PREVIEW: Blue Jackets head to Dallas to take on the Stars

Saturday against Tampa Bay, the Blue Jackets didn’t necessarily face a must-win game.

After all, you can’t really be in that situation just five contests into an 82-game season. But the Blue Jackets did know that they had to bring their best that night in Nationwide Arena against the Lightning, especially after a 4-1 loss to Colorado on Thursday in which they didn't bring their best.

That made the contest against the Lightning an important response game so early in the season, and Columbus passed with flying colors. Facing one of the most veteran-laden squads in the NHL that was also in need of a win, the Blue Jackets had major edges in puck possession and shots on goal in a 3-2 victory over the Lightning.

It was far from a must-win, but...

“We needed it bad, for sure,” defenseman Damon Severson said.

Head coach Dean Evason and his staff put the team through a hard-working, focused practice Friday, and the Blue Jackets responded with perhaps the best effort of the young season in Saturday’s win. But Evason wanted to minimize the coaches’ role in the whole situation, noting that it was the players who knew their game needed to step up.

“That’s our job, to have some direction,” Evason said. “But we as coaches can go kick the garbage can over 30 times, and if they don’t want to accept it or they don’t want to do it, then it goes on deaf ears, right? It wasn’t hard to get their attention because they knew that they didn’t play the right way in that Colorado game.”

Such a player-driven team is any coach’s dream, and the Blue Jackets are showing signs that they can respond when needed early in the campaign. They have to keep it going, though, especially tonight when facing one of the NHL’s elite teams when they visit Dallas.

Scratches: Miles Wood (upper body), Erik Gudbranson (upper body)

Injured reserve/Non-Roster: None

Roster Report: The Blue Jackets will use the same forward lines and defensive pairs as they did in Saturday night’s win over Tampa Bay, while Gudbranson did return to skate with the team for the first time since being injured Oct. 11 in Minnesota. Columbus will keep the goalie rotation going as well, with Merzlikins getting the start.

This Day in CBJ History

Oct. 21, 2015: The Blue Jackets replace head coach Todd Richards with John Tortorella, the winningest U.S.-born coach in NHL history who led the Tampa Bay Lightning to the 2004 Stanley Cup championship. Tortorella would go on to lead the Blue Jackets to four playoff appearances in six seasons and is the franchise’s all-time leader in coaching wins with 227.

Oct. 21, 2019: Gus Nyquist becomes the first player in Blue Jackets history to score an overtime winner via penalty shot in a 4-3 come-from-behind victory at Toronto. Nyquist scored past Frederik Andersen 1:57 into the extra frame to earn the Blue Jackets the win.

Oct. 21, 2021: Patrik Laine scores 1:49 into overtime past Ilya Sorokin and the Blue Jackets take a 3-2 victory over the Islanders at Nationwide Arena. Cole Sillinger scores his first NHL goal in the victory.

Oct. 21, 2023: Jack Roslovic scores 3:07 into overtime past Filip Gustavsson and the Blue Jackets take a 5-4 victory at Minnesota. Adam Fantilli scores his first career NHL goal in the contest and receives a locker room shaving cream pie after the game.

The Numbers Game

Kirill Marchenko is the first player in CBJ history to score five goals in the first five games, and his tally Saturday vs. Tampa Bay moved him into 10th place alone in Blue Jackets franchise history with 80 goals. He has a four-game point streak (5-1-6). ... The Blue Jackets have won 54.8 percent of faceoffs this season, tied with Toronto for fourth in the NHL. ... Dmitri Voronkov has points in four of five games so far while posting a 2-3-5 line. ... CBJ goalie Jet Greaves has posted a .928 save percentage on the season while Elvis Merzlikins is at .920. The team’s overall goalie save percentage of .924 is fifth in the NHL. ... The Blue Jackets have outscored opponents 11-5 at 5-on-5. ... Charlie Coyle is two assists shy of 300 in his NHL career, while Monahan is five points from 600 in his career.

Know The Foe: Dallas Stars

Head coach: Glen Gulutzan (First season)

Team stats: Goals per game: 3.60 (6th) | Scoring defense: 3.60 (T-25th)| PP: 33.3 percent (T-3rd) | PK: 72.2 percent (T-24th)

The narrative: Dallas has one of the most complete teams in the NHL and has made it to the Western Conference Final each of the past three seasons. Last year’s loss to Edmonton in conference final led to the ouster of head coach Peter DeBoer, who controversially benched goalie Jake Oettinger in the series finale. With a roster boasting plenty of talent and a good mix of veterans and young standouts, the Stars have their sights on making it to their first Stanley Cup Final since 2020.

Scoring leaders: There are stars aplenty – pardon the pun – on the roster, and Mikko Rantanen has led the way this season in his first full year in Dallas, posting three goals and seven points on the campaign. Wyatt Johnston is one of the game’s top young forwards and has four goals among six points this year, while wing Jason Robertson (2-4-6), defenseman Thomas Harley (1-5-6) and center Roope Hintz (1-5-6) also have topped a point per game this season.

In net: Oettinger went 36-18-4 with a 2.59 GAA last year before the playoff disappointment, and he’s been one of the most consistent goalies in the league the past few years. He’s 3-1-0 this season in four starts while posting a 2.95 GAA and .905 save percentage. Casey DeSmith (0-1-0, 5.15 GAA, .808 SV%) is the backup.

What's new: Gulutzan is back for his second stint as the Stars head coach, having previously coached the Stars in two seasons from 2011-13. Captain Jamie Benn is out with a lung injury suffered in the preseason, but the Stars have gotten off to a decent start, opening the year with consecutive wins over Winnipeg, Colorado and Minnesota before dropping two in a row to Vancouver and St. Louis.

Trending: The teams split last year’s season series, with Dallas capturing a 5-3 home victory Feb. 2 before the Blue Jackets won by a 6-4 score 23 days later at Nationwide Arena. It was the third split in the last four years, though Columbus has lost three of four in Dallas.

Former CBJ: After leading Dallas with 82 points last season, Matt Duchene signed a four-year extension to stay with the Stars this offseason. He has a goal and an assist in four games this year but is expected to miss the game with injury.