Gameday Preview: Blue Jackets vs. Maple Leafs

The Details

BLUE JACKETS vs. MAPLE LEAFS
GAME INFO
COLUMBUS: 15-32-4, 8th in Metropolitan
TORONTO: 31-13-8, 2nd in Atlantic
NATIONWIDE ARENA, 7 p.m. ET
Hockey is for Everyone pres. by Vorys
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TV:
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CBJ Player Statistics
Maple Leafs Player Statistics
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What They're Saying

All things considered, it was nice to get away.
That's the opinion of Blue Jackets head coach Brad Larsen, who welcomed his team back to Columbus with what he termed "a good day of practice," a 90-minute session Thursday that ended with something approaching an intrasquad scrimmage.
The goal was to get the Jackets ready for two games in two days after the team's winter break, but Larsen also acknowledged it was nice to have a breather on the schedule.
"I've never heard anybody complain about it," Larsen said of the time off. "They really enjoy just getting away. It's been such a long year. I know there's both sides. It's hard (because) the schedule gets condensed and all that stuff, but I don't think there's too many guys complaining that they got away to recharge mentally and physically, too."
The Blue Jackets have had a hectic schedule ever since returning from the early-season trip to Finland and the bevy of home games that welcomed them back to the United States, and things are about to pick back up. Columbus will play 31 games in 64 days to finish things off, with just 13 of them in Nationwide Arena.
It will be a busy finish to the season, and everyone knows it's been a trying campaign for Columbus given the injuries, the team's record and the youth of the squad. But Larsen still views the final two months of the season as a chance to make progress going forward.
"There are things we can do to grow," he said. "There really is. I could get really long-winded on this as far as what growth could look like for this group, but we've been going through it. It's been a tough year. We know that, but there's a lot of lessons to be learned and opportunities for growth to be had in these years that you go through."

Know The Foe: Toronto Maple Leafs

Head coach: Sheldon Keefe (Fourth season)
Season Stats:Goals per game: 3.37 (8th) | Scoring defense: 2.69 (8th) | PP: 25.0 percent (6th) | PK: 79.4 percent (16th)
The narrative: In case you haven't heard, the Maple Leafs haven't won a playoff series since 2003-04, a stat that dogs hockey's most talked-about franchise. The current group is extremely talented, having made six consecutive postseason appearances, but has been unable to get past some of the top teams in the league in the opening round in that time frame. Given the overwhelming media pressure in Canada's biggest city, anything short of winning a postseason round will be viewed as a disappointment for this group.
2022-23 leaders:You likely know the names at this point, and Toronto's big four -- a quartet of forwards who take up nearly half of the Maple Leafs' salary cap -- have led the way yet again. Mitchell Marner tops the squad with a 19-41-60 line that puts him tied for eighth in the league in assists and tied for 14 in points, while William Nylander is right behind with 28 goals and 31 assists for 59 points. Auston Matthews won't hit 60 goals like he did last year but has a 28-25-53 line, and captain John Tavares has 21 goals and 30 assists.
In net, Ilya Samsonov has a team-best 25 games and 24 starts, posting a 2.42 GAA, .913 save percentage and 17-6-2 record in his first season with Toronto.
What's new:The Leafs aren't quite as banged up as the Blue Jackets -- who is? -- but the team did go into the break second in the league in in-season man games lost. Matthews is currently out with a knee injury while goalie Matt Murray is out with an ankle injury. Jake Muzzin, Nick Robertson, Kyle Clifford and Victor Mete also have been out, and the Leafs enter at 5-4-1 in their last 10 games. This will be the squad's first game since Saturday's All-Star Game.
Trending:The teams have played largely even hockey the past few seasons, as both teams are 10-10-0 since the start of the 2014-15 season. Toronto took two of three contests a season ago, with Columbus' win a 4-3 overtime victory Feb. 22 in Nationwide Arena.
Former CBJ: None

3 Keys to the Game

Have energy: Larsen said the team felt refreshed Thursday as it went through practice, and the hope is that will have an on-ice impact against the Leafs.
Stay out of the box: Given all of Toronto's offensive weapons, the Leafs can really fill up the net on the power play. Limiting their opportunities is important.
Kids bop: Larsen spoke about the line of Kirill Marchenko, Kent Johnson and Cole Sillinger playing together on Thursday, and it would be fun to see that group build some chemistry and produce on the score sheet.

