By Joe Coopersmith
JAN. 2, 2025 II NATIONWIDE ARENA II VS. DETROIT RED WINGS
BROADCAST INFORMATION
TV: FanDuel Sports Network and simulcast locally on CW
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)
Red Wings to Watch
- D Dylan Larkin, who has points in three consecutive games (1-2-3), ranks second on Detroit in assists (tied) and points with 13-16-29 in 37 contests and has collected 7-18-25 in 27 career outings vs. CBJ.
- LW Lucas Raymond has earned points in three-straight games (2-3-5) and leads the Red Wings in goals (tied), assists and points with 15-23-38 in 37 appearances in 2024-25 and has totaled 7-6-13 in nine career contests against the Jackets.
All-Time Series
- Columbus has gone 46-53-15 in 114 all-time games against Detroit, including 26-23-8 at home.
- Detroit swept the 2023-24 season series (CBJ; 0-2-1) and has won five of the last six meetings in the series since Nov. 19, 2022 (CBJ; 1-4-1).
- Prior to the most recent stretch, the Blue Jackets earned points in 30 of 38 contests from Mar. 28, 2012-Apr. 9, 2022 (27-8-3).
- CBJ have earned points in 16 of the last 23 games played at Nationwide Arena (15-7-1) despite not recording a point in the past three home contests.
- The winning team has scored four or more goals in 11 consecutive games since May 7, 2021 and 13 of the last 15 in the overall series dating back to Mar. 2, 2021. The winning team has also scored four-plus goals in each of the last six contests played at Nationwide Arena.
- Three of the last four games in the series have been decided by a single goal including each of the last two.
- The teams have combined for 55 shots or less in three of the past four contests in the all-time series.
- Columbus owns eight shutouts in the all-time series with Elvis Merzlikins recording the two most recent ones for the club (16 saves in 2-0 W at CBJ on Feb. 7, 2020 and 41 saves in 1-0 W at CBJ on Apr. 27, 2021).
This Season (CBJ, 0-0-0)
- Jan. 2, 2025 – at Columbus (7 pm ET)
- Feb. 27, 2025 – at Detroit (7 pm ET)
- Mar. 1, 2025 – at Columbus* (7 pm ET)
- The Blue Jackets will host the Red Wings in the 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union Stadium Series at historic Ohio Stadium, home of the Ohio State Buckeyes, on Mar. 1.
Player Notables vs. Red Wings
- F Kent Johnson – 1-1-2 in 4 career GP, recording points in two of his last three contests against the club.
- RW Kevin Labanc – 4-6-10 with points in 7 of 10 career GP, including points in each of his last four home outings (3-4-7).
- RW Kirill Marchenko – 1-1-2 in 4 career GP, collecting his points in the two most recent games against the Wings.
- G Elvis Merzlikins – 5-2-1 with 2.24 GAA and .924 SV% in 8 career GP, winning his last four games against the club since Apr. 7, 2021 (4-0-0, 2.42 GAA, .925 SV%) and all three career home outings (3-0-0, 0.98 GAA, .964 SV%, 2 SO).
- C Sean Monahan – 5-10-15 with 5 multi-point efforts in 20 career GP, including 2-6-8 in nine career home games against the team.
- D Damon Severson – 1-10-11 in 25 career GP, including assists in his last two contests and three of his past four (0-3-3).
- LW James van Riemsdyk – 12-8-20 in 34 career GP, including 1-1-2 in his last game against Detroit on Nov. 4, 2023.
- D Zach Werenski – 3-12-15 with 4 multi-point efforts in 22 career GP, including assists in each of his last three games (1-6-7) and points in his past four overall (2-6-8) as well as points in his past four home contests (2-4-6) and five of his last six at Nationwide Arena (2-5-7).
BLUE JACKETS TEAM NOTES
- Columbus rang in the New Year with a 4-3 shootout victory over Carolina on Tuesday, improving to 4-1-1 in its last six contests since Dec. 19.
- The club is 12-4-3 (27 points) at Nationwide in 2024-25, posting the second-most points and tied for third-most wins through the first 19 home games of a campaign in CBJ history (15-3-1, 31 points in 2016-17).
- CBJ have posted season highs with four-straight home wins and points in each of their last six home contests (4-0-2) following Tuesday’s victory. The club has recorded points in 14 of its last 16 home games (11-2-3; .781 points pct), ranking second in the NHL in goals-for at home (4.13) and ranking third in points pct. and power play pct. (33.3) since Oct. 22.
- The Jackets are in a stretch of eight of 11 contests played at Nationwide Arena from Dec. 23-Jan. 16 and started a stretch of six-of-eight played at home on Tuesday.
- The Blue Jackets’ 3.29 goals-for/game in 2024-25 ranks as the ninth-highest in the NHL. The club averaged a franchise-best 3.15 goals-per-game during the 2021-22 season.
- The club’s 125 goals (not including SO goals) are the second-most through the first 38 games of a season in franchise history, trailing only 2016-17 (128).
- The Blue Jackets scored in all three periods in regulation in four of the last six games, including three of the last four home contests. CBJ have scored in all three periods in a game 15 times this season, including 11 occasions at home.
- The club has also registered 35 multi-goal frames after scoring two of its three goals in the first period on Tuesday.
