By Joe Coopersmith

NOV. 23, 2024 II NATIONWIDE ARENA II VS CAROLINA HURRICANES

BROADCAST INFORMATION

TV:  FanDuel Sports Network

Steve Mears (play-by-play), Jody Shelley (analyst), Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre (analyst), Dave Maetzold (reporter), Brian Giesenschlag (Host)

Radio:  97.1 The Fan   

Bob McElligott (play-by-play), Dylan Tyrer (host)

Hurricanes to Watch

• C Martin Necas ranks third in the NHL in points and fifth-T in assists with 11-20-31 in 19 games, recording points in 16 of his contests (six multi-point efforts).
• C Jack Roslovic, who is tied for the Hurricanes lead in goals with 11-1-12 in 19 contests, recorded 51-95-146 in 246 games with CBJ over parts of four seasons from 2020-24.

All-Time Series

• Columbus has gone 27-28-5 in 60 all-time games against Carolina, including 14-14-2 at home.
• CBJ snapped a four-game losing streak in the 2023-24 season finale, a 6-3 win at Nationwide Arena.
• The home team has won six of the last eight games in the series since Feb. 25, 2022.
• The winning team has scored four or more goals as well as by multiple goals in nine of the last 11 meetings dating back to Oct. 23, 2021.
• The Blue Jackets own four of the seven shutouts in the all-time series with Elvis Merzlikins (31 saves in 6-0 win at Carolina on Jan. 13, 2022) posting the most recent CBJ shutout.
• CBJ have also posted all four hat tricks (MR: Marchenko, Jan. 7, 2023) and lone penalty shot attempt (Atkinson goal on Feb. 8, 2021) in the series.

This Season (CBJ, 0-0-0)

• Nov. 23, 2024 – at COLUMBUS (7 pm ET)
• Dec. 15, 2024 – at CAROLINA (5 pm ET)
• Dec. 31, 2024 – at COLUMBUS (8 pm ET)
• Jan. 23, 2025 – at CAROLINA (7 pm ET)

Player Notables vs. Hurricanes

• C Zach Aston-Reese – 3-1-4 in nine GP, recording goals in each of his last two home contests against the club (3-0-3).
• D Dante Fabbro – 1-4-5 in 10 career GP, including points in four of his last six home games (1-3-4).
• C Kent Johnson – 0-2-2 in 2 career GP, with a multi-assist outing in his first game at Nationwide Arena against the team on Jan. 7, 2023.
• RW Kevin Labanc – 2-5-7 in 12 career GP, with 2-3-5 in six career home matchups.
• RW Kirill Marchenko – 4-1-5 including a hat trick on Jan. 7, 2023 in his six career GP and an assist in the most recent meeting on Apr. 16, 2024.
• C Sean Monahan – 6-6-12 in 16 career GP, with points in his last two contests (1-1-2) and seven points in as many home games (4-3-7).
• C Cole Sillinger – 2-2-4 in 11 career GP, including points in his last two home outings (1-1-2) and three of the past four at Nationwide Arena (1-2-3).
• D Zach Werenski – 6-7-13 in 27 career GP, with four points last time out on Apr. 16, 2024 (2-2-4) as well as seven points in his last five home games (4-3-7), including in each of his last three at Nationwide Arena (3-3-6).

BLUE JACKETS TEAM NOTES

• CBJ won their second-straight game and for the third time in the last four contests with a 7-6 overtime victory over Tampa Bay on Thursday.
• Thursday’s contest kicked off a four-game homestand for the Jackets through Nov. 29.  CBJ are 5-1-0 in the last six games played at Nationwide Arena, outscoring their opponents 29-17 over that stretch.
• The Jackets have recorded six or more goals in four of the last six home contests, including a season-high seven on Thursday.
• Columbus has recorded six or more goals in six of its first 19 games this season.  It’s tied for the second-most games among all teams (Washington), trailing only Winnipeg (8).  It’s the seventh time in franchise history that CBJ have scored at least six goals in five or more contests in a campaign.  The club set a franchise mark with 11 games of six or more goals in 2018-19.
• The club’s 65 goals are tied for the most through the first 19 games of a season in franchise history (2018-19 and 2021-22).
• Columbus’ 3.42 goals-for/game in 2024-25 ranks 10th-highest in the NHL.  The club averaged a franchise-best 3.15 goals-per-game during the 2021-22 season.
• CBJ scored goals in all three regulation periods and the OT winner on Thursday.  The contest included a CBJ single-period season high four goals in the second stanza.  The team scored in 38-of-57 periods in regulation this season and have registered 19 multi-goal frames.
• Columbus’ 49 goals scored at 5-on-5 play are the third-most in the NHL this season, trailing only Washington (60) and Vegas (51).
• Trailing 3-0 11:52 into the game on Thursday, CBJ earned their seventh three-goal comeback victory in franchise history (MR: 7-6 OTW on 3/21/23 at WSH; MR at home: 5-4 OTW on 4/3/18 vs. DET).
• The Jackets have scored first in 10 (7-3-1) of the 19 games this season.
• CBJ have recorded 39 or more shots on goal in five of the last eight games (36.5 shot/GP, 2^nd in NHL since Nov. 5) and rank fourth in the league in shots on goal for the season, averaging 32.1 shots a game.
• The club has recorded shorthanded goals in back-to-back games, including tying a franchise record (sixth time) with two shorthanded goals at Boston on Monday.  CBJ’s four shorthanded goals in 2024-25 trail only Florida (5) for the league lead.
• Columbus is in a stretch of six consecutive games against the Eastern Conference from Nov. 15-27, including four against the Atlantic Division.
• The Jackets play their seventh of 21 Saturday games when they host the Hurricanes.

