By Joe Coopersmith
Wild to Watch
« C Joel Eriksson Ek leads the Wild in goals and ranks third in points with 15-10-25 in 37 outings this season.
« D Brock Faber leads Minnesota blueliners and ranks third among all NHL rookie defensemen in assists and points with 2-14-26 while averaging a rookie-best 24:38 of ice time in 37 games in 2023-24.
« C Marco Rossi ranks second-T among NHL rookies in goals and third in points with 11-12-23 in 37 appearances this season.
All-Time Series
« Columbus has gone 32-26-7 in 65 all-time games against Minnesota, including 19-10-2 at home.
« The Blue Jackets have recorded points in six of the last nine home games of the series (5-3-1).
« Nine of the last 12 games in the series have been decided by a single goal dating back to Mar. 2, 2017.
« Four of the last five meetings overall have been decided after regulation, including three in overtime.
« The Blue Jackets have posted seven of the 12 shutouts in the all time series with Sergei Bobrovsky (38 saves in 1-0 win at CBJ on Mar. 2, 2017) posting the most recent one for Columbus.
« Nikita Filatov (4-2 W at CBJ on Jan. 10, 2009) has recorded the lone hat trick in the series for the Blue Jackets.
This Season (CBJ, 1-0-0)
« Oct. 21, 2023 – CBJ 5, at MIN 4 (OT)
« Jan. 6, 2023 – at COLUMBUS (7 p.m. ET)
Player Notables vs. Wild
« D Jake Bean – 1-1-2 in 3 career GP, including an assist in his only career home game on Mar. 11, 2022
« LW Johnny Gaudreau – 4-17-21 with points in 15 of 23 career GP, recording 2-7-9 in his past eight games against Minnesota and collecting points in 7-of-10 career home contests (1-7-8).
« G Elvis Merzlikins – 2-0-2 with 2.85 GAA and .919 SV% in 4 career GP, including stopping 36-of-38 shots (.947 SV%) and posting a 1.88 GAA in his lone home appearance on Mar. 11, 2022 (3-2 SOW).
« RW Mathieu Olivier – 1-1-2 in 3 career GP with points in each of his last two contests against the club.
« D Damon Severson – 0-7-7 in 16 career GP, including two assists in the team’s first game of the season series on Oct. 21.
BLUE JACKETS TEAM NOTES
- The Blue Jackets have recorded points in four of the last five (2-1-2) and 13 of the last 21 games (9-8-4) dating back to Nov. 22 following a 3-2 shootout win at Philadelphia on Thursday.
- The victory stretched the club’s season-high road points streak to five consecutive (3-0-2) since Dec. 14.
- The Blue Jackets have played in 18 one-goal games this season, including six of the last nine, with another five contests as two goal finishes thanks to the addition of empty net goals (MR: Nov. 29 vs. Montreal).
- Columbus has played past regulation in five (2-3) of the last seven contests. The club has played in 12 games in overtime/shootout this season, tied for the fifth-most in the NHL.
- CBJ have scored 71 goals over the last 21 games to rank tenth-T in the NHL in goals-per-game since Nov. 22 (3.38).
- The Blue Jackets have been held to less than two goals in just two of their past 14 contests.
- The Blue Jackets are in a stretch of rotating home and road contests over an eight-game stretch from Dec. 27-Jan. 13 when they kick off a three-game homestand.
- CBJ rank second in the NHL with 91 goals scored at 5-on-5 play this season, trailing only Vancouver (96).
- Columbus ranks sixth-T in the NHL with 40 first period goals and eighth-T in first period goal differential (+6).
- The club has combined for 538 blocked shots over the past 28 games since Nov. 6 and is tied for the NHL lead in blocked shots (NY Islanders, 747) and ranks third in blocks-per-60 minutes (18.40).
- Blue Jackets blueliners recorded both goals and added two assists on Thursday (2-2-4) and have combined for 9-46-55 over the past 24 contests. They rank fourth among NHL defensive units in assists and fifth-T in points with 15-79-94 in 40 games this season. The club also leads the league in assists percentage (38.9 pct.) and ranks fourth in points percentage (28.9 pct.) recorded by its defense.
- CBJ’s rookie class has combined for 19-34-53 in 40 games this season and ranks second among teams’ rookies in goals, assists and points. The Blue Jackets are the only team in the league to have two rookies with 17 or more points in 2023-24 (Fantilli-24, Voronkov-20).
BLUE JACKETS PLAYER NOTES
- D Jake Bean has registered points in three of his last five outings (2-1-3), including the tying goal on Thursday at the Flyers.
