| MIN | CBJ | |
|---|---|---|
| 8-6-1 | ROAD / HOME | 7-5-3 |
| 2.97 | GOALS FOR | 2.91 |
| 2.53 | GOALS AGAINST | 3.45 |
| 23.1% | POWER PLAY | 18.5% |
| 79.0% | PENALTY KILL | 72.8% |
| 28.2 | SHOTS FOR | 30.3 |
| 29.8 | SHOTS AGAINST | 31.2 |
| 47.1% | FACEOFFS | 50.4% |
| MINNESOTA: LAST THREE GAMES | ||
| SAT, 12/13 | vs. Senators | W, 3-2 |
| SUN, 12/14 | vs. Bruins | W, 6-2 |
| TUE, 12/16 | vs. Capitals | W, 5-0 |
| MINNESOTA: TEAM LEADERS | ||
| GOALS | Kirill Kaprizov | 21 |
| ASSISTS | Matt Boldy | 19 |
| POINTS |
Matt Boldy Kirill Kaprizov |
38 |
| ODDS & PROJECTIONS | ||
| CBJ WIN PER MONEYPUCK: | 46% | |
| CBJ ODDS PER DRAFTKINGS: | +100 | |
It's the final home game before Christmas for the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night when the red-hot Minnesota Wild are in town.
Minnesota has won five straight, while the Blue Jackets ended a five-game losing streak Tuesday night with an overtime win over the Anaheim Ducks.
Here are five things to know before the 7:00 p.m. puck-drop:
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The Wild have been dominant in their five-game streak, winning four of the five by multiple goals and outscoring the Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals by a combined 11-2 margin in their two most recent victories. ... This will be the third game in a Minnesota sweater for elite defenseman Quinn Hughes, who the Wild acquired last week in a blockbuster trade with the Vancouver Canucks. Hughes has a goal and in his assist in his first two games for Minnesota.
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Jet Greaves will start again for the Blue Jackets. He's given up three goals or less in his last five games played, but Tuesday's game was the only win of that stretch. For the season, Greaves is posting a 2.76 goals against average and .905 save percentage. This will be Jet's third straight start since last Thursday, when he came in for Elvis Merzlikins after Merzlikins gave up three goals on five shots in a 6-3 loss to the Ottawa Senators.
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Last season, Zach Werenski went on a monstrous, 22-game home point streak. It was one of the longest ever by a defenseman — and he's at it again. With his two-goal game Tuesday, Werenski is now at 11 straight with a point at Nationwide Arena. He has six points in his last three games and ranks second in defenseman in goals (11) and points (36).
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Is #91 waking up? Kent Johnson's two assists Tuesday gave him a three-game point streak with four total assists in that span. He had just two total points in the 21 games prior. For the season, Johnson has three goals and seven assists for ten total points.
- Just one change to the lineup from Tuesday, as Zach Aston-Reese comes into the lineup for Brendan Gaunce. It's not for anything on-ice related, though: Gaunce is in Cleveland with his wife for the birth of their child. Here are the complete projections:
| LW | C | RW | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Dmitri Voronkov | 19 | Adam Fantilli | 86 | Kirill Marchenko |
| 38 | Boone Jenner | 23 | Sean Monahan | 59 | Yegor Chinakhov |
| 11 | Miles Wood | 3 | Charlie Coyle | 4 | Cole Sillinger |
| 27 | Zach Aston-Reese | 21 | Isac Lundestrom | 91 | Kent Johnson |
| LD | RD | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Zach Werenski | 5 | Denton Mateychuk |
| 9 | Ivan Provorov | 78 | Damon Severson |
| 7 | Brendan Smith | 15 | Dante Fabbro |
| Starting Goalie | Back-Up | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 73 | Jet Greaves | 90 | Elvis Merzlikins |