BLUE JACKETS PLAYER NOTES

• RW Yegor Chinakhov has notched goals in two-straight games and has recorded points in five of the past eight contests (3-2-5).  He ranks second on the team in goals (tied) and fourth in points with 6-7-13 in 19 outings.
• F Kent Johnson returned from a 14-game absence due to an upper body injury and scored twice against the Lightning with goals on the power play and while shorthanded.  He’s the eighth different player (10th instance) in CBJ history to record one of each in a game (MR: Jack Roslovic, Dec. 11, 2022).  Johnson has recorded points in all five of his outings in 2024-25 (4-3-7).
• RW Kevin Labanc has recorded a point in nine of his 14 games this season and ranks fourth-T on the team in assists with 1-9-10.
• RW Kirill Marchenko collected his sixth multi-point outing with two assists on Thursday.  The forward is tied for the team lead in multi-point games and ranks second-T in goals and assists and third in points with 6-12-18 in 19 contests.  His 50 career goals are the most by a Blue Jacket since making his NHL debut in 2022-23.
• G Elvis Merzlikins has won his last three starts against Pittsburgh (Nov. 15), Boston (Nov. 18) and Tampa Bay (Nov. 21).
• C Sean Monahan logged his first four-point game of the season and eighth of his NHL career with 1-3-4 on Thursday.  He has registered 1-7-8 with three multi-assist outings in his last four games.  The forward leads the club in goals, points (tied), multi-assist and multi-point efforts and ranks second-T in assists with 7-12-19, four multi-assist and six multi-point outings in 19 contests.
• RW Mathieu Olivier, who has points in two-straight (1-1-2) and three of his last four (2-1-3), has also notched the game-winning goal in two of the club’s last three victories (Pittsburgh and Boston).  He’s tied for fifth in the league in GWG and 11th-T in hits and has already set a single-season career high in goals with 6-3-9, three GWG and 64 hits in 19 contests.
• D Damon Severson collected his 300^th career point with an assist against the Lightning on Thursday (71-229-300, 733 GP) and leads the team in blocked shots (33) in 2024-25.
• C Cole Sillinger has collected points in two-straight (0-3-3) and three of the last four (1-3-4) after registering his second multi-assist effort of the campaign with two assists on Thursday.  A season after setting a single-season career high in assists (19), he has collected 3-9-12 in the first 19 outings.
• F Dmitri Voronkov, who recorded 1-1-2 in Thursday’s game, has posted goals in two-straight (2-1-3) and three of the last four (3-2-5, two multi-point games).
• D Zach Werenski tied the club mark for points in a game and set a franchise record for points in a contest by a defenseman with 2-3-5, including the OT winner, on Thursday.  He has recorded assists in four consecutive games (3-6-9) and five of the past six (3-7-10).  He leads the NHL in TOI/GP as well as leads league blueliners in shots on goal and ranks second in goals and points with 6-13-19 and 73 shots on 25:46 of ice time in 19 contests this season.  The 27-year-old is the Blue Jackets’ all-time leader in goals, assists and points by a defenseman with 96-225-321 in 505 contests and surpassed David Vyborny (317) for fifth on the all-time points list with his second point of the Lightning game.

BLUE JACKETS MILESTONES

• C Sean Kuraly is one game from 500 for his NHL career (60-81-141, 499 GP).
• RW Kevin Labanc is eight games from 500 for his NHL career (83-152-235, 492 GP).
• C Cole Sillinger is 11 games from 250 and 14 points from 100 for his CBJ/NHL career (35-51-86, 239 GP).
• RW Kirill Marchenko is 15 points from 100 for his CBJ/NHL career (50-35-85, 156 GP).
• RW Mathieu Olivier is 13 games from 200 for his NHL career (19-24-43, 187 GP).
• F Dmitri Voronkov is 15 games from 100 for his CBJ/NHL career (22-18-40, 85 GP).
• D Zach Werenski is four goals from 100 for his CBJ/NHL career (96-225-321, 505 GP).

OhioHEALTH INJURY REPORT

• F Boone Jenner (shoulder) is on Injured Reserve on Oct. 7; (19 Games)
• D Erik Gudbranson (upper body) is on Injured Reserve on Oct. 16; (16 Games)

TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 78

COURTESY BLUE JACKETS COMMUNICATIONS