The roster the Jackets are using Monday has eight NHL players, with the remaining 12 likely to play in either the American Hockey League (AHL) or ECHL this season.
Matiss Kivlenieks, who played his first professional season in the AHL last season with the Cleveland Monsters, will get the start in net - while veteran Brad Thiessen will handle the backup duties.
Pierre-Luc Dubois, Oliver Bjorkstrand and Brandon Dubinsky highlight the Jackets' NHL contingent, while the most interesting prospects to watch will be high-scoring forward Vitaly Abramov and several players competing for the fifth, sixth and seventh NHL defense spots.
"These are tough days here," Tortorella said. "I'm afraid what we'll see here tonight with some of the guys. I have to look at the end game here, as far as preparing for a year. I think we're going about it the right way. We'll just see where we go."
SABRES TO WATCH: Buffalo didn't bring star rookie defenseman Rasmus Dahlin on the trip, opting to let him make his Sabres preseason debut Tuesday against the Pittsburgh Penguins at KeyBank Center, but the opposition will still have plenty of young talent to watch - including forward Tage Thompson, whom the Sabres acquired in a July 1 trade that sent center Ryan O'Reilly to the St. Louis Blues. The Sabres will also play defenseman Taylor Fedun, forward prospect Alexander Nylander and veteran forward Patrik Berglund.
#CBJ SPOTLIGHT ON: Sam Vigneault, C
Vigneault caught the attention of Blue Jackets coaches early-on in training camp a year ago, which was his first NHL camp after signing with Columbus as a college free-agent. A broken index finger set him back in the preseason, he wound up playing all season with Cleveland in the AHL and struggled to get back to the level he showed in camp.
This year, after helping the Blue Jackets win the 2018 NHL Prospects Tournament in Traverse City, Mich., Vigneault is feeling confident starting in his second NHL camp. Listed a 6-foot-5, he's one of several big centers hoping to again catch the coaching staff's eye.
"It's a good competition, I guess," said Vigneault, who will center the Jackets' second line Monday night. "You're trying to beat one another, but in the end it's all about the organization wanting to win. They're going to go with the best available guy, so you're just trying to be that guy, trying to be reliable and bring something to the table that the next guy doesn't bring."
OTHER JACKETS TO WATCH: C Brandon Dubinsky, F Anthony Duclair, F Jonathan Davidsson, F Vitaly Abramov, F Alex Broadhurst, G Matiss Kivlenieks
RUNNING THE BENCH: Tortorella will not coach either of these first two preseason games, instead leaving the coaching duties to assistants Brad Larsen and Brad Shaw. The reason, he said, is twofold:
"I like watching, because I don't know the [prospects], and I want to give [the assistants] some time on the bench, too, to converse with the players in a different way … to feel that type of what that job is," he said. "These guys are trying to progress too, the coaches, along the way. So, I just don't think I need to coach all the exhibition games. They're going to listen to me enough during the regular season. I don't need to double up with a bunch of exhibition games."
BLUE JACKETS PROJECTED LINEUP
Forwards
Sonny Milano - Pierre-Luc Dubois - Anthony Duclair
Markus Hannikainen - Sam Vigneault - Vitaly Abramov
Alex Broadhurst - Ryan MacInnis - Oliver Bjorkstrand
Calvin Thurkauf - Brandon Dubinsky - Jonathan Davidsson
Defensemen
Tommy Cross - Adam Clendening
Dean Kukan - David Savard
Markus Nutivaara - Scott Harrington
Goalies
Matiss Kivlenieks
Brad Thiessen
