PREVIEW: Blue Jackets start homestand on St. Patrick's Day

There’s less than one month between now and game No. 82 in the Blue Jackets’ season, and don’t expect things to get any less stressful. 

That’s true of the Eastern Conference postseason race – Columbus enters tonight’s home game vs. Carolina two points behind a playoff spot – as well as each and every game night. 

Six contests in the Blue Jackets’ current nine-game point streak have gone to overtime, while one was decided by a one-goal margin in regulation and another was only a two-goal difference because of a late empty-net tally. In other words, every game is coming down to the wire, so get used to superstitious rituals, biting your fingernails and your fitness tracker asking if your heart rate is OK. 

“I think we’ve seen that a lot lately,” goalie Jet Greaves said. “I think pretty much every game has been a one-goal game recently, so we know how tight these games have been and are going to be coming down the stretch. It’s so important to get every point we can. The race is so tight.” 

The good news is the Blue Jackets are embracing that pressure, in part because head coach Rick Bowness knew it was coming. When the team gathered after the February Olympic break, multiple practices featured sessions mimicking late-game situations – one-goal games, overtimes and the like – to prepare the CBJ for what was ahead. 

The Blue Jackets haven’t always been perfect – four of the last nine games have been overtime losses – but they have made some key rallies from late deficits and shepherded other tight games home. 

“Really well,” Bowness said when asked how his team has handled close games. “They really have. There's no panic. We’re still playing on our toes. I always look at, OK, the third periods of these tight games, are we creating enough chances to give ourselves a chance to win? The answer to that is yes, we are. ... I like that we’re playing on our toes. It’s not always going to go our way, but we’re not sitting back and we’re going for it, and we’re going to live and die with that.” 

The Blue Jackets also have stepped up their defensive effort, which goes a long way in those one-goal contests. Columbus allowed just 58 shots on goal during the recently completed three-game road trip, the third lowest total for a three-game span in team history. Per Natural Stat Trick, the Blue Jackets have allowed just 1.54 expected goals against per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 in that three-game span, the best mark in the NHL by a wide margin. 

While the Blue Jackets have just two goals themselves in the last two games, they feel that defense has led to offensive chances, even if they haven’t gone in the net.  

“We’ve outchanced the opposition 2-1 every game, and we’ve outshot them 2-1, so it’s not hurting our offensive side of the puck at all,” Bowness said of the last three contests. “We’re creating more by playing good defense, and that’s what they have to learn. You play good defense, you get the puck more, you spend more time on the O-zone and you’re creating more chances.” 

That will be a challenge tonight, though, as Carolina comes to town with a well-earned reputation for being the best puck possession team in the league.

Scratches: Miles Wood, Danton Heinen, Erik Gudbranson (upper body injury), Egor Zamula  

Injured Reserve: D Brendan Smith (knee surgery, out three to four months as of Jan. 8)      

Roster Report: The Blue Jackets did an optional skate Monday, so no full line rushes were run. Bowness will discuss the lineup at his morning meeting with the media, but he again described Gudbranson as a game-time decision after missing the last three games. 

This Day in CBJ History

March 17, 2018: The Blue Jackets post the only win on St. Patrick’s Day in franchise history, downing Ottawa by a 2-1 score in Nationwide Arena to earn their seventh victory in a row. Boone Jenner scores in the first period and Markus Nutivaara breaks a 1-1 tie in the second with a power-play goal that would stand as the winner as Sergei Bobrovsky makes 23 saves. 

