjorkstrand
Max Domi - Jack Roslovic - Jakub Voracek
Gregory Hofmann - Cole Sillinger - Justin Danforth
Eric Robinson - Sean Kuraly - Alexandre Texier
Zach Werenski - Jake Bean
Vladislav Gavrikov - Andrew Peeke
Gabriel Carlsson - Adam Boqvist
Elvis Merzlikins (confirmed starter)
Daniil Tarasov
Scratches:Yegor Chinakhov, Gavin Bayreuther, Scott Harrington
Injured Reserve: Dean Kukan (wrist; eight weeks as of Oct. 26); Patrik Laine (oblique; four to six weeks as of Nov. 5); Joonas Korpisalo (illness)
Roster Report: The Blue Jackets will keep the same 18-skater lineup as well as Merzlikins in net, but there will be some tweaks to the forward lines.

This Day in CBJ History

Dec. 7, 2011: Craig Patrick is named senior advisor, hockey operations of the Jackets.