By Joe Coopersmith

DEC. 12, 2024 II NATIONWIDE ARENA II VS. WASHINGTON CAPITALS

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)

Capitals to Watch

• C Connor McMichael, who has points in four of his last five games (2-4-6), leads Washington in goals and ranks second in points with 15-11-26 in 27 outings.
• C Dylan Strome has registered 11 multi-point efforts this season and leads the Capitals in assists and points with 9-26-35 in 27 games.

All-Time Series

• Columbus has gone 19-26-10 in 55 all-time meetings vs. the Capitals, including 10-12-5 at home.
• The Jackets have registered points in 11 of the last 20 meetings against Washington dating back to Feb. 26, 2018 (8-9-3).
• The winning team has scored four or more goals in eight of the 12 games of the series since Nov. 12, 2021.
• Six-straight meetings had been decided by a single goal prior to Washington’s 7-2 win in the season series opener on Nov. 2.  Nine of the last 13 dating back to Dec. 27, 2019 have been decided by a single goal.
• Washington has won two-straight overtime games at Nationwide Arena (4-3 on Jan. 31, 2023 and 3-2 on Dec. 21, 2023).
• CBJ have killed off 11-of-13 Washington power play chances over the last seven games in the series (84.6 pct.).
• The Blue Jackets own four of the seven shutouts in the all-time series with the most recent CBJ shutout posted by Joonas Korpisalo (30 saves) in a 3-0 victory at Nationwide Arena on Dec. 16, 2019.

This Season (CBJ, 0-1-0)

• Nov. 2, 2024 – at WSH 7, CBJ 2
• Dec. 12, 2024 – at COLUMBUS (7 pm ET)
• April 12, 2025 – at COLUMBUS (7 pm ET)
• April 13, 2025 – at WASHINGTON (6 pm ET)

Player Notables vs. Capitals

• LW Zach Aston-Reese – 4-3-7 in 17 career GP, including points in his last two contests against the team (1-1-2).
• C Sean Monahan – 8-6-14 with three multi-point outings in 21 career GP, including 2-2-4 in his last six home contests.
• D Damon Severson – 7-12-19 in 39 career GP, including points in four of his last five outings (1-3-4) after scoring a goal on Nov. 2.
• LW James van Riemsdyk – 15-17-32 with eight multi-point efforts in 50 career GP, including 3-1-4 in hise last five games overall.
• D Zach Werenski – 2-6-8 in 22 career GP, including assists in two of his last four home outings.

BLUE JACKETS TEAM NOTES

• The Jackets have earned points in eight of their last 13 games (7-5-1, 15 points), ranking fourth in the NHL in goals per game (3.77, 49) and sixth-T in wins since Nov. 15.
• The team opened a three-game homestand with a 5-3 loss to Philadelphia on Tuesday.  The club also plays Washington (Thursday) and Anaheim (Saturday) during the homestand.  CBJ are also in a stretch of 6-of-9 games played at home from Dec. 10-27.
• The club is 8-4-1 (17 points) at Nationwide Arena this season.  The eight wins are one shy of the franchise record through the first 13 home games of a season (2016-17, 2017-18, 2021-22), while the 17 points are two shy of the record (9-3-1, 2016-17 and 2021-22) .
• CBJ had their five-game home points streak (5-0-1) snapped on Tuesday.  The club is 7-2-1 in the last 10 games played at Nationwide Arena, outscoring their opponents 44-32 over that stretch (not including SO goals).  The Jackets rank second in the NHL in goals per game (4.40) and fourth-T in points percentage (.750) at home since Oct. 22.
• Columbus has recorded six or more goals in seven of its first 28 games this season.  It’s tied for the second-most games among all teams (Florida & Washington), trailing only Winnipeg (9).  It’s the fifth time in franchise history that CBJ have scored at least six goals in seven 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 95 goals (not including SO goals) are the second-most through the first 28 games of a season in franchise history, trailing the 100 recorded in the first 28 contests of the 2018-19 campaign.
• Columbus’ 3.39 goals-for/game in 2024-25 is the seventh-highest in the NHL.  The club averaged a franchise-best 3.15 goals-per-game during the 2021-22 season.
• CBJ have scored a goal in all three periods in regulation in six of the last 10 games, including tying a franchise record with goals in 16-straight regulation periods from Nov. 18-Dec. 1 (Feb. 2-13, 2021).  The Jackets have scored in 58-of-84 periods in regulation this season and have registered 27 multi-goal frames after notching two goals in the third period vs. Philadelphia on Tuesday.
• Columbus’ 69 goals scored at 5-on-5 play are the third-most in the NHL this season, trailing only Washington (75) and Vegas (70).
• The Jackets, who have scored the first goal of the game in nine of the last 16 contests, have scored first in 16 (9-5-2) of the first 28 games this season.
• The Jackets play 11-of-12 games against the Eastern Conference from Dec. 10-Jan. 2 (Dec. 14 vs. ANA).  The club is also in a stretch of 4-of-6 contests played against Metropolitan Division foes from Dec. 10- 19 (PHI-2, CAR-1, NJD-1).
• Columbus plays its fifth (2-2-0) of 19 Thursday games when it hosts Washington.  The Jackets play 13 Thursday home games this season (2-0-0).

