PREVIEW: Blue Jackets welcome Devils for Saturday night hockey

As Zach Werenski stood in the locker room in Scotiabank Arena on Thursday night in Toronto, he was nearly at a loss for words.

The Blue Jackets had just been through one of the oddest NHL games in the league’s history, becoming the first team ever to surrender a five-goal lead in the third period but still emerge victorious. Kent Johnson did the honors, ripping a wrist shot home for his second of the night in the 6-5 victory.

At this point, it feels like a broken record, as CBJ fans know how often this season Columbus has seen third-period leads evaporate. But the Jackets didn’t panic when the game went to overtime and left Toronto with what they wanted – two points in the standings.

“I don’t really have words for it, I guess,” Werenski said. “It’s confusing, a little bit. Obviously we know we’ve blown some leads in here this year. Tonight’s, really don’t know, I guess, how to explain it.

“I don’t really want to talk about that too much. We found a way to win. We did a lot of good things in the first two periods and found a way to get two points on the road against a good hockey team. We’ll take that, but we definitely have to figure something out in the third periods.”

It’s a tough balance to strike, as the Blue Jackets have to get better in the area of protecting leads, but if you focus only on what you did wrong even when you win in an 82-game season, you’ll drive yourself mad. For the first 40 minutes, Columbus was the better team, forcing the Maple Leafs into a series of turnovers and sloppy play, and then taking advantage while building a 5-0 lead.

But as CBJ head coach Pascal Vincent said, he also knows it’s human nature to focus only on the third. Vincent said Friday he watched the tape and saw a few places his team can get better with making poised plays and playing with controlled aggression, but he also thought he sensed less panic in his team as the period went along, noting the Blue Jackets had some strong shifts at 5-on-5 before the Maple Leafs scored a power-play goal and two extra-attacker tallies.

“I'm a positive person in life,” he said. “So you know where I’m coming from, but I’m also very much a realistic person. I see what happened. I know how the bench was. It’s not good what happened, but at the same time, there's growth. Yesterday, we managed to win the game, and if we were here, now we're (making a step). So we're moving forward.”

The Blue Jackets also got bad news on Friday as they found out Patrik Laine will be out for around six weeks with a clavicle injury. It’s another player out for a team that was already missing four regulars, but as usual, the usual mentality replies.

“I’m so disappointed for him,” Vincent said. “Next man up. That's all we have to do. I believe there's ways to win hockey games even if you don't have certain players in your lineup.”

Know The Foe: New Jersey Devils

Head coach: Lindy Ruff (Fourth season)

Team stats: Goals per game: 3.48 (7th) | Scoring defense: 3.52 (28th) | PP: 31.8 percent (1st) | PK: 75.6 percent (26th)

The narrative: New Jersey took a massive step forward a year ago, jumping an NHL-record 49 points in the standings to make their first playoff appearance in five years, then beating the rival New York Rangers in the first round. Years of top picks paid off as the team’s young talent, led by No. 1 overall picks Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier, led the way, and the hope this season is to take an even bigger step forward and make a deep playoff run.

Team leaders: The irrepressible Hughes had the OT winner in the Devils’ last game and leads the squad with 34 points (11 goals, 23 assists) despite missing five games. Jesper Bratt remains one of the most underrated players in the league, as the 25-year-old Swede has a 12-21-33 line. Tyler Toffoli is tied with Bratt for the team lead in goals, while defensemen Dougie Hamilton (5-11-16) and Luke Hughes (4-12-16) are next in scoring.

In the net, both Vitek Vanecek has played in 18 games and is 11-5-0 with a 3.33 GAA and .883 save percentage, while Akira Schmid is 4-6-1 with a 3.03 GAA and .901 save percentage.

What's new: It’s been an uneven start for the Devils, as injuries to such key players as Hughes, Hischier, Meier and Hamilton have made it tough on the squad. Hamilton is the only one who remains out, though, and the Devils have been on a good run of late that includes seven wins in the last nine games. The defensive numbers still aren’t where they need to be – New Jersey is allowing 3.11 goals per contest in that nine-game run – but are trending the right direction.

Trending: It’s been a series of big swings, as Columbus entered last season dominant against the Devils, posting a 24-7-1 since Metropolitan Division play began through 2021-22. But last year, New Jersey got its revenge, winning all three games in the series by a combined 18-4 margin, including 15-2 at The Rock. Could the Jackets’ 2-1 win in New Jersey on Black Friday start the pendulum back the other way?

Former CBJ: None

Roster Report

Projected Lineup (subject to change)

Johnny Gaudreau – Adam Fantilli – Justin Danforth
Yegor Chinakhov – Dmitri Voronkov – Kirill Marchenko
Emil Bemstrom – Cole Sillinger – Kent Johnson
Alexandre Texier – Sean Kuraly – Mathieu Olivier
Zach Werenski – Nick Blankenburg
Ivan Provorov – Andrew Peeke
David Jiricek – Erik Gudbranson
Daniil Tarasov
Spencer Martin

Scratches: Patrik Laine (fractured clavicle, out six weeks as of Dec. 15), Jake Bean, Elvis Merzlikins

Injured reserve: Boone Jenner (fractured jaw, out six weeks as of Dec. 9); Adam Boqvist (shoulder strain, out approximately four weeks as of Dec. 6); Damon Severson (oblique, out approximately six weeks as of Nov. 19); Jack Roslovic (fractured ankle, out four to six weeks as of Nov. 13)

Roster Report: The injury to Laine makes a fifth regular to be out injured long-term, and Olivier will take his spot in the skater lineup. Gudbranson is ticketed to return after being suspended from Thursday’s game, with Bean coming out, while Tarasov will make his first start of the season in net after rehabbing a knee injury.

3 Stats to Know

• Kent Johnson is coming off his first two-goal game and three-point game at the NHL level Thursday in Toronto. His game-winning goal in OT gives him six points in the last four games (2-4-6) after three points in his first 11 contests.
• Yegor Chinakhov has a three-game goal streak, the first of his career, and has tallied four times in that span.
• Milestone watch: Gaudreau is one point from 700 for his NHL career (236-463-699, 713 GP).

Who’s Hot

With three goals and an assist in the last four games, Adam Fantilli is third among NHL rookies with eight goals and tied for second with 16 points. … Dmitri Voronkov is tied for fifth among NHL rookies in goals (six) and points (15). … David Jiricek had his first career multipoint game Thursday with two assists. ... Since being placed on a line together, Kirill Marchenko, Yegor Chinkahov and Voronkov have combined for eight goals and 14 points in seven games. … With 22 assists, Zach Werenski is tied for sixth among NHL defensemen in helpers. … The team’s rookie stat line of 15-23-38 is tied for first in the NHL in goals and second in points. … Columbus has allowed power-play goals in just seven of the past 24 games, killing off 54 of 62 (87.1 percent) opponent power-play chances since Oct. 28. … Columbus is fourth in the NHL in even-strength goals with 67.

This Day in CBJ History

Dec. 16, 2010: Kristian Huselius scores the 18th hat trick in Blue Jackets history, beating Nikolai Khabibulin for all three 6-3 CBJ loss at Edmonton.

Dec. 16, 2014: Sergei Bobrovsky stops 30 shots in regulation and also throws up a zero in the shootout as the Blue Jackets take a 1-0 victory at Detroit. Boone Jenner scores the deciding goal of the skills competition in just the second 1-0 shootout win in franchise history.