PREVIEW: Blue Jackets move further west to take on Canucks

Tuesday night in Edmonton, the Blue Jackets started the game with 40 good minutes, then saw that good work undone in a sloppy third period that led to a 4-1 Oilers win.

The script was different in just about every way Thursday night. Columbus didn’t have its best game for the opening period in Calgary but was able to skate its way to a 2-2 tie, then was the better team over the final two periods while pulling away to a 5-2 victory.

"We found a way,” defenseman Damon Severson said. “We knew we had to grind and raise our levels. You talk about just having a higher standard, each person, if each individual does their job, then you have a higher standard, and things are gonna go your way.

"It hasn’t gone our way for most of the season in the win column, but tonight we grind one out and it feels a lot better.”

What was perhaps most impressive is it took a team effort. Three different players – Severson, Yegor Chinakhov and Adam Fantilli – had a goal and an assist, while Alexandre Texier and Dmitri Voronkov also scored goals. Daniil Tarasov chipped in 28 saves, and the Jackets got contributions from up and down the lineup in the win.

“The second and third period, I liked how we played,” head coach Pascal Vincent said. “They found a way to play together as a team. I was able to roll four lines and six D. It was important for us to play the right way, and they found a way. So I’m proud for those guys.”

Now comes another challenge as Vancouver enters as one of the top teams in the NHL, and it will be the second straight season the Jackets have faced the Canucks on the road on Jan. 27.

Know The Foe: Vancouver Canucks

Head coach: Rick Tocchet (second season)

Team stats: Goals per game: 3.77 (2nd) | Scoring defense: 2.52 (2nd) | PP: 23.7 percent (8th) | PK: 80.3 percent (15th)

The narrative: Despite a core featuring some of the top players in the game in Elias Pettersson, J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser, among others, the Canucks have been one of the most confounding teams in the NHL the past few years. Vancouver has just one playoff appearance in the past eight seasons, and not a ton was expected this year either in Tocchet’s first full season in charge. But the Canucks got off to a red-hot start and are tied with Boston for the league lead in points as we pass the midway pole.

Team leaders: Vancouver has five All-Stars, so we’ll start there. Miller and Pettersson are in a spirted race to lead the team in scoring, as the East Palestine, Ohio, native Miller currently heads the way with 21 goals and 43 assists for 64 points, while Pettersson has a 25-36-61 line. The two are fifth and eighth, respectively, in scoring in the NHL. Quinn Hughes’ 12-47-59 line puts him first in the league among defensemen in scoring, while Boeser’s 27 goals are tied for eighth in the NHL.

In net, Thatcher Demko also has earned an All-Star bid thanks to a 25-8-1 record in 34 starts that includes a 2.40 GAA and .922 save percentage. He’s third in the league per MoneyPuck.com in goals saved among expected per 60 among goalies with at least 20 games played.

What's new: Vancouver’s 12-3-1 start caught the attention of the league, but it’s not like the Canucks have slowed down of late, as the squad comes to Columbus on a 10-game point streak (8-0-2) that is the cap on a 16-2-4 run since early December. As they have all season, the Canucks are doing it at 5-on-5, outscoring foes 123-78 this season at that state.

Trending: The teams have split the season series each of the past two years and seven of the last nine dating back to 2013-14; Columbus is 10-8-1 in that span vs. Vancouver. The Blue Jackets won 4-3 in overtime on Jan. 15 to start the season series.

Former CBJ: Oft-traveled defenseman Ian Cole has landed in Vancouver and played in 47 games, posting a goal and six assists.

Roster Report

Projected Lineup (subject to change)

Johnny Gaudreau – Cole Sillinger – Yegor Chinakhov
Adam Fantilli – Boone Jenner – Jack Roslovic
Kent Johnson – Dmitri Voronkov – Kirill Marchenko
Alexandre Texier – Sean Kuraly – Justin Danforth
Zach Werenski – Erik Gudbranson
Ivan Provorov – Damon Severson
Jake Bean – Andrew Peeke
Elvis Merzlikins
Daniil Tarasov

Scratches: Mathieu Olivier, Emil Bemstrom, Nick Blankenburg

Injured reserve: Patrik Laine (fractured clavicle, out six weeks as of Dec. 15); Adam Boqvist (upper body injury suffered Jan. 25)

Roster Report: With Boqvist going on injured reserve today following being hit in the face with a puck Thursday, Blankenburg has been recalled but Peeke will enter the lineup tonight against the Canucks. 

3 Stats to Know

• Dmitri Voronkov’s goal Thursday gave him four in the last four games. He’s now fourth among NHL rookies in goals (11) and tied sixth in points (24).
• The Blue Jackets have two of the four NHL rookies with at least 11 goals on the season in Voronkov and Adam Fantilli (12). The others are Chicago’s Connor Bedard (15) and Minnesota’s Marco Rossi (13).
• Milestone watch: Forward Justin Danforth is two games from 100 in his NHL career (21-14-35, 98 games played). ... With 192 career assists, Zach Werenski is one helper from tying Nick Foligno for third in franchise history

Who’s Hot

Zach Werenski was plus-3 and had an assist in his return to action Thursday. ... With a goal and assist in Calgary, Yegor Chinakhov has registered 9-7-16 over the last 19 games. ... Cole Sillinger has posted a 7-3-10 line and a plus-6 rating in the last 15 games. ... Johnny Gaudreau has a 3-11-14 line in the last 17 games. ... Rookie Adam Fantilli is fourth among NHL rookies in points (27). ... Damon Severson’s goal in Calgary was his sixth of the year, leading CBJ defensemen. ... The team’s rookie stat line of 22-35-57 is first in the NHL in goals and second in points.

This Day in CBJ History

Jan. 27, 2001: The Blue Jackets sell out that night’s game vs. Anaheim, starting a 58-game sellout streak that would last until October 2002.

Jan. 27, 2008: Rick Nash plays in his third career All-Star Game and sets a game record by scoring just 12 seconds into the contest. He finishes with a hat trick in the game held in Atlanta.

Jan. 27, 2009: Nash collects his third career hat trick, scoring all three goals including the game-winner in overtime in a 3-2 victory over Detroit at Nationwide Arena.

Jan. 27, 2022: Patrik Laine notched two assists in a win vs. the New York Rangers, starting the third-longest point streak in franchise history. He would get on the score sheet in 11 straight games, posting a 13-8-21 line with eight multipoint efforts through Feb. 24.