Gameday Preview: Blue Jackets vs. Flames

The Details

BLUE JACKETS vs. FLAMES
GAME INFO
COLUMBUS: 8-15-2, 8th in Metropolitan
CALGARY: 13-10-3, 5th in Pacific
NATIONWIDE ARENA, 7 p.m. ET
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BROADCAST INFO
TV:
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What They're Saying

The last time the Blue Jackets took the ice … it didn't go well.
Columbus was on the wrong side of a tough 9-4 loss to Buffalo on Wednesday night. It was whatever adjective you want to use to describe it, but in the end it doesn't matter. For all the angst that one caused, the team understands there's more to give, and it has to start tonight against Calgary.
"We have a lot better," Gaudreau said. "We know that. Hopefully we can come together here as a team and learn from this and build together as a team and get better each day and then go from there."
The loss to Buffalo, which included a historic 6-0 deficit in the first period, can't sit well for the team. It was the kind of loss that makes a player pause and think about what happened, but at the same time, it can't be erased. One must simply accept the lessons and get better.
"I don't think you can just walk away from this one and say tomorrow is going to be a better day," said defenseman Erik Gudbranson, also a former Flame. "There's a reality we put in front of ourselves here tonight that we need to be a lot better in a lot of different areas."

Know The Foe: Calgary Flames

Head coach:Darryl Sutter (Third season)
Season Stats:Goals per game: 3.08 (20th) | Scoring defense: 3.00 (11th) | PP: 20.9 percent (23rd) | PK: 80.7 percent (8th)
The narrative: No team hit the extreme makeover button like the Flames did this offseason, as the departure of Gaudreau to Columbus and the trade of Matthew Tkachuk to Florida took away two-thirds of perhaps the best line in hockey a season ago. General manager Brad Treliving thought it was worth the gamble to bring in Jonathan Huberdeau and Mackenzie Weegar from Florida as well as signing Nazem Kadri from Colorado, and while the new-look team has struggled a bit out of the gate, Calgary has won three in a row and four of five coming into Columbus.
2022-23 leaders:Elias Lindholm, the only remaining part of the trio with Tkachuk and Gaudreau that dominated the NHL a season ago, is having another solid start and leads Calgary with 22 points (nine goals, 13 points). Kadri and Tyler Toffoli have posted matching 10-10-20 lines, while Rasmus Anderson leads the defensemen in scoring with four goals among his 20 points.
In net, Jacob Markstrom has made 17 starts and has posted an 8-6-2 record, 2.97 GAA, .889 save percentage and minus-0.006 goals saved above expected per 60 minutes.
What's new:Huberdeau has skated in 23 games and posted a 4-12-16 line, while Weegar has skated in all 26 but is still without a goal and has six assists after posting 44 points a season ago. Adam Ruzicka has started contributing as well, as the 23-year-old Slovak wing has notched a 6-9-15 line in 16 games after being a fourth-round pick in 2017 but playing just 31 games the past two seasons in his NHL career.
Trending: Columbus has lost six straight against Calgary over the past four seasons, posting an 0-5-1 mark in that time. Before that, the Blue Jackets swept the season series in 2017-18.
Former CBJ:None

3 Keys to the Game

An improved effort: One has to start here. The Blue Jackets need to bring more intensity, pace and concentration to the game after the disappointing showing Wednesday.
Veterans lead: The Blue Jackets have a lot of youth in the lineup, but a number of the key mistakes in the loss to the Sabres were committed by tenured players. The reality is if they're on their games, Columbus is in trouble right now.
Good Gaudreau: Johnny Hockey is an even-keel guy, but one would have to expect he'd want to keep his red-hot scoring record going against his former mates.

3 Stats to Know

• Gaudreau has been producing at an impressive clip going into his first-ever game vs. Calgary, posting a 3-10-13 line in the last eight games and notching four goals and 15 assists for 19 points in the last 12 games.
• Were Gaudreau to score a goal tonight, he will have goals against all 32 NHL franchises. He scored against every team he could during his eight-plus seasons in Calgary.
• Milestone watch: Joonas Korpisalo is seven games from 200 for his NHL career (80-72-22, 193 GP). … With three assists in the last four games, Jack Roslovic is six helpers from 100 for his NHL career (61-94-155, 331 GP).

Who's Hot

Patrik Laine is coming off his second multigoal game in four contests, while Gus Nyquist tallied twice for the first time this season. … It was the first time the Blue Jackets had multiple players score twice in a game since a 5-3 win over the New York Rangers on Jan. 27 in which both Sean Kuraly and Boone Jenner tallied. … Jenner has 15 points (eight goals, seven assists) in the last 15 games. … With six goals and 13 points, Kent Johnson is tied for fourth and eighth, respectively, among NHL rookies. … Twenty-one different Blue Jackets have scored goals on the season, second most in the NHL behind Detroit. Seventeen of those players have multiple goals.

This Day in CBJ History

Dec. 9, 2009: Steve Mason makes 32 saves in a 3-0 shutout victory for the Blue Jackets against Florida at Nationwide Arena, his first shutout of the season after posting 10 in his Calder Trophy-winning campaign the year prior.
Dec. 9, 2014: Kevin Connauton beats Mason at 1:58 of overtime to give Columbus a 3-2 win over Philadelphia in Nationwide Arena.
Dec. 9, 2019: Cam Atkinson scores twice and 11 Blue Jackets earn points in a 5-2 win over Washington in the nation's capital. The victory would start a 12-game point streak (8-0-4), tied for the third-longest in franchise history.

Roster Report

Projected Lineup (subject to change)
Johnny Gaudreau - Boone Jenner - Gustav Nyquist
Yegor Chinakhov - Jack Roslovic - Patrik Laine
Kent Johnson - Cole Sillinger - Kirill Marchenko
Eric Robinson - Sean Kuraly - Mathieu Olivier
Vladislav Gavrikov - Marcus Bjork
Tim Berni - Erik Gudbranson
Jake Christiansen - Andrew Peeke
Joonas Korpisalo
Elvis Merzlikins
Scratches: Liam Foudy, Carson Meyer, Gavin Bayreuther
Injured reserve:Nick Blankenburg (ankle, out six to eight weeks as of Nov. 11); Adam Boqvist (broken foot, out six weeks as of Oct. 26); Jake Bean (shoulder, out four to six months after surgery in November); Jakub Voracek (upper body, out indefinitely); Zach Werenski (shoulder, out for season); Justin Danforth (shoulder surgery, out six months as of Oct. 25)
Roster Report:Korpisalo will get the start while Christiansen returns to the lineup in place of Bayreuther. Kuraly did not take part in morning skate and Larsen said the center will be a gametime decision.