BLUE JACKETS PLAYER NOTES

• CBJ leads the league in goals by defensemen and rank second in goal percentage, third in points percentage and fourth-T in points with 20-51-71, 21.1 pct. of the club’s goals and 28.2 pct. of the team’s points in 28 contests.
• F Kent Johnson recorded a goal for the second straight-game (3-0-3) on Tuesday and has recorded points in 11 of his first 14 games this season (9-6-15), including all seven of his contests at Nationwide Arena (4-5-9).
• RW Kirill Marchenko has collected assists in three consecutive games and has recorded 4-7-11 in the last 10 games.  The forward leads the club in goals and multi-point efforts and ranks second in assists and points with 10-17-27 and eight multi-point outings in 28 contests.  He is already two assists shy of tying his single-season career high (19, 2023-24) and has registered 5-12-17 in 13 home games.
• C Sean Monahan has recorded points in two-straight outings (1-1-2) and has picked up 3-10-13 with four multi-point efforts in his last 13 games.  The forward ranks second-T on the club in goals and multi-point outings and third in assists and points with 9-15-24 and seven multi-point outings in 28 contests.
• RW Mathieu Olivier has already set a single-season career high in goals and ranks third in the NHL in penalty minutes and ninth in hits with 8-3-11, 54 PIM and 98 hits in 28 games.  He is one of two players (Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa) with five-plus goals, 40 PIM and 75 hits in 2024-25.
• D Damon Severson has collected an assist on Tuesday and has points in three of his last four games (2-1-3).  He has also registered 2-6-8 in the last 10 contests dating back to Nov. 21.  He ranks eighth-T among NHL defensemen in goals and second among club blueliners in goals, assists and points with 6-10-16 in 28 contests.
• C Cole Sillinger has recorded 2-8-10 in his last 12 contests since Nov. 15.   A season after setting a single-season career high in assists (19), he ranks fourth on the club in assists with 4-14-18 in his first 27 outings.
• F Dmitri Voronkov has notched points in eight of the last 13 games (6-5-11, three multi-point efforts).
• D Zach Werenski has recorded points in two-straight games (1-1-2) after posting a power play goal on Tuesday.  He has recorded points in 12 of the past 15 games (6-14-20).  The 27-year-old Grosse Pointe, Michigan native, who was named to Team USA for the 4 Nations Face-Off on Dec. 4, leads the NHL in TOI/GP and tied for the league lead among blueliners in goals and shots on goal and ranks third in points and sixth-T in assists with 9-20-29 and 96 shots on 26:06 of ice time in 28 contests this season.  With 99-232-331 in 514 games played, he’s slated to tie Rostislav Klesla for third on the club’s all-time games played list for defensemen on Thursday, is one goal shy of becoming the first blueliner – and eighth player – in CBJ history with 100 career goals and sits three points shy of tying Nick Foligno (334 points in 599 GP) for fourth on the all-time scoring list.

BLUE JACKETS MILESTONES

• LW Zach Aston-Reese is 11 points from 100 for his NHL career (46-43-89, 337 GP).
• RW Kirill Marchenko is six points from 100 for his CBJ/NHL career (54-40-94, 165 GP).
• C Sean Monahan is eight games from 800 for his NHL career (253-309-562, 792 GP).
• RW Mathieu Olivier is four games from 200 for his NHL career (21-24-45, 196 GP).
• C Cole Sillinger is three games from 250 and eight points from 100 for his CBJ/NHL career (36-56-92, 247 GP).
• F Dmitri Voronkov is six games from 100 for his CBJ/NHL career (25-21-46, 94 GP).
• D Zach Werenski is one goal from 100 for his CBJ/NHL career (99-232-331, 514 GP).

OhioHEALTH INJURY REPORT

• F Boone Jenner (shoulder) is on Injured Reserve on Oct. 7; (28 Games)
• D Erik Gudbranson (upper body) is on Injured Reserve on Oct. 16; (25 Games)
• C Yegor Chinakhov (upper body); is on Injured Reserve retroactive to Nov. 27 (7 Games)

TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 105

COURTESY BLUE JACKETS COMMUNICATIONS