Gameday Preview: Blue Jackets vs. Hurricanes

The Details

BLUE JACKETS vs. HURRICANES
GAME INFO
COLUMBUS: 12-26-2, 8th in Metropolitan
CAROLINA: 25-9-7, 1st in Metropolitan
NATIONWIDE ARENA, 7 p.m. ET
BUY TICKETS
Game pres. by Bread Financial
BROADCAST INFO
TV:
Bally Sports Ohio
,
Bally Sports Plus
AUDIO:
LISTEN LIVE
or listen on the

and the
CBJ app
BY THE NUMBERS
CBJ Player Statistics
Hurricanes Player Statistics
NHL Standings
RECENT ARTICLES
SvoNotes: The Marchenk-Show
Prospect Report: Checking in on Cleveland
Alumni scrimmage with military

What They're Saying

As we noted, the schedule hasn't been an easy one for the Blue Jackets of late. One doesn't really need to detail Tampa Bay's accomplishments, as the Lightning won the Stanley Cup in 2020 and '21 and got to the final a year ago. The Jackets also recently played two against the 2018 champs, Washington, and tonight the division-leading Canes are back in town for the second time in a week.
"This month is actually pretty crazy if you look at our schedule (with) some very good teams," defenseman Gavin Bayreuther said. "It's the NHL. Anyone can beat anyone. If we come tough and we play hard and we need to play the way then I think we'll be successful."
The Jackets are 1-3 in that stretch, with the victory coming against Carolina on Saturday. While Columbus can hopefully build on that success in tonight's rematch, Tuesday's setback against the Lightning was another example of just how small the margin for error is against the best teams in the league.
Hart Trophy candidate Nikita Kucherov finished with four points, while the Blue Jackets made the kinds of mistakes that tend to end up in the back of the net against the top squads. Of the first five goals the Bolts scored in their 6-3 victory, three were on the power play and two more came on unforced turnovers by the Jackets.
"We made it tough on ourselves today," defenseman Tim Berni said. "We tried to stay out of the box but it didn't really happen, myself included. They have a good power play and they get momentum out of it. We stayed in the game a little bit, some good kills, but obviously we gave them way too much today."

Know The Foe: Carolina Hurricanes

Head coach:Rod Brind'Amour (Fifth season)
Season Stats:Goals per game: 3.10 (19th) | Scoring defense: 2.73 (9th) | PP: 19.3 percent (26th) | PK: 80.0 percent (14th)
The narrative:Brind'Amour has built a winner in Carolina, with the Canes making four straight Stanley Cup Playoff appearances and winning rounds in three of those seasons. Carolina maintains its high-pressure, aggressive style, which prioritizes taking away time and space all over the ice and firing pucks to the net, but the team just hasn't been able to get over the hump yet in the playoffs when it comes to making the Stanley Cup Final. Is this the season?
2022-23 leaders:When it comes to NHL cores in which the players are all 25 or younger, you could certainly do worse than the trio of Sebastian Aho (25), Martin Necas (24) and Andrei Svechnikov (22). The three are the top scorers for Carolina, with Necas leading the way with a 17-22-39 line. Svechnikov leads the team with 19 goals among his 34 points and has earned his first All-Star bid, while Aho has a 13-18-31 line. Brent Burns is the top scoring defenseman with a 5-23-28 line.
Frederik Andersen was just activated from injured reserve (lower-body) and has played just eight games in net, but the Canes have done a good job supporting goalies Antti Raanta and rookie sensation Pyotr Kochetkov. Kochetkov has a team-best 17 starts and has a 10-4-4 record, 2.30 GAA and .914 save percentage, while Raanta is 10-2-3 with a 2.63 GAA and .894 save percentage.
What's new:Kochetkov's rise has been a major storyline as the 23-year-old Russian was 7-0-1 in the month of December while earning NHL Rookie of the Month honors, though he did take the loss Tuesday in New Jersey. That setback was Carolina's fourth straight loss after a 15-0-1 run. While the offense is sitting in the bottom half of the NHL, it has showed signs of life, posting at least three goals in 13 straight games. Offseason acquisition Max Pacioretty has three goals in three games since making his season debut and could be a key piece going forward.
Trending:This will be the second game in six days between the teams, with Columbus winning in a shootout Saturday in a game that featured Kirill Marchenko's hat trick. This meeting will be the third and final one of the season, with Carolina capturing a 4-1 final on opening night in Raleigh. The Hurricanes have won seven of nine in the series, though it's been largely even since 2016-17 with the CBJ posting a 14-2-2 mark since then.
Former CBJ:None

