| OTT | CBJ | |
|---|---|---|
| 6-6-2 | ROAD / HOME | 6-3-3 |
| 3.00 | GOALS FOR | 2.90 |
| 3.31 | GOALS AGAINST | 3.40 |
| 24.7% | POWER PLAY | 18.9% |
| 70.7% | PENALTY KILL | 72.3% |
| 27.1 | SHOTS FOR | 30.5 |
| 25.6 | SHOTS AGAINST | 31.5 |
| 56.8% | FACE-OFFS | 50.2% |
| OTTAWA: LAST THREE GAMES | ||
| THU, 12/4 | vs. Rangers | L, 4-2 |
| SAT, 12/6 | vs. Blues | L, 2-1 |
| TUE, 12/9 | vs. Devils | L, 4-3 |
| OTTAWA: TEAM LEADERS | ||
| GOALS |
Drake Batherson Shane Pinto Tim Stützle |
12 |
| ASSISTS | Jake Sanderson | 18 |
| POINTS |
Drake Batherson Tim Stützle |
26 |
| ODDS & PROJECTIONS | ||
| CBJ WIN PER MONEYPUCK: | 49% | |
| CBJ ODDS PER BETMGM: | -105 | |
The Columbus Blue Jackets need a win.
Following a winless, three-game road trip, the club is back in action Thursday night as they begin a four-game homestand when the Ottawa Senators visit Nationwide Arena.
The Blue Jackets are last in a stacked Metropolitan division, but still just three points out of a potential wild card spot. It's still early, but it's not that early —and with the competition fierce and the team on a cold streak, there's no time like the present for Columbus to start stacking together some wins.
Here are five things to know before the 7:00 p.m. puck-drop:
-
Ottawa comes into this game following a three-game homestand that resulted in three regulation losses. Following the 0-3-0 sputter, they're one of just two teams in the Eastern Conference with fewer points (30) than the Blue Jackets (32). ... The Senators are also one of just three teams with a lower penalty kill percentage than Columbus'. They are 70.7% on the season, but have killed off six in a row over the last three games.
-
Getting back to home ice could behoove the Blue Jackets. They have points in eight straight games at home (5-0-3), with their last regulation loss coming at the hands of the Washington Capitals all the way back on October 24th.
-
Elvis Merzlikins has been named the starting goalie. He's not had a good go of it lately: he's allowed 25 goals in his last five starts (an average of five goals per start), and has allowed at least three goals in 11 of his 12 starts. For the season, Merzlikins has a 3.87 goals against average an .885 save percentage.
-
This is the 200th career NHL game for Yegor Chinakhov. The 24-year-old is surely looking to snap his 18-game streak without a point, as he's been held off the scoreboard dating back to October 28th.
- Boone Jenner is back in the lineup after being sidelined for the last month with an upper-body injury. He'll be on the second line opposite of Kent Johnson and centered by Adam Fantilli, who drops down from the top line in exchange for Sean Monahan. Here are the complete projections:
| LW | C | RW | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Dmitri Voronkov | 23 | Sean Monahan | 86 | Kirill Marchenko |
| 91 | Kent Johnson | 19 | Adam Fantilli | 38 | Boone Jenner |
| 11 | Miles Wood | 3 | Charlie Coyle | 4 | Cole Sillinger |
| 16 | Brendan Gaunce | 21 | Isac Lundestrom | 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 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 90 | Elvis Merzlikins | 73 | Jet Greaves |
