By Joe Coopersmith

Predators to Watch

«  LW Filip Forsberg, who has recorded 10-12-22 in the last 14 games, leads the Predators in goals and points and ranks third in assists with 43-46-89 in 79 appearances this season and has collected 12-9-21 in 25 career contests vs. Columbus.

«  D Roman Josi, who leads NHL defensemen in goals and ranks third in points and sixth in assists with 21-59-80 in 79 games this season, has totaled 4-14-18 in 33 career games against the Blue Jackets.

«  G Juuse Saros has earned points in 17 of his last 19 games since Feb. 17 (14-2-3; 2.34 GAA and .920 SV%) and ranks fifth-T in the league in wins with a 34-23-5 record, 2.82 GAA, and .907 SV% in 62 contests.

All-Time Series

«  Columbus has gone 31-56-13 in 100 all-time meetings vs. the Predators, including 9-35-7 on the road.

«  Nashville has won the past seven contests at Bridgestone Arena dating back to Feb. 22, 2020 (CBJ; 0-6-1).

«  The home team is 13-3-1 in the last 17 meetings of the series since Apr. 7, 2018.

«  The winning team has won 2-1 in each of the last two games after scoring four or more goals in five consecutive games from May 3, 2021-Oct. 20, 2022.

«  The Blue Jackets have killed off all 11 Predators power play chances over the last three games.

«  Columbus has recorded five shutouts in the all-time series with Elvis Merzlikins recording the last Blue Jackets shutout after making 32 saves in a 3-0 win at Nationwide Arena on Feb. 18, 2021.

«  The Blue Jackets have notched three of the six hat tricks (MR CBJ: Bemstrom on May 3, 2021) and four of five penalty shot attempts (MR CBJ: Cam Atkinson on Mar. 30, 2019 at Nashville).

This Season (CBJ, 0-1-0)

«  Mar. 9, 2024 – NSH 2, at CBJ 1

«  Apr. 13, 2024 – at Nashville (8 p.m. ET)

Player Notables vs. Predators

«  LW Johnny Gaudreau – 5-23-28 in 24 career GP, with assists in nine of his last 11 games at Bridgestone Arena (0-16-16, 4 multi-assist outings).

«  C Alexandre Texier – 3-1-4 in 10 career GP, including goals in each of his past two contests against the club (2-0-2).

BLUE JACKETS TEAM NOTES

• The Blue Jackets fell 4-0 at Florida on Thursday to move to 3-4-0 in the last seven games, 7-12-2 in the last 21 games, and 10-16-2 in the past 28 since Feb. 17.
• The Jackets close out the road portion of the 2023-24 schedule at Nashville on Saturday, wrapping up the schedule with a four-game road trip through Carolina (0-3 L on Apr. 7), Tampa Bay (2-5 L on Apr. 9), Florida (0-4 L on Apr. 11), and Nashville.
• CBJ have recorded a power play goal in three of the last five games, converting on 3-of-8 attempts (37.5 pct.).
• The Blue Jackets allowed the first goal for just the fourth time, but third time on the road trip, in the last 12 games on Thursday.  CBJ have scored the first goal of the game in 10 of the last 15 outings.  The team has scored first 43 times in 2023-24, tied for the ninth-most in the NHL.  It’s also tied for the fourth-most in a season in franchise history (2000-01).
• Columbus has scored at least one first-period goal in eight of the last 12 games (11 total).  The club ranks ninth-T in the league with 76 first-period goals this season.
• CBJ have seen 18 of their games decided after regulation this season, tied for the 10th-most in the league.
• The Blue Jackets rank 14th in the NHL with 165 goals scored at 5-on-5 play this season.
• CBJ rank sixth in the league in total blocked shots (1,377) and blocks-per-60 minutes (17.00) in 2023-24.
• CBJ blueliners have combined for 11-18-29 over the past 12 games as well as 24-65-89 in the last 42 contests since Jan. 1.  They rank ninth-T among NHL defensive units in points, 11^th-T in assists and 12^th in goals with 37-141-178 in 80 games this season.  The club also leads the league in assists percentage (38.0 pct.) and points percentage (29.9 pct.) recorded by its defense.
• CBJ’s rookie class has combined for 31-42-73 in 80 games this season to rank third among teams’ rookies in goals, fourth in points and sixth in assists.  The Blue Jackets are one of three teams in the league (Anaheim and Minnesota) to have two rookies with 26 or more points in 2023-24 (Dmitri Voronkov-34, Adam Fantilli-27).

