Gameday Preview: Blue Jackets vs. Flyers

The Details

BLUE JACKETS vs. FLYERS
GAME INFO
COLUMBUS: 3-9-0, 8th in Metropolitan
PHILADELPHIA: 7-3-2, 4th in Metropolitan
NATIONWIDE ARENA, 7 p.m. ET
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Fifth Line in Finland

What They're Saying

The Blue Jackets look around the league and know they're not alone.
Good teams and veteran teams are in the same boat as Columbus. St. Louis has lost eight in a row, while Calgary has dropped six straight. A promising Ottawa team also has lost six in a row, a mark Pittsburgh had reached before defeating Washington last night.
It doesn't make it any easier to have company in misery for the Blue Jackets, who have fallen to last in the Metropolitan Division while losing five in a row. But it is a reminder that this isn't a lonely quest, that this kind of thing happens in the unforgiving world of the NHL.
"There's some pretty good teams going through some things right now," CBJ head coach Brad Larsen said. "It's amazing, the fingers that get pointed and the noise and what happens. Everybody had a simple answer. It's quite easy. But it's in the room. You have to figure this out. It's an incredible opportunity to grow and see how guys handle it. ...
"Nobody wants to go through something like this. I don't. If I could script it, I'd rather be 9-3. I'm not going to lie to you. But we're not, we're 3-9. So how do you handle it?"
This week, the answer has been to get back to work. The Blue Jackets, still adjusting from coming back from the Finland trip, took Monday off and then practiced both Tuesday and Wednesday. Spirits were similar to most any other time of year, as athletes often preach the importance of not getting too high or too low.
Defenseman and assistant captain Zach Werenski it's no fun to be going through a losing skid, but added that the only way to get back on the right track is to get back to basics.
"Whenever you get away from a team system and start doing things individually or one guy is not on the same page, it becomes a long night," Werenski said. "I think for us, it's just getting back to that system. It's definitely frustrating to see our record. No one is happy with it. For us, it's just getting back to our system and doing it as a group and as a unit."

Know The Foe: Philadelphia Flyers

Head coach:John Tortorella (First season)
Season Stats:Goals per game: 2.75 (26th) | Scoring defense: 2.42 (4th) | PP: 19.5 percent (21st) | PK: 82.9 percent (8th)
The narrative: What else could it be? It's Tortorella, who spent a year out of the coaching ranks last season after leaving the Blue Jackets but is back behind a bench where he should be. The NHL's 14th-winningest coach of all time seems to fit the City of Brotherly Love perfectly, and he came to Philadelphia intent on reestablishing the Flyers as the physical, aggressive group their city demands. So far, so good.
2022-23 leaders:The Flyers haven't been an offensive juggernaut so far, and goalie Carter Hart has been the top player. Once thought to be one of the top young goalies in the world and a future star between the pipes in Philly, Hart has rebounded from two tough seasons to post a 6-0-2 record, 1.97 GAA and .946 save percentage.
On the scoring side, Travis Konecny is on top of the chart with a 5-9-14 line, while Kevin Hayes has a point per game with two goals and 10 assists for 12 points. Tony DeAngelo leads the blue line with a 2-6-8 line while Joel Farabee has three goals among his seven points.
What's new:Hart missed Tuesday night because of illness, and the Flyers are no stranger to injuries. Cam Atkinson, Sean Couturier and Ryan Ellis haven't played yet this season, while James van Riemsdyk also is out with a finger injury. Despite that, the Flyers have points in five of six including a two-game win streak.
Trending:The Flyers won the last meeting between the teams, a 4-1 game in Nationwide Arena last April 7, but Columbus had captured the previous two games of the series on the year. The Blue Jackets have gone 21-9-2 vs. the Flyers since the start of the 2013-14 season.
Former CBJ: Tortorella is joined on the bench by longtime assistant Brad Shaw, who worked with him in Columbus. Atkinson, the CBJ franchise's No. 2 player all-time in games played and goals scored, has no timetable to return with an upper-body injury. Lukas Sedlak was claimed on waivers and has a goal and three points in eight games.

3 Keys to the Game

Match their intensity: The Flyers have been a hard-working, in-your-face, scrappy team so far this year under Tortorella. Columbus has no chance if it can't match that effort.
Work in fives: The biggest issue so far for the Jackets has been getting everyone on the same page for 60 minutes at a time. There can't be any individualism.
Keep it under three: Philadelphia's strength is on defense, not offense. If the Blue Jackets can keep the Flyers off the board and allow less than three goals for just the second time this year, they have a chance to grind one out if need be. Sometimes, the win that turns things isn't the prettiest.

3 Stats to Know

• Columbus has power-play goals in two straight games for the first time since a six-game streak of PPG to end the 2021-22 season.
• Seven of the next eight games are against teams that failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2021.
• Milestone watch: Gustav Nyquist is one point away from 100 (35-64-99) in his CBJ career. … With one more goal, Zach Werenski will tie Ryan Johansen for ninth in CBJ annals with 79 tallies. … Eric Robinson is set to play in his 199th career game, all with Columbus.

Who's Hot

After scoring against New Jersey, Yegor Chinakhov has six points (2-4-6) in the last nine games. ... Chinakhov and rookie Kent Johnson are tied for second on the team with six points on the season. … Johnson is tied for ninth among NHL rookies in points. … Ten Blue Jackets have multiple goals. … With seven goals by defensemen, the Jackets are eighth in the NHL.

This Day in CBJ History

Nov. 10, 2010: The Blue Jackets tie a then-franchise record for goals and record the then-most lopsided win in club history, beating the St. Louis Blues 8-1 at Nationwide Arena. R.J. Umberger begins what would become a then-franchise record 10-game point streak in the victory.
Nov. 10, 2018: Atkinson scores in a shootout loss vs. the New York Rangers, beginning a pair of noteworthy streaks. He would go on to score in each of the next six games to tie Geoff Sanderson's 2002 mark of seven consecutive games with a goal. He also began a 12-game point streak, which would fall one short of Ryan Johansen's club record.

Roster Report

Projected Lineup (subject to change)
Johnny Gaudreau - Boone Jenner - Patrik Laine
Gustav Nyquist - Jack Roslovic - Emil Bemstrom
Eric Robinson - Cole Sillinger - Yegor Chinakhov
Liam Foudy - Brendan Gaunce - Mathieu Olivier
Zach Werenski - Nick Blankenburg
Vladislav Gavrikov - Andrew Peeke
Jake Bean - Erik Gudbranson
Joonas Korpisalo
Elvis Merzlikins
Scratches:Kent Johnson, Jakub Voracek (upper-body injury), Sean Kuraly (upper-body injury)
Injured reserve/Injured non-roster: Adam Boqvist (broken foot; out six weeks as of Oct. 26); Justin Danforth (shoulder surgery; out six months as of Oct. 25); Joona Luoto (lower body, day to day)
Roster Report:Bemstrom and Gaunce are both set to make their season debuts after injuries in Finland suffered by Voracek and Kuraly. Johnson is out for precautionary reasons after being limited in practice the past two days, while Korpisalo gets the chance to make a second start in a row.