BLUE JACKETS at PREDATORS

The round-numbered campaign was always going to be special in the capital city, but now it will be unique as well. This will be the first 56-game campaign in NHL history, with the season shortened and divisions realigned to help the league deal with the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.
As different as it will be, when the puck drops, the familiar sounds of blades carving through medal, pucks rattling between sticks and goal horns blaring will return.
"It'll be nice," CBJ forward Riley Nash said. "A lot of guys in here, we didn't know when the season was going to start, if it was even going to happen. After all this time of waiting, it's really nice to see things taking off and all the hard work that a lot of people put in behind the scenes come to fruition. I know guys in the locker room are pretty anxious to not be battling each other on the ice and see somebody else."

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It's also a chance for the Blue Jackets to show off a retooled squad, though the core remains the same. Such names as Nick Foligno, Cam Atkinson, Boone Jenner, Seth Jones, Zach Werenski, Oliver Bjorkstrand and Pierre-Luc Dubois remain, while the Blue Jackets will look to new forwards Mikhail Grigorenko, Mikko Koivu and Max Domi as well as defenseman Michael Del Zotto -- with all but Koivu expected to make their CBJ debuts Thursday night -- to help push the team forward.
It's a squad that has made four straight playoff appearances, but it's also one that has to get better to contend. The strength a year ago was in the defense, as Columbus tied for the third best defensive team in the league by allowing just 2.61 goals per game. But the counter was an offense that tied for 27th in the league with 2.57 tallies per game.
This year head coach John Tortorella has pledged a more offensive focus, but he also knows any tweaks to the team's approach will come with some inevitable kinks that must be worked out.
"I think it's a two-way street," Tortorella said. "How they are coached and the liberties we're trying to give them, but also not losing themselves and understanding situational play. You are going to hear me talk a lot about that here, I can tell, at the beginning of the year. When you're trying to change your game a bit, situational play is still very important where you know it's just a bad time to be making mistakes at the offensive blue line, it's about getting pucks deep and trying to get momentum back your way.
"All different things come into play. Those are the two things is liberties vs. situational play, and we're going to try to have to find a common road there with coaches and players."
Know the Foe
It's a throwback opener for Columbus, which returns to the Central Division in which it spent 12 seasons from the start of the franchise until the 2012-13 season. That reunites the Blue Jackets with old division foes Chicago, Detroit and Nashville, which is where the team opens the season tonight.
The Predators are coming off what turned out to be a disappointing season, as the 2017 Western Conference champions never quite found their groove a year ago. The Predators finished 35-26-8 to place fifth in the Central then suffered a 3-1 upset loss to Arizona in the qualifying round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The stats show a middle-of-the-pack team, as Nashville placed 16th in the league in scoring (3.07 goals per game) and 20th in defense (3.10 goals allowed).
Nashville also switched coaches a year ago, firing longtime head coach Peter Laviolette in favor of John Hynes, who went 16-11-1 behind the bench. Hynes returns this year and should be familiar to the Blue Jackets, as he was head coach of the Metropolitan Division rival New Jersey Devils from 2015 through midway through last year.
Speaking of familiarity, Blue Jackets fans will know two of the Preds' top centers in Ryan Johansen and Matt Duchene, both of whom played in Columbus. Now 28 years old, Johansen is coming off a season in which he had a 14-22-36 line in 68 games, while Duchene placed third on the team with a 13-29-42 mark in his first year in Music City.
Norris Trophy winner Roman Josi led the team in scoring, posting 16 goals and 49 assists for 65 points -- second among NHL defensemen -- in 69 games. He was followed by Filip Forsberg, who had a team-best 21 goals among his 48 points. In all, 10 Predators reached double digits in goals, with eight of those players returning from a season ago.
In net, it's a familiar duo, as veteran Pekka Rinne returns for his 15th season in Nashville while Juuse Saros is in his sixth year between the pipes. The two nearly split starts a year ago, as Saros earned 35 and Rinne 34; Saros was 17-12-4 with a 2.70 GAA and .914 save percentage, while Rinne was 18-14-4/3.17/.895.
When it comes to changes from a year ago, Nashville has added veteran forwards Erik Haula and Nick Cousins as well as rugged defenseman Mark Borowiecki. Notable losses include forwards Nick Bonino, Craig Smith and Kyle Turris as well as retired defenseman Dan Hamhuis.
3 Keys to the Game
Start strong: Duh, right? But it is true, as the Blue Jackets will want to get off on the right foot in a shortened season. A solid first 10 minutes would be a nice foundation.
Defensive structure: We saw a lot of goals allowed in season openers Wednesday night, and offensive skill is probably a bit ahead of defensive structure after the short camps. Columbus got it back quickly in the bubble, but it is a new season.
Some individual skill: The biggest question on the season is if the Blue Jackets made the right bets when it comes to adding offense to a team that struggled to a score a season ago. Early goals would be nice, perhaps even on the power play.
Where to Watch & Listen
TV: FOX Sports Ohio
Radio: WTAM 1100, 100.7 WMMS, 89.1 WNZN

Cavaliers LIVE begins 30 minutes prior to tipoff with postgame coverage immediately after.

FOX Sports Ohio Availability

Keys to the Game

Of Note
Columbus is 8-9-1 all-time in season openers but 4-2-0 all-time when playing the first game of the season on the road. … The Blue Jackets are also 10-8-1 in road openers in franchise history. … Columbus last opened the season in Nashville in 2012-13, another shortened season, with the Blue Jackets earning a 3-2 shootout victory. … Blue Jackets forward Cam Atkinson is two goals from 200 in his CBJ and NHL careers. … This will be the Blue Jackets' first regular season game in 312 days. ... With the new series-style format to the NHL schedule, the teams will play again Saturday night.
Projected Lineup
(Subject to change)
Mikhail Grigorenko - Pierre-Luc Dubois - Oliver Bjorkstrand
Nick Foligno - Max Domi - Cam Atkinson
Boone Jenner - Alexandre Texier - Emil Bemstrom
Liam Foudy - Riley Nash - Eric Robinson
Zach Werenski - Seth Jones
Vladislav Gavrikov - David Savard
Michael Del Zotto - Dean Kukan
Joonas Korpisalo (confirmed starter)
Elvis Merzlikins
Scratches: Kevin Stenlund, Gabriel Carlsson, Scott Harrington
Roster Report:Columbus is without veteran center acquisition Mikko Koivu as he is unavailable due to COVID-19 protocols, the NHL announced Wednesday. The Blue Jackets set their roster Wednesday, with forwards Nathan Gerbe, Stefan Matteau and Ryan MacInnis joining defensemen Adam Clendening and Andrew Peeke and goalie Matiss Kivlenieks on the taxi squad.