Blue Jackets back home to take on Anaheim tonight at 7 p.m.

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS VS. ANAHEIM DUCKS

TV:  Bally Sports Ohio           Jeff Rimer (play-by-play), Jody Shelley (color analyst), Dave Maetzold (reporter)              
Radio:  97.1 The Fan              Bob McElligott (play-by-play), Dylan Tyrer (host)

THE MATCHUP

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS

2021-22 Record: 13-11-0, 26 pts. (5th, Metropolitan Division)

Goals:  3.25 Goals-For/3.33 Goals-Against… Shots:  29.7 Shots-For/34.6 Shots-Against

Power Play:  21.0 percent (11th, NHL)… Penalty Kill:  81.8 percent (14th, NHL)

Penalty Minutes:  7.3 PIM (5th, NHL)… Overtime Record (Shootout):  5-0-0 (2-0)

ANAHEIM DUCKS

2021-22 Record: 14-8-5, 33 pts. (2nd, Pacific Division)

Goals:  3.26 Goals-For/2.78 Goals-Against… Shots:  31.7 Shots-For/32.6 Shots-Against

Power Play:  26.7 percent (4th, NHL)… Penalty Kill:  85.9 percent (4th, NHL)

Penalty Minutes:  9.0 PIM (8th, NHL)… Overtime Record (Shootout):  4-2-3 (1-3)

Players to Watch:  RW Troy Terry ranks seventh-T in the NHL in goals and 18th-T in scoring with 15-11-26 in 26 games this season… D Kevin Shattenkirk ranks eighth-T among NHL blueliners in goals and 15th in points with 5-11-16 in 27 appearances… G John Gibson is 10-6-4 with a 2.69 GAA and .914 SV% in 20 outings this season and has a 2.58 GAA and .916 SV% in 342 career outings.

ALL-TIME SERIES

Results:  The Blue Jackets are 30-25-6 in 61 all-time meetings vs. the Ducks, including 16-12-2 at home and 14-13-4 on the road… Of Note: The teams did not meet during the 2020-21 season… The road team won both games in the 2019-20 series with Anaheim winning 2-1 on Oct. 11, 2019 and Columbus earning a 4-3 victory on Jan. 7, 2020… The visiting team is 3-0-1 in the last four games of the series with each of those contests decided by a single goal… CBJ have picked up points in five of the last six home games of the series (5-0-1)… The Blue Jackets own four of the seven shutouts in the series while the Ducks have three of the four hat tricks.

This Season (CBJ, 0-0-0)

Dec. 9, 2021 – at Columbus (7 p.m.)

Apr. 17, 2022 – at Anaheim (8:30 p.m.)

CBJ TEAM NOTES

The Blue Jackets fell for the fifth-straight road game with a 5-4 loss at Toronto on Tuesday… It was the first time the club has lost this season when scoring four or more goals in a game (10-1-0)… CBJ are a franchise-best 9-3-0 (18 pts) through the first 12 games at Nationwide Arena this season… Columbus plays six-straight games vs. Western Conference teams from Dec. 9-20 and is in the middle of a stretch of 13-of-16 games played against the conference from Nov. 18-Dec. 18… CBJ are 5-0-0 in games played after regulation this season.  It’s the second time the club has started a campaign with wins in its first five games that were decided after regulation (2005-06, finished 14-1-3)… The Jackets are in a stretch of 13-of-17 games from Nov. 18-Dec. 20 played on the road.  Following Thursday’s home game vs. Anaheim, the team heads out on a five-game road trip from Nov. 11-20… CBJ have trailed in nine of their 13 victories this season… The Jackets have killed off all opponent power play attempts in 13 of the last 17 games (36-of-32; 85.7 pct.) and rank seventh-T in the NHL in PK pct. since Oct. 31… CBJ rank third in goals (18) and fifth-T in the NHL in points (63) by defensemen this season… Columbus ranks second in the NHL in goals scored in the third period (34) and third in goal differential in the period (+9, 34-25).

CBJ PLAYER NOTES

The Blue Jackets have seen 20 different players record a goal this season, while 22-of-24 skaters have recorded at least one point… D Adam Boqvist has points in four-straight home games (4-1-5).  He ranks fifth-T among NHL blueliners in goals this season (6) and leads defensemen in goals and ranks fifth-T in points since Nov. 24 with 5-3-8 in eight games… RW Oliver Bjorkstrand tallied his second two-goal game of the season on Tuesday and leads the club in scoring and multi-point outings with 8-13-21 and six multi-point efforts in 24 contests… C Max Domi has posted points in two-straight games overall (1-1-2) and three consecutive home contests (1-2-3)… D Vladislav Gavrikov has 2-8-10 in the past 15 outings… C Boone Jenner has posted 7-5-12 in the past 18 games.  CBJ’s captain ranks sixth-T in the NHL in power play goals with 11-5-16 and five PPG in 24 games this season… G Elvis Merzlikins recorded his 10th win in his 14th game of the season on Sunday to become the quickest player in franchise history to reach 10 wins in a campaign (Bobrovsky, 15 GP in 2016-17 and 2017-18)…. F Gus Nyquist has posted 3-5-8 over the past 14 contests… D Andrew Peeke, who posted his first career multi-point game with two assists on Sunday, has played 20-plus minutes in seven of the last eight contests… G Daniil Tarasov leads NHL rookie netminders in SV% (.936, min. 2 GP) and ranks second in GAA (2.22, min. 2 GP)… F Alexandre Texier ranks second on the Blue Jackets in goals (career-high 8) has recorded 6-5-11 in the past 15 games overall and 5-3-8 in his past eight home contests… RW Jakub Voracek is tied for the NHL lead in primary assists (16) and ranks fifth-T in power play assists (9).  He has collected points in seven-straight home games (1-6-7)… D Zach Werenski has posted points in nine of his last 13 contests (3-7-10) and ranks third-T in the NHL in TOI/GP (26:13).

MILESTONES

•     RW Oliver Bjorkstrand is two points from 200 in his NHL career (91-107-198, 326 GP).

•     D Adam Boqvist is seven games from 100 for his NHL career (12-26-38, 93 GP).

•     C Max Domi is six goals from 100 and eight assists from 200 for his NHL career (94-192-286, 443 GP).

•     C Sean Kuraly is six games from 300 for his NHL career (29-46-75, 294 GP).

•     LW Gustav Nyquist is six games from 600 for his NHL career and six games from 100 in his CBJ career (150-208-358, 594 GP; 19-33-52, 94 GP).

•     RW Jakub Voracek is eight games from 1,000 for his NHL career (217-541-758, 992 GP).

OhioHEALTH INJURY REPORT

•     D Dean Kukan (wrist fracture; Injured Reserve on Oct. 26) is expected to miss 8 weeks

•     LW Patrik Laine (oblique strain; Injured Reserve on Nov. 5) is expected to miss 4-to-6 weeks

•     G Joonas Korpisalo (illness; Injured Reserve on Dec. 1)

TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 72

COURTESY CBJ COMMUNICATIONS

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