BLUE JACKETS PLAYER NOTES

• LW Johnny Gaudreau, who tallied his 500^th NHL career assist on Tuesday, has picked up assists in four of his last six games (0-5-5) and nine of the past 14 outings (1-13-14).  He has recorded points in 20 of his last 32 games (4-26-30) while also collecting the primary assist on 18 of his last 23 assists overall dating back to Feb. 10.  He leads the club in assists, primary assists, points, multi-assists and multi-point outings with 11-48-59, 35 primary assists, 13 multi-assist and 15 multi-point efforts in 79 contests and has collected 40 or more assists for the ninth time in his career.  He has recorded 10-43-53 with 14 multi-point outings in his last 52 contests after collecting 1-5-6 in the first 17 games of the season.  In his second season with the club, he is already tied with Seth Jones for sixth-T all-time in multi-assist outings (27).
• G Jet Greaves has posted a 1-3-0 record with a .923 SV% (131-of-142) and 3.02 GAA in four appearances since Apr. 4.
• D Erik Gudbranson has set single-season career highs in goals (tied, 2021-22 with Calgary), assists, points and blocked shots with 6-17-23 and 170 blocked shots (16th in NHL) in 76 appearances.
• C Boone Jenner, who has missed the past seven games, has recorded 3-3-6 in his last eight contests and has posted 9-8-17 in the last 23 outings dating back to Feb. 10.  The franchise’s all-time leader in games played skated in his 700^th career game at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 28.  He also ranks third on the franchise’s all-time lists in goals and points with 192-172-363 in 715 contests.  The CBJ captain, who skated in his first NHL All-Star Game in his 11^th NHL season on Feb. 3, leads the club in goals with 22-13-35 in 58 outings and became the fourth player to record four 20-goal seasons on Mar. 14 vs. Ottawa, including in each of his past three campaigns.
• RW Kirill Marchenko, who tallied his second multi-goal game of the season and fifth of his career on Tuesday at Tampa Bay with two goals, has recorded 6-3-9 with three multi-point efforts in the last 12 games.  He leads the team in goals with 23-18-41 in 76 appearances this season and has set single-season career highs in goals, assists and points after posting 21-4-25 in 59 games during his 2022-23 rookie campaign.  He’s the second player in Blue Jackets history to record back-to-back 20-goal seasons to begin his NHL career (Pierre-Luc Dubois).
• LW Alex Nylander has recorded 10-4-14 with three multi-goal efforts in his first 21 games with the Blue Jackets.  He became the first player in franchise history and the first player in the NHL since Vancouver’s Elias Pettersson (10 G in 11 GP in 2018-19) to record at least eight goals in his first 11 games with a team.
• RW Mathieu Olivier has tied his single-season career high in goals (2022-23) with 5-5-10 in 52 appearances this season.
• D Ivan Provorov has recorded 5-26-31 and 151 blocked shots on 22:10 TOI in 80 outings this season.  He ranks second on the club in blocked shots and time on ice and third in assists, while also setting a single-season career high in assists.  In his first season with the club, he played in every single game of a season six times with the Flyers.
• D Damon Severson collected an assist on Tuesday and has picked up points in seven of the last 14 games (3-5-8).  He is tied for the team lead among defensemen in goals this season with 9-18-27 in 65 contests and sits one goal shy of his third career 10-goal campaign (11 in 2018-19 and 2021-22 with New Jersey).
• C Cole Sillinger tallied an assist on Tuesday at Tampa Bay and has registered points in five of the past eight outings (2-4-6).  He has posted 13-18-31 in 75 games this season and has set a new single-season career high in assists (15, 2021-22) and points (tied, 2021-22).
• G Daniil Tarasov, who has missed the past four outings with an upper body injury, has compiled a 2.46 GAA and .935 SV% (290-of-310) in nine games (eight starts) since Mar. 7.  He has finished with a .900 or better save percentage in 11 of his 13 last appearances dating back to Feb. 21 and leads the NHL in SV% (.933) and ranks tenth in GAA (2.51) and 11th in saves (417-of-447) over that span (min. 10 GP).
• F Alexandre Texier has collected assists in four of the past eight games (0-4-4).  The forward has posted 11-18-29 in 76 games to set single-season career highs in goals (tied, 2021-22), assists, points and games played.
• F Dmitri Voronkov leads NHL rookies in power play goals and shots on goal and ranks third in goals since Jan. 15 with 11-3-14, five PPG and 90 shots on goal in 37 contests.  He leads NHL rookies in PPG and ranks fifth in goals, eighth in points and 12th-T in assists with 18-16-34 and six PPG in 74 appearances.  He has surpassed Rick Nash (17, 2002-03) for the third-most goals by a rookie in franchise history and trails only Marchenko (21, 2022-23) and Pierre-Luc Dubois (20, 2017-18).
• D Zach Werenski collected an assist on Tuesday to register his 44^th assist of the campaign, tying James Wisniewski (2013-14) for the most in a single season by a defenseman in franchise history.  He has collected points in nine of the past 15 games (5-10-15) and 13 of the last 22 contests (5-15-20).  He has also registered 8-20-28 in the last 34 contests and leads NHL blueliners in shots on goal and ranks second-T in goals and eighth-T in points since Feb. 17 (8-15-23 and 90 shots in 28 GP).  He also ranks 11th among NHL blueliners in assists-per-game (.65), as well as leads the team in TOI, and ranks second in assists and points with 9-44-53 and 24:28 TOI in 68 contests this season.  He has set single-season career highs in assists and points and has also posted the second-most points by a defenseman in a season in club history, trailing only Seth Jones’ 57 points recorded in 2017-18.  The 26-year-old has reached the 40-point plateau for the fifth time in his career and 30-assist mark for the fourth time.