3 Keys to the Game

Handle the pressure: You know Carolina is going to make it tough on you, but the Blue Jackets showed they could stand up to the Canes less than a week ago. It'll be another hard test tonight.
Good goaltending: The Canes make it hard on opposing goalies by putting just about everything on net. It's a stressful game to play, so Joonas Korpisalo will have to be ready for lots of work and plenty of tips in front.
Big guns firing: The Blue Jackets haven't gotten much offensive production from their top offensive players of late. Such names as Gaudreau and Laine are due.

3 Stats to Know

• With nine goals, Kirill Marchenko has the most goals ever by a CBJ player in the first 17 games of his career. His 2.53 goals per 60 minutes in all situations is the best in the NHL among the 669 players with at least 150 minutes of action.
• CBJ rookies lead all NHL teams in goals and rank third in points with 23-24-47 in 40 games.
• Milestone watch: Jack Roslovic is one point from 100 for his CBJ career (37-62-99, 166 GP). …Korpisalo is set to play in the 200th game of his NHL and CBJ career. (81-74-22, 199 GP).

Who's Hot

Johnny Gaudreau ranks tied for eighth in the NHL in assists since Nov. 10 with 6-23-29 in 28 contests. … Marchenko has seven tallies in the last nine contests, while his nine goals are tied for fourth among NHL rookies. … Kent Johnson's 8-10-18 line puts him sixth in the NHL among rookies in both goals and points. … Emil Bemstrom has a 2-3-5 line in seven games since being recalled from Cleveland. … Bayreuther has two goals in four games after going more than 18 months without an NHL tally. … Berni scored his first career goal Tuesday, giving the Jackets four players with initial NHL tallies this year. … Korpisalo has posted a .941 save percentage over his last six appearances since Dec. 9.

This Day in CBJ History

Jan. 12, 2012: Ryan Johansen is one of 12 rookies selected to participate in NHL All-Star Weekend from Jan. 26-27 at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa.
Jan. 12, 2019: Artemi Panarin's power-play goal at 3:30 of overtime gives the Blue Jackets a 2-1 victory at Washington. It was Panarin's second game-winning PPG in a three-day span, as he had one two days prior in a home win over Nashville. Seth Jones had the primary assist on each tally.

Roster Report

Projected Lineup (subject to change)
Johnny Gaudreau - Jack Roslovic - Patrik Laine
Gustav Nyquist - Kent Johnson - Emil Bemstrom
Liam Foudy - Sean Kuraly - Mathieu Olivier
Trey Fix-Wolansky - Cole Sillinger - Kirill Marchenko
Vladislav Gavrikov - Andrew Peeke
Tim Berni - Erik Gudbranson
Gavin Bayreuther - Adam Boqvist
Joonas Korpisalo
Jet Greaves
Scratches: Nick Blankenburg, Marcus Bjork, Elvis Merzlikins (illness)
Injured reserve: Eric Robinson (upper body injury, day to day); Daniil Tarasov (upper body injury, day to day); Boone Jenner (thumb surgery, out four weeks as of Dec. 19); Yegor Chinakhov (high ankle sprain, out six weeks as of Dec. 21); Carson Meyer (oblique, out six to weight weeks as of Jan. 11); Jake Bean (shoulder, out four to six months after surgery in November); Jakub Voracek (upper body, out indefinitely); Zach Werenski (shoulder surgery, out for season); Justin Danforth (shoulder surgery, out for season)
Roster Report: Larsen said after practice that the Blue Jackets have a number of game-time decisions in the lineup, so there likely won't be anything known for sure until warmups other than the fact Korpisalo goes in the net. Fix-Wolansky skated in Meyer's place during morning skate and Gavrikov was back in the line rushes after missing Tuesday's contest. Blankenburg was activiated from injured reserve this afternoon, so we'll know in pregame warmups if he goes in.