The Numbers Game

Kirill Marchenko scored his 100th career goal Saturday at Philadelphia, becoming the ninth CBJ player to reach 100 goals with the team and the second fastest (276 games; Rick Nash, 237). He has points in 12 of the last 14 games (7-9-16), is tied for the NHL lead with six shootout goals and has scored on 10 of 15 career shootout goals, the best mark in NHL history (minimum 10 attempts). He is two assists for 100 in his career and two points from 200. He has nine goals in 11 career games vs. Carolina. ... Zach Werenski is the only NHL defenseman with at least 20 goals (20) and 60 points (68) on the season, tying for second among league blueliners in goals and placing second in points. Werenski has points in 24 of his last 29 games (11-27-38) as well as 35 of the last 43 (16-41-57). He leads NHL defensemen in multipoint games (22, tied for 11th overall in NHL). … Charlie Coyle has 10 goals and 26 points in the past 22 games as well as a 6-15-21 line in the last 17 contests, tying him for eighth in the NHL in points in that span. ... Conor Garland has four goals in the last four games. … Adam Fantilli has goals in six of the last 10 games and posted a 7-10-17 line in the last 16 games. ... Jet Greaves is 9-0-2 in his last 12 appearances with a 2.40 GAA, while Elvis Merzlikins is 7-2-2 in his last 12 with a 2.54 GAA. ... Mathieu Olivier has eight goals in the last 15 games. … Blue Jackets defensemen have scored 49 goals this season, the most in the NHL, and Columbus is one of four teams to have two defensemen score at least 10 goals this season joining Buffalo, Washington and Montreal. … Columbus has scored the first goal in 26 of the last 35 contests and leads the NHL by scoring first in 41 of 66 games overall. ... Columbus is 6-0-3 in its last nine home games and 9-1-4 since the start of 2026. ... The Blue Jackets are 6-1 in shootouts this year. ... Miles Wood and Danton Heinen are each one goal away from 100 in their NHL careers. ... Boone Jenner has 204 career assists, tied with David Vyborny for third most in team history. 

Know The Foe: Carolina Hurricanes

Head coach: Rod Brind'Amour (Eighth season) 

Team stats: Goals per game: 3.47 (5th) | Scoring defense: 2.86 (7th) | PP: 22.0 percent (12th) | PK: 79.9 percent (13th) 

The narrative: Players and management have come and gone, but most things stay the same in Carolina under Brind’Amour, who has led the franchise to the playoffs in every year of his tenure. But yet again, the Hurricanes came up short of the ultimate goal a season ago, falling to Florida in the Eastern Conference Final. Carolina appears well on its way to a fourth Metropolitan Division title in seven years, but all eyes will be on whether the squad can get over the hump in the postseason. 

Scoring leaders: Sebastian Aho is one of the most consistent players in the league, as the fantastic Finn leads the Canes with 68 points thanks to 24 goals and 44 assists. Andrei Svechnikov has been hot with 12 goals and 23 points in his last 19 games to reach a 24-34-58 line, while Seth Jarvis leads the squad with 28 goals among his 53 points on his way to a third straight 30-goal season. The team’s big offseason signing, wing Nikolaj Ehlers, has a 20-32-52 line, while Shayne Gostisbehere leads the defense with 11 goals and 43 points in 45 games but has been out with a lower body injury. 

In net: Brandon Bussi has been one of the stories of the season, as he reached the NHL this year at age 27 and leads Carolina with 31 starts, posting a sterling 25-5-1 record, 2.37 GAA and .897 save percentage. Fredrik Andersen is 11-11-5 in 27 starts with a 3.14 GAA and .873 save percentage, while injuries have limited Pyotr Kochetkov to nine appearances. 

What's new: You know what you're getting with the Canes, as their smothering style again has Carolina first in the league in shot attempt percentage (59.7) at 5-on-5 by a wide margin. They put pressure on you from the opening faceoff and fire just about everything toward the net, putting teams under stress for a full 60 minutes. The Hurricanes have cranked it up over the past two months, going 18-4-3 in the last 25 games; Carolina has averaged 3.8 goals per game and converted on 26.3 percent of its power plays in that span.  

Trending: The Blue Jackets dropped the season series opener by a 4-1 score Dec. 9 in Raleigh, but Columbus has won three in a row in Nationwide Arena vs. Carolina. 

Former CBJ: Eric Robinson is in year two in Carolina, and he’s posted an 11-5-16 line in 53 games.