Gameday Preview: Blue Jackets vs. Coyotes

The Details

BLUE JACKETS vs. COYOTES
GAME INFO
COLUMBUS: 3-4-0, T-5th in Metropolitan
ARIZONA: 1-4-0, 8th in Central
NATIONWIDE ARENA, 7 p.m. ET
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Johnny Columbus

What They're Saying

Columbus found the complete 60-minute performance it was looking for in Sunday night's 5-1 win at the New York Rangers, and it wasn't just because it was the first wire-to-wire win of the season.
The Blue Jackets also got contributions from up and down the lineup, including five different goal scorers; three other players who chipped in multiple assists; and an excellent performance in net from Daniil Tarasov, who earned his first NHL victory.
Perhaps the best sign -- the Blue Jackets did all that and didn't receive a point from Johnny Gaudreau, who saw a five-game point streak come to an end but whose offensive talents weren't needed on this night.
"I thought we managed the game a bit better," head coach Brad Larsen said, referencing how Columbus saw a pair of two-goal leads disappear in Saturday night's home loss to Pittsburgh. "They made their push there in the second and we gave them some good looks, but we're doing a good job. … We were able to settle in. You get the lead, that helped. We learned from the game before. We calmed our mind and we were able to manage the game better in the third."
The most encouraging sign was on defense, where the Blue Jackets had entered the game having allowed 4.16 goals in the first six contests. A star-studded Rangers lineup featuring such offensive threats as Artemi Panarin, Mike Zibanejad, Chris Kreider and Adam Fox finished with just the lone tally, and it came with New York holding a two-man advantage.
For Andrew Peeke, who scored his first goal of the season, the Blue Jackets were able to focus on the little things that made a big difference.
"We had a good start and we just maintained it," he said. "They came at us, but we controlled the middle of the ice really well. Even though in the third they were coming at us the first 10 minutes, they only had two shots (on goal). That's a good thing for us, knowing they were playing on the perimeter, and we were keeping it locked down in front. That was a big difference."

Gameday Update

The signs were there a week ago when Laine got back on the ice and went through skating and shooting drills on his own. There was even better news when he went through a full workout Saturday featuring slap shots and other high-impact moves before the team's morning skate.
And now, this morning, the good news was delivered -- Laine would be back in the lineup tonight against the Coyotes.
"I felt pretty good the last four, five days, so I was kind of surprised how good I was feeling that quickly after the injury," he said. "But I'm not gonna complain. It's more fun to be out here a couple of weeks early than later. Obviously, I'm excited to get out there and actually play for those games."
When Laine first suffered the upper-body injury Oct. 12 at Carolina when his arm was awkwardly pinned to the boards in a hit from Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce, it was expected the high-scoring standout would miss three to four weeks. But it became clear the last few days he was ahead of schedule, and Laine said he's under no restrictions tonight against the Coyotes.
Laine put up a 26-30-56 line in 56 games last year and had a goal in the opener against the Canes before suffering the injury, so the Jackets are surely happy to have him back to boost the lineup. The team went 3-3-0 in games without him, keeping the boat afloat, and Larsen said he just needs to be Laine as he gets back to action.
"It's a nice guy to have back in your lineup," Larsen said. "He's excited to play. But again, it's one jersey, and he hasn't played in a couple of weeks, so we gotta keep playing. We can't sit back and keep patting ourselves on the back for one win on the road."

