| CBJ | VGK | |
|---|---|---|
| 9-10-3 | ROAD / HOME | 8-6-6 |
| 2.98 | GOALS FOR | 3.10 |
| 3.36 | GOALS AGAINST | 3.02 |
| 17.9% | POWER PLAY | 25.2% |
| 76.0% | PENALTY KILL | 81.8% |
| 30.3 | SHOTS FOR | 29.0 |
| 31.1 | SHOTS AGAINST | 24.9 |
| 50.9% | FACEOFF % | 51.8% |
| VEGAS: LAST THREE GAMES | ||
| MON, 12/29 | @ Blues | L, 4-3 |
| WED, 12/31 | @ Blackhawks | OTL, 3-2 |
| SAT, 1/3 | @ Jets | OTW, 4-3 |
| VEGAS: TEAM LEADERS | ||
| GOALS |
Tomáš Hertl Pavel Dorofeyev |
16 |
| ASSISTS | Mitch Marner | 33 |
| POINTS | Jack Eichel | 43 |
| ODDS & PROJECTIONS | ||
| CBJ WIN PER MONEYPUCK: | 43% | |
| CBJ ODDS PER DRAFTKINGS: | +120 | |
The Columbus Blue Jackets western road trip continues Thursday night when they face the Vegas Golden Knights in Sin City.
This is the second and final meeting between the teams this season. Vegas had a 3-2 victory at Nationwide Arena back on December 13th.
Here are five things to know before another 10:00 p.m. puck-drop:
-
This is the first of a quick, two-game burst at home for the Knights after three straight games away from the desert. They ended a five-game losing streak Tuesday night with an overtime win in Winnipeg against the Jets. Carter Hart has been confirmed as the starter for Vegas on Thursday. He's 5-3-3 this season, has a 3.23 goals against average, and an .874 save percentage.
-
Meanwhile, Jet Greaves will make the start for Columbus. That's no surprise at this point, as the young netminder will make his 8th consecutive start for the Blue Jackets. For the season, Greaves has been more than respectable: a 2.65 goals against average and .907 save percentage in 29 total games.
-
Zach Werenski's goal Tuesday night was his 16th of the season and put him atop the leaderboard in the NHL for goals by defensemen. He's on an eight-game point streak and has goals in five of his last six games, including two multi-goal games in that stretch.
-
Defenseman Egor Zamula makes his Columbus debut in this one. The 6'3", 200lb blueliner was picked up by the Blue Jackets on Tuesday after the Pittsburgh Penguins terminated his contract for failing to report to their American Hockey League affiliate after he was traded to the organization days earlier by the Philadelphia Flyers. Zamula, who will wear jersey number six, will be on the third defensive pairing along with Dante Fabbro.
- Mikael Pyyhtia's season debut comes on the fourth line opposite of Zach Aston-Reese and centered by Brendan Gaunce. That bumps Kent Johnson up to the second line where he'll play with Boone Jenner and Sean Monahan. Here are the complete lineup projections:
| LW | C | RW | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Dmitri Voronkov | 19 | Adam Fantilli | 86 | Kirill Marchenko |
| 38 | Boone Jenner | 23 | Sean Monahan | 91 | Kent Johnson |
| 4 | Cole Sillinger | 3 | Charlie Coyle | 24 | Mathieu Olivier |
| 27 | Zach Aston-Reese | 16 | Brendan Gaunce | 82 | Mikael Pyyhtia |
| LD | RD | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Zach Werenski | 5 | Denton Mateychuk |
| 9 | Ivan Provorov | 78 | Damon Severson |
| 6 | Egor Zamula | 15 | Dante Fabbro |
| Starting Goalie | Back-Up | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 73 | Jet Greaves | 90 | Elvis Merzlikins |
