Gameday Preview: Blue Jackets vs. Hurricanes

The Details

BLUE JACKETS vs. HURRICANES
GAME INFO
COLUMBUS: 11-24-2, 8th in Metropolitan
CAROLINA: 25-8-6, 1st in Metropolitan
NATIONWIDE ARENA, 4 p.m. ET
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What They're Saying

The Blue Jackets didn't have a long practice Friday, but they did have a spirited one.
Head coach Brad Larsen put the team through the paces of a 40-minute practice in which he acknowledged more than half -- 25 minutes or so -- could be described as battle drills. This wasn't take a pass, skate in and shoot on a goalie with no defense; players were fighting for pucks along the wall and playing for keeps in five-man units.
Columbus has done plenty of that at times this year, but coming off losses in nine of 10, Larsen acknowledged the Jackets will work even harder in practice for the time being.
"We didn't reinvent the wheel today," Larsen said post-practice. "It's going to be more of a steady diet, an area of focus, let's put it that way. Battle drills will be part of it. We do battle drills quite consistently. There might be more of them, but until we get better at it, we're going to do them. I'm not worried about energy right now. Energy is the last thing on my mind."
The head coach acknowledged he's wanted to try to keep his team as fresh as possible and understands having seven players on injured reserve has left the team scrambling, but right now, he wants to see his team up the competitive spirit.
"It's been building," he said of the decision to make things more difficult in practice. "You are racking your brain. I'm not oblivious to having eight, nine, 10, 11 guys out at a time. But we have to grow. We don't get to just get used to losing and be OK with that. We don't get to go, 'Oh well, it's 6-2 (vs. Washington) and they're a good team and that's OK.'
"We have to find a way to grow these guys. There are some areas that have to get more important to some of them."

Know The Foe: Carolina Hurricanes

Head coach:Rod Brind'Amour (Fifth season)
Season Stats: Goals per game: 3.10 (20th) | Scoring defense: 2.67 (4th) | PP: 19.1 percent (25th) | PK: 80.2 percent (13th)
The narrative:Brind'Amour has built a winner in Carolina, with the Canes making four straight Stanley Cup Playoff appearances and winning rounds in three of those seasons. Carolina maintains its high-pressure, aggressive style, which prioritizes taking away time and space all over the ice and funneling pucks to the net, but the team just hasn't been able to get over the hump yet in the playoffs. Is this the season? With the team ranked in the bottom half of the NHL in scoring and power play, Carolina might need another scorer or two to get there.
2022-23 leaders:When it comes to NHL cores in which the players are all 25 or younger, you could certainly do worse than the trio of Sebastian Aho (25), Martin Necas (24) and Andrei Svechnikov (22). The three are the top scorers for Carolina, with Necas leading the way with a 17-21-38 line. Svechnikov leads the team with 19 goals among his 33 points and has earned his first All-Star bid, while Aho has a 12-18-30 line. Brent Burns is the top scoring defenseman with a 5-23-28 line.
Frederik Andersen has played just eight games in net, but the Canes have done a good job supporting goalies Antti Raanta and rookie sensation Pyotr Kochetkov. Kochetkov has a team-best 16 starts and has a 10-3-4 record, 2.20 GAA and .919 save percentage, while Raanta is 10-2-2 with a 2.62 GAA and .897 save percentage.
What's new:Kochetkov's rise has been a major storyline as the 23-year-old Russian was 7-0-1 in the month of December while earning NHL Rookie of the Month honors. The Canes have lost two straight, matching 5-3 decisions vs. the Rangers and Predators, to snap what had been a 16-game point streak (15-0-1). While the offense is sitting in the bottom half of the NHL, it has showed signs of life, posting at least three goals in 11 straight games. Offseason acquisition Max Pacioretty also made his season debut in the last game against Nashville.
Trending: The teams play only thrice this year, with Carolina capturing the first meeting of the season on opening night, a 4-1 victory in Raleigh on Oct. 12. The Hurricanes have won seven of eight in the series, though it's been largely even since 2016-17 with the CBJ posting a 13-12-2 mark since then.
Former CBJ: None

