Game Preview: No Marchenko, Olivier As Blue Jackets Wrap-Up Season Series With Maple Leafs

By Ed Francis on November 26, 2025 at 12:10 pm
Zach Werenski and Luca Pinelli are in and Kirill Marchenko and Mathieu Olivier are out Wednesday night as the Blue Jackets battle the Maple Leafs for the final time this season.
© Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
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TOR   CBJ
1-6-0 ROAD / HOME 5-3-1
3.36 GOALS FOR 2.87
3.73 GOALS AGAINST 3.26
15.5% POWER PLAY 17.0%
80.0% PENALTY KILL 73.7%
27.8 SHOTS FOR 30.4
31.0 SHOTS AGAINST 31.4
56.3% FACE-OFFS 50.8%
TORONTO: LAST THREE GAMES 
TUE, 11/18 vs. Blues OTW, 3-2
THU, 11/20 vs. Blue Jackets OTL, 3-2
SAT, 11/22 @ Canadiens L, 5-2
TORONTO: TEAM LEADERS
GOALS John Tavares 12
ASSISTS William Nylander 19
POINTS William Nylander 29
ODDS & PROJECTIONS
 CBJ WIN PER MONEYPUCK: 58%
CBJ ODDS PER BETMGM: -115

The Columbus Blue Jackets and Toronto Maple Leafs face off for the final time this season Wednesday night.

The first two games of the season series have went Columbus' way: a 6-3 win on home ice October 29th and a 3-2 overtime victory last Thursday in Toronto. 

Here are five things to know before the 7:00 p.m. puck-drop: 

  • The Maple Leafs have just one win in seven road games this season, including last month's loss at Nationwide Arena. ... Their 3.73 goals allowed per game is second worst in the league, trailing only the Vancouver Canucks' 3.74. ... This is the second game of a season-high six-game road trip for Toronto, but they do enter this game on three days' rest. 
     
  • Columbus will need to play with a renewed sense of energy and urgency following Monday's 5-1 loss to the Washington Capitals. "We tried in spurts, certainly early in the game, but our overall game we cannot be happy with," said head coach Dean Evason. Veteran forward Charlie Coyle agreed: "It just wasn’t the way we played, and that’s just not it.”
     
  • Jet Greaves has been named the starter in this one. He continues to ascend as the organization's number one goalie, posting a 2.80 goals against average and .904 save percentage. In 14 starts, he's 7-4-3. Columbus has at least one point in each of Jet's last seven starts (4-0-3).
     
  • Three potential milestones could be reached in this game: Coyle is one point away from 500 in his NHL career. Dmitri Voronkov's next point will be the 100th of his career, and Adam Fantilli needs just two to reach 100 in his career. 
     
  • There are heavy lineup changes in this game. Kirill Marchenko and Mathieu Olivier are out with injuries, and Jake Christiansen will be a healthy scratch. Forward Luca Pinelli will make his NHL debut, and defenseman Brendan Smith will make his Blue Jackets debut as well. Here are the complete projections:
LW C RW
10 Dmitri Voronkov 19 Adam Fantilli 91 Kent Johnson
4 Cole Sillinger 23 Sean Monahan 53 Luca Pinelli
11 Miles Wood 3 Charlie Coyle 21 Isac Lundestrom
27 Zach Aston-Reese 16 Brendan Gaunce 59 Yegor Chinakhov
LD RD
8 Zach Werenski 9 Ivan Provorov
5 Denton Mateychuk 78 Damon Severson
7 Brendan Smith 15 Dante Fabbro
Starting Goalie Back-Up
73 Jet Greaves 90 Elvis Merzlikins
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