Blue Jackets at Sharks preview

BLUE JACKETS (21-15-8) at SHARKS (19-22-4)
10:30 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, FS-O, NHL.TV

The Blue Jackets, 6-0-3 in their past nine games away from home and 10-1-4 in their past 15 overall, can match the second-longest road point streak in their history (9-0-1, March 6-April 11, 2015). The Columbus record for longest such stretch is 11 games (10-0-1, Nov. 20-Dec. 31, 2016).
Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella will be behind the bench for his 1,032nd NHL game to pass Mike Babcock (1,301) for 12th place on the NHL all-time list.
The Sharks will play their first game without center Logan Couture, who will be out approximately six weeks because of a fractured left ankle sustained in a 3-2 loss at the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday.
San Jose is winless in two straight (0-1-1) and is 3-2-2 in its past seven games after going 1-8-1 in their previous 10 games.

Players to watch

Blue Jackets forward Gustav Nyquist will play at San Jose against his former team for the first time since signing a four-year contract with Columbus on July 1, 2019.
Sharks forward Timo Meier has four points (one goal, three assists) in a three-game point streak.

They said it

"We have a group belief. That's during our in-between days, that's during the game, and I think that's very important to keep playing as a team and believing in what we're doing." -- Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella on earning points in 14 of 15 games despite numerous injuries
"I've been stressing from a coaching standpoint that we can't worry about where we're going to be in March. … we start thinking long-term and thinking about how many points we're out of it, you can just drive yourself crazy." -- Sharks coach Bob Boughner

Blue Jackets projected lineup

Gustav Nyquist -- Pierre-Luc Dubois -- Nathan Gerbe
Sonny Milano -- Boone Jenner -- Nick Foligno
Emil Bemstrom -- Alex Wennberg -- Kevin Stenlund
Eric Robinson -- Riley Nash -- Jakob Lilja
Zach Werenski -- Seth Jones
Vladislav Gavrikov -- David Savard
Scott Harrington -- Markus Nutivaara
Elvis Merzlikins
Matiss Kivlenieks
Scratched: Ryan MacInnis, Gabriel Carlsson
Injured: Brandon Dubinsky (wrist), Cam Atkinson (ankle), Josh Anderson (shoulder), Oliver Bjorkstrand (rib, oblique), Ryan Murray (lower body), Joonas Korpisalo (knee), Andrew Peeke (finger), Alexandre Texier (back), Dean Kukan (knee)

Sharks projected lineup

Evander Kane -- Tomas Hertl -- Kevin Labanc
Timo Meier -- Antti Suomela -- Patrick Marleau
Marcus Sorensen -- Joe Thornton -- Barclay Goodrow
Antti Suomela -- Joel Kellman -- Melker Karlsson
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Erik Karlsson
Brenden Dillon -- Brent Burns
Radim Simek -- Mario Ferraro
Aaron Dell
Martin Jones
Scratched:Joachim Blichfeld , Tim Heed
Injured:Logan Couture (fractured ankle), Dalton Prout (upper body)

Status report

Columbus will go with the same lineup it did in a 4-3 win at the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday. … Hertl will take Couture's spot at center on the first line.

Stat pack

Merzlikins is 4-1-0 with 2.01 goals-against average and.940 save percentage in five starts since taking over for the injured Korpisalo. … Thornton will play in his 1,612th game to tie Ray Bourque for 11th place on the NHL all-time list.