3 Stats to Know

• With Marchenko (13 goals) and Johnson (10) both in double digits, this is the third time in CBJ history that two rookies have at least 10 goals. The previous instances were 2000-01 (Serge Aubin and David Vyborny, each with 13) and 2016-17 (Pierre-Luc Dubois with 20 and Milano with 14).
• With 13 goals and zero assists, Marchenko is just the third NHLer all-time to begin his career with that many goals without a helper and the first since Pittsburgh's John McKinnon in 1926-27, per NHL Stats.
• Milestone watch: Sean Kuraly is four games from 400 for his NHL career (47-64-111, 396 GP).

Who's Hot

Marchenko's 13 goals are the most ever for a CBJ player in the first 28 games of his career, plus tied for sixth-most ever for a CBJ rookie with Aubin, Vyborny and Nikolai Zherdev. He has four goals in the last five games and is tied for second in the NHL among rookies in tallies with Dallas' Wyatt Johnston. … Patrik Laine (2-7-9) and Johnny Gaudreau (2-6-8) have points in six of the last seven games. … Gaudreau ranks seventh in the NHL in assists since Nov. 10 with 9-31-40 in 39 contests. … Johnson's 25 points (10-15-25) are tied for the 10th-most ever for a CBJ rookie with Derick Brassard (2008-09). He ranks tied for fifth in the NHL in goals among rookies and is also fifth in points. … CBJ rookies lead all NHL teams in goals and place second in points with 30-31-61 in 51 games.

This Day in CBJ History

Feb. 10, 2001: Geoff Sanderson nets the first hat trick in Blue Jackets history, scoring all three CBJ goals in a 3-2 win vs. Nashville in Nationwide Arena. Sanderson scored twice in the first period, then broke a 2-2 tie with 8:30 to go to give the Blue Jackets the winner.
Feb. 10, 2009: Filling in for ailing goalies Steve Mason and Wade Dubielewicz, Dan LaCosta makes 31 saves in a 3-0 victory against Colorado in Nationwide Arena, earning the second and final win of his NHL career. It was just the second start and the final NHL appearance of LaCosta's career.
Feb. 10, 2010: Mason earned his second shutout in a five-day span, turning aside 40 shots in a 3-0 victory against San Jose in Nationwide Arena.
Feb. 10, 2022: Jakub Voracek's goal just 16 seconds into overtime gives the Blue Jackets a 4-3 win at Buffalo.

Roster Report

Projected Lineup (subject to change)
Johnny Gaudreau - Boone Jenner - Patrik Laine
Kirill Marchenko - Cole Sillinger - Kent Johnson
Liam Foudy - Jack Roslovic - Emil Bemstrom
Eric Robinson - Sean Kuraly - Mathieu Olivier
Tim Berni - Erik Gudbranson
Vladislav Gavrikov - Andrew Peeke
Nick Blankenburg - Adam Boqvist
Joonas Korpisalo
Elvis Merzlikins
Scratches:Lane Pederson, Gavin Bayreuther
Injured reserve:Gustav Nyquist (upper body injury, out indefinitely); Yegor Chinakhov (high ankle sprain, out six weeks as of Dec. 21); Carson Meyer (oblique, out six to eight weeks as of Jan. 11); 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:Blankenburg and Boqvist missed the last game before the break with upper-body injuries but practice fully on Thursday and will go into the lineup in place of Bayreuther and Marcus Bjork, who remains in Cleveland. Pederson, meanwhile, is yet to receive his work visa to travel to Columbus after being claimed on waivers from Vancouver on Jan. 29. Korpisalo will get the start.