Know The Foe: Arizona Coyotes

Head coach: Andre Tourigny (Second season)
Season Stats:Goals per game: 2.60 (28th) | Scoring defense: 5.20 (31st) | PP: 28.6 percent (7th) | PK: 73.7 percent (24th)
The narrative: Arizona has committed to a long-term rebuild with an eye on amassing talented young players for the future. A squad that has just one playoff appearance in the last 10 years has drafted highly touted forwards Logan Cooley, Dylan Guenther and Conor Geekie at the top of the past two drafts to start things off, but only Guenther is on the current squad as the best days are likely in the future for the Coyotes.
2021-22 leaders: Two-time All-Star Clayton Keller led the squad with 28 goals and 63 points, while Nick Schmaltz followed with a 23-36-59 line. Former Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere led the blueliners in scoring with 14 goals among his 51 points, while Lawson Crouse also pitched in 20 goals. In net, Czech netminder Karel Vejmelka led the six goalies on the squad to see playing time, posting a 13-32-3 record, 3.68 GAA and .898 save percentage in 52 appearances.
What's new: The Coyotes were a hodgepodge of "That guy is still in the league?" a season ago, with Phil Kessel, Alex Galchenyuk, Loui Eriksson, Andrew Ladd and Jay Beagle among the players to see extensive time. All are gone from the roster, but given the early stages of the rebuild, the Coyotes didn't splurge in the offseason, bringing in such names as Nick Bjugstad, Zack Kassian, Troy Stecher and Connor Ingram to fill out the roster.
So far, it's been a tough start, with Arizona losing four of the first five while on a six-game road trip to begin the season. The opener in Arizona State's 5,000-seat Mullett Arena won't take place until Friday, and while the Coyotes did get a win against Toronto last Monday, the squad has given up six goals in all four of its losses. Gostisbehere leads the team with a 2-3-5 line, while Nick Ritchie has a team-best three goals.
Trending:Columbus has experienced recent success in the series, including a sweep of last year's games. The Blue Jackets are 10-2-0 since the 2015-16 season against the Coyotes.

3 Keys to the Game

Bear down: Coming off a big win in New York and facing a team struggling out of the gate, the Blue Jackets can't take anything for granted. It will require a full effort to win this one.
Defensive focus: One of the keys to the victory against the Rangers was a focus on defense, with the Jackets controlling the middle of the ice, breaking up passes and blocking shots. That has to continue.
Keep rolling: The Jackets have at least three goals in each of the past four games, including 17 tallies in that span (4.25 per game). Everyone is pitching in, which is a good sign.

3 Stats to Know

• Columbus has six goals from defensemen on the season, second in the NHL behind the Islanders with seven. Zach Werenski has two while Jake Bean, Nick Blankenburg, Vladislav Gavrikov and Andrew Peeke each have one.
• The Blue Jackets have had 15 different goal scorers on the season and have 19 different players to notch at least a point so far this year. The 15 goal scorers leads the NHL.
• Milestone watch: Gustav Nyquist is two points away from 100 (35-63-98) in his CBJ career, while Erik Gudbranson is three away from 100 in his NHL career (27-70-97). Boone Jenner is set to play in his 597th NHL game, which will tie David Savard for fourth all-time in CBJ history.

Who's Hot

With his two goals this season, Werenski now has 78 career tallies in a CBJ sweater, breaking a tie for 10th place in team history he held entering the season with Nik Zherdev. With his next goal, he will tie Ryan Johansen for ninth in CBJ annals. … Jack Roslovic is coming off consecutive multipoint games (1-3-4 in that span). … Kent Johnson has goals in two straight games and points in three in a row. … Yegor Chinakhov has a 1-4-5 line in the last four contests. … Jakub Voracek has five assists in the last five games. … Fifteen CBJ players have scored goals in the first seven games, while 19 have points.

This Day in CBJ History

Oct. 25, 2007: Pascal Leclaire continues a red-hot start to the season, earning his fourth shutout of October in a 3-0 win over St. Louis in Nationwide Arena. Leclaire makes a season-best 36 saves in the victory, while Columbus gets goals from Jared Boll, Rick Nash and Jiri Novotny.

Roster Report

Projected Lineup (subject to change)
Johnny Gaudreau - Boone Jenner - Patrik Laine
Kent Johnson - Jack Roslovic - Jakub Voracek
Yegor Chinakhov - Cole Sillinger - Gus Nyquist
Eric Robinson - Sean Kuraly - Mathieu Olivier
Zach Werenski - Andrew Peeke
Vladislav Gavrikov - Adam Boqvist
Jake Bean - Erik Gudbranson
Daniil Tarasov
Elvis Merzlikins
Scratches: Nick Blankenburg (upper body), Liam Foudy, Gavin Bayreuther
Injured reserve/Injured non-roster: Justin Danforth (shoulder surgery, out for six months as of Oct. 25); Joonas Korpisalo (hip, day to day); Joona Luoto (lower body, day to day)
Roster Report:Head coach Brad Larsen said Laine will return to the lineup, going in for Foudy, while Boqvist enters for the injured Blankenburg. Tarasov will make a second straight start after earning his first NHL win Sunday in Madison Square Garden.