BLUE JACKETS MILESTONES

• D Jake Bean is three games from 200 for his NHL career (13-43-56, 197 GP).
• D Erik Gudbranson is four assists from 100 for his NHL career (34-96-130, 787 GP).
• C Boone Jenner is eight goals from 200 for his NHL career (192-172-364, 715 GP).
• F Alexandre Texier is one game from 200 for his NHL career (33-45-78, 199 GP).
• D Zach Werenski is two points from 300 for his NHL career (88-210-298, 484 GP).

OhioHEALTH INJURY REPORT

• F Patrik Laine (clavicle fracture-Dec. 14; NHL Player Assistance Program-Jan. 28); 17 games (for injury)
• C Adam Fantilli (calf laceration on Jan. 28); expected to miss 8 weeks (31 games)
• F Kent Johnson (shoulder injury on Feb. 28); out rest of season (22 games)
• RW Yegor Chinakhov (upper body injury on Mar. 12); is day-to-day (15 games)
• D Adam Boqvist (upper body injury on Mar. 14); out indefinitely (14 games)
• G Elvis Merzlikins (lower body injury on Mar. 30); is day-to-day (6 games)
• D Jake Bean (broken hand on Apr. 4); out rest of season (4 games)
• G Daniil Tarasov (upper body injury on Apr. 4); is day-to-day (4 games)
• RW Carson Meyer (upper body injury on Apr. 9); is week-to-week (1 game)

TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 309

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