- RW Yegor Chinakhov has registered points in eight of his last 12 games (7-5-12). He has tallied 9-6-15 with eight even-strength goals and four multi-point games in the past 18 outings to rank fourth-T in the NHL in even-strength goals and 15th-T in goals since Nov. 27.
- F Justin Danforth had his career-high four-game points streak (2-2-4) snapped on Tuesday against the Bruins. He has registered 3-4-7 in the last 12 games and has already set single-season career highs in assists and points with 9-9-18 in 40 outings this season.
- C Adam Fantilli has registered points in five of his last six games (2-3-5) and seven of the past nine contests (3-5-8) after collecting an assist at Philadelphia on Thursday. He recorded 7-6-13 in 14 December games to set franchise records for most goals (Balastik, 6 in 2005) and points (Dubois, 12 in 2017) by a rookie in the month. The 2023 third overall pick ranks second among NHL rookies in goals (tied) and points and sixth-T in assists with 11-13-24 in 40 appearances this season.
- LW Johnny Gaudreau registered his second three-point game (also Dec. 19 at Buffalo) and sixth multi-point effort with 1-2-3, including the OT winner, last Friday against the Maple Leafs. He has recorded 3-7-10 in the last 10 games and 6-13-19 with five multi-point outings in his last 23 contests after collecting 1-5-6 in the first 17 games of the season.
- D David Jiricek ranks fourth among rookie NHL blueliners in assists and points (tied) with 1-8-9 in 33 contests.
- C Kent Johnson has posted 5-5-10 with three multi-point efforts in his last 13 games overall since Dec. 7.
- RW Kirill Marchenko has collected 9-3-12 in his past 21 games and is tied for the team lead in goals with 13-8-21 in 38 contests this season. He has already set a new career high in assists after posting 21-4-24 in 59 contests during his 2022-23 rookie campaign.
- D Ivan Provorov, who has collected an assist in two of the last four outings, ranks second on the club in assists, blocked shots and time on ice with 2-19-21 and 77 blocked shots, while averaging 23:03 TOI in 40 appearances this season.
- D Damon Severson notched a goal on Thursday and has collected points in three of the last four games (2-2-4). He has also recorded 4-3-7 with two multi-point efforts over his last nine outings and leads club defensemen in goals with 5-7-12 in 25 appearances this season.
- C Cole Sillinger has recorded 3-2-5 in the past eight contests, including a goal this past Friday against the Maple Leafs.
- LW Dmitri Voronkov has posted points in three of his past four contests (1-2-3). He has registered 2-6-8 in his last 12 games and 4-6-10 over the last 18 contests. He ranks fifth among NHL rookies in points, sixth-T in assists and seventh-T in goals with 7-13-20 in 34 games this season.
- D Zach Werenski, who missed has missed the last four contests with an ankle injury, recorded 0-10-10 in his last 13 games. He leads the club in assists, points (tied) and time on ice with 1-24-25 and 24:04 TOI in 34 contests this season.
BLUE JACKETS MILESTONES
- RW Emil Bemstrom is three games from 200 for his NHL career (30-38-68, 197 GP).
- LW Johnny Gaudreau is one point from 100 for his CBJ career (28-71-99, 120 GP).
- RW Kirill Marchenko is three games from 100 for his NHL career (34-12-46, 97 GP).
- C Jack Roslovic is one point from 200 for his NHL career (73-126-199, 404 GP).
- D Zach Werenski is 10 assists from 200 for his NHL career (80-190-270, 450 GP).
OhioHEALTH INJURY REPORT
- D Adam Boqvist (shoulder strain) is on Injured Reserve retroactive to Dec. 5 (Approx. 4 Weeks); 13 games
- C Boone Jenner (fractured jaw) is on Injured Reserve retroactive to Dec. 9 (Approx. 6 Weeks); 11 games
- F Patrik Laine (clavicle fracture) is on Injured Reserve retroactive to Dec. 14 (Approx. 6 Weeks); 9 games
- D Nick Blankenburg (upper body) is on Injured Reserve retroactive to Dec. 19 (day-to-day); 7 games
- C Sean Kuraly (abdominal injury) is on Injured Reserve retroactive to Dec. 23 (Approx. 2-to-4 Weeks); 5 games
- D Zach Werenski (ankle); is on Injured Reserve on Dec. 29 (Approx. 4-to-6 Weeks); 4 games
TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 150
COURTESY BLUE JACKETS COMMUNICATIONS