3 Keys to the Game

Handle the pressure: This is much easier said than done, but the Canes are a fast, forechecking team that makes life difficult on opponents. The Blue Jackets have to play quick, decisive plays.
Get in behind: That pressure can leave the Hurricanes open in transition, though. The Blue Jackets can make plays on the rush, and the opportunities will likely be there.
Second period turnaround: Columbus has struggled in the middle frame this year, especially with the long change. It's been particularly noticeable in the last two, so this has to be a focus.

3 Stats to Know

• Johnny Gaudreau finished the calendar year of 2022 with 119 points, the third most in the NHL during the year and the third most ever for an American-born player. His 81 assists were the second most by a United States-born player in a single year, trailing only Craig Janney's 82 in 1992.
• Rookie wing Kirill Marchenko has goals in three of the last six games and five goals in 14 games since making his NHL debut. He has the most goals among NHL rookies since that debut.
• Milestone watch: CBJ head athletic trainer Mike Vogt will work his 1,500th NHL game. ... Jack Roslovic is two points from 100 for his CBJ career (37-61-98, 163 GP). … Joonas Korpisalo is two games from 200 for his NHL career (81-74-22, 198 GP).

Who's Hot

Gaudreau posted 13 assists during December to tie a CBJ record for the month (Artemi Panarin, 2017). … He ranks tied for fifth in the NHL in assists since Nov. 10 with 6-23-29 in 25 contests. … Emil Bemstrom is coming off his first career multi-assist game and has 2-2-4 in four games since being recalled from Cleveland. … Korpisalo has posted a .945 save percentage and 1.80 GAA over his last five appearances since Dec. 9. … Gavin Bayreuther's goal Thursday was the fourth of his career and his first since May 7, 2021. ... Roslovic has a 2-11-13 line in the last 15 games. … Kent Johnson has an 8-8-16 line on the season, placing him fourth among NHL rookies in goals and tied for 10th in points this season. … CBJ rookies have an 18-21-39 line this year, the most goals and fourth in points among rookies on NHL teams.

This Day in CBJ History

Jan. 7, 2003: The Blue Jackets fire the team's first-ever head coach, Dave King. President and general manager Doug MacLean replaces him as interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
Jan. 7, 2012: Curtis Sanford notches his first (and only) shutout as a Blue Jacket, making 31 saves in a 1-0 victory at Los Angeles. Grant Clitsome scored the lone goal of the game in the second period.
Jan. 7, 2018: Josh Anderson scores in the seventh round of a shootout to clinch a 3-2 victory for the Blue Jackets against Florida at Nationwide Arena.

Roster Report

Projected Lineup (subject to change)
Johnny Gaudreau - Kent Johnson - Emil Bemstrom
Gustav Nyquist - Jack Roslovic - Patrik Laine
Carson Meyer - Sean Kuraly - Mathieu Olivier
Liam Foudy - Cole Sillinger - Kirill Marchenko
Vladislav Gavrikov - Andrew Peeke
Tim Berni - Erik Gudbranson
Gavin Bayreuther - Marcus Bjork
Joonas Korpisalo
Elvis Merzlikins
Scratches: Eric Robinson (upper body injury, day to day), Adam Boqvist, Daniil Tarasov (upper body injury, day to day)
Injured reserve:Nick Blankenburg (ankle, out six to eight weeks as of Nov. 11); Boone Jenner (thumb surgery, out four weeks as of Dec. 19); Yegor Chinakhov (high ankle sprain, out six weeks as of Dec. 21); Jake Bean (shoulder, out four to six months after surgery in November); Jakub Voracek (upper body, out indefinitely); Zach Werenski (shoulder surgery, out for season); Justin Danforth (shoulder surgery, out for season)
Roster Report: Boqvist will come out as a healthy scratch with Bjork entering the lineup, while Korpisalo will be back in net.