- Columbus has recorded six or more goals in eight of its first 38 games this season. It’s the third-most games among all teams, one behind the league leaders (Florida and Winnipeg). It’s the fourth time in franchise history that CBJ have scored at least six goals in eight or more contests in a campaign. The club set a franchise mark with 11 games of six or more goals in 2018-19, while recording six-plus goals nine times in 2021-22 and on eight occasions in 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- Columbus recorded two of its three goals on Tuesday at even strength and ranks third in the league with 89 goals scored at 5-on-5 play this season, trailing the league leaders, Vegas and Washington, by one goal.
- The Jackets scored the first goal against Carolina and have scored the first goal in five of the last six contests and in 22 (13-5-4) of the first 38 contests this season.
- CBJ are in a stretch of 11-of-12 games against the Eastern Conference from Dec. 10-Jan. 2 (Dec. 14 vs. ANA).
- The Jackets finished 1-of-3 on the power play on Tuesday and have now recorded a PPG in nine of the last 12 games (11-of-36; 30.6 pct.), ranking fifth in the league in PP percentage since Dec. 8.
- Columbus has allowed two power play goals over the last 10 games, killing off 19-of-21 opponent opportunities since Dec. 12 (90.5 pct., 3rd-T in NHL).
- The Jackets’ 40 first period goals are tied for the fourth-most in the NHL and 45 third period goals are tied for seventh-most.
BLUE JACKETS PLAYER NOTES
- CBJ blueliners have posted 4-13-17 in the last six games. The team leads the league in goals by defensemen and ranks second in goal percentage, third in in points percentage and fourth in points with 25-67-92, 20.0 pct. of the club’s goals and 27.5 pct. of the team’s points in 38 contests.
- F Kent Johnson has recorded points in 16 of his first 24 games this season (10-11-21) and has already surpassed his season totals from 2023-24 (6-10-16, 42 GP).
- RW Kirill Marchenko notched two goals on Tuesday and has recorded points in eight of his last nine games (6-9-13), including a career-high seven-game points streak from Dec. 14-27. He has also registered points in 11 of the last 13 contests (6-12-18). The winger ranks eighth-T in the NHL in scoring since Nov. 21 with 10-16-26 in 20 games. He leads the club in goals, points, multi-assist and multi-point efforts with 16-26-42, eight multi-assist and 13 multi-point efforts in 38 contests. He’s already set a single-season career high in assists and points (tied, 2023-24). The forward posted 7-12-19 in 16 December games to record the most points in the month in franchise history and the second-most in a single month (Panarin, 25 in Mar. 2018).
- C Sean Monahan collected assists on all three of CBJ’s goals on Tuesday and has registered four multi-point efforts in his last six games (4-7-11). He has also picked up 7-18-25 with eight multi-point efforts in his last 23 games. He leads the team in multi-goal games (3) and ranks second in goals (tied) and multi-point outings and third in assists and points with 13-23-36 and 11 multi-point outings in 38 contests.
- RW Mathieu Olivier has already set single-season career highs in goals and points (tied, 2022-23) and ranks third in the NHL in penalty minutes and fourth in hits with 9-6-15, 72 PIM and 137 hits in 38 games. He is one of two NHL players (Ottawa’s Brady Tkachuk) with five-plus goals, 50 PIM and 100 hits in 2024-25.
- C Cole Sillinger, who set a single-season career high in with 19 assists in 2023-24, ranks fourth on the club in assists and sixth in points with 6-14-20 in 37 outings.
- F Dmitri Voronkov registered his fourth multi-point effort in the last five contests (5-4-9) with 1-1-2 on Tuesday. He has notched points in seven of the last eight contests (6-6-12), including assists in five of them. The forward has registered 12-11-23 with seven multi-point efforts in his last 23 contests after starting the campaign with 1-0-1 in the first six.
- D Zach Werenski collected an assist and a franchise record 11 shots on goal in Tuesday’s win over Carolina. The third period helper stretched his home points streak club record to 13 games (8-17-25), the second-longest point streak by a NHL defenseman in the last 30 years (Washington’s Mike Green, 14 GP in 2009-10). Werenski was named the NHL’s Third Star of the week on Monday after leading the NHL in assists (tied), points (tied) and shots on goal with 0-7-7 and 17 shots on goal in three contests from Dec. 23-29. The 27-year-old Grosse Pointe, Michigan native leads the NHL in TOI/GP and ranks fifth in shots on goal as well as leads league blueliners in goals (tied) and shots on goal, while ranking third in points and fourth in assists with 11-29-40 and 145 shots on 26:24 of ice time in 38 contests this season. He registered 3-13-16 in 16 December games, setting the CBJ record for most assists and points (tied) in a single month in franchise history after setting the mark for points in November (5-11-16 in 13 GP).
BLUE JACKETS MILESTONES
- LW Zach Aston-Reese is nine points from 100 for his NHL career (46-45-91, 347 GP).
- C Adam Fantilli is 13 games from 100 for his NHL career (19-23-42, 87 GP).
- D Ivan Provorov is 10 assists from 200 for his NHL career (73-190-263, 652 GP).
- C Cole Sillinger is six points from 100 for his CBJ/NHL career (38-56-94, 257 GP).
OhioHEALTH INJURY REPORT
- F Boone Jenner (shoulder) is on Injured Reserve on Oct. 7; (38 Games)
- D Erik Gudbranson (upper body) is on Injured Reserve on Oct. 16; (35 Games)
- C Yegor Chinakhov (upper body); is on Injured Reserve retroactive to Nov. 27 (17 Games)
- F Justin Danforth (lower body); is on Injured Reserve retroactive to Dec. 10 (10 Games)
TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 149
COURTESY BLUE JACKETS COMMUNICATIONS