By Joe Coopersmith

OCT. 12, 2024 II BALL ARENA II AT COLORADO AVALANCHE

BROADCAST INFORMATION

TV:  Bally Sports Ohio Steve Mears (play-by-play), Jody Shelley (analyst), Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre (analyst),
Dave Maetzold  (reporter)

Radio:  93.3 The Bus    Bob McElligott (play-by-play), Dylan Tyrer (host)

PR Twitter          @BlueJacketsPR

Websites/Links              BlueJackets.com/PressBox; BlueJackets.com/MediaGuide

Game Notes    Game Notes are available at Media.NHL.com

THE MATCHUP

Avalanche to Watch

• C Nathan MacKinnon won the 2023-24 Hart Memorial Trophy (MVP) and Ted Lindsay Award after finishing second in the league in scoring, third in assists and fourth in goals with 51-89-140 in 82 games.
• D Cale Makar has recorded 20-plus goals and 85-plus points in two of the last three seasons and set career highs in assists and points in 2023-24 with 21-69-90 in 77 contests.
• RW Mikko Rantanen, who notched a hat trick in the Avs’ first game of the campaign on Wednesday at Vegas, has recorded at least 40 goals and 100 points in each of the last two seasons, including 42-62-104 in 80 contests in 2023-24.

All-Time Series

• The Blue Jackets have gone 23-38-6 in 67 all-time games against the Avalanche, including 11-21-2 on the road.
• CBJ snapped a three-game losing streak in the teams’ most recent meeting on Apr. 1, 2024 (4-1 W at Nationwide Arena).
• The club has gone 14-9-2 in the last 25 games of the series dating back to Mar. 1, 2012.
• Columbus has recorded points in nine of the last 14 games played at Ball Arena since Mar. 22, 2011 (8-5-1).
• The winning team has recorded four or more goals in six-straight games of the series and 10 of the last 11 since Mar. 8, 2018.
• The teams have combined for 70-plus shots in each of the past five games of the all-time series.

This Season (CBJ, 0-0-0)

• Oct. 12, 2024 – at Colorado (9 p.m. ET)
• Apr. 3, 2025 – at COLUMBUS (7:30 p.m. ET)

Player Notables vs. Avalanche

• RW Kevin Labanc – 4-10-14 in 23 career GP, including 2-1-3 in his last three games against the club.
• RW Kirill Marchenko – 1-1-2 in 2 career GP, recording both of his points in the teams’ most recent meeting on Apr. 1, 2024 at Nationwide Arena.
• C Sean Monahan – 9-15-24 in 25 career GP, including assists in his last two contests overall (2-2-4) after posting 2-1-3 in his most recent contest on Apr. 13, 2024 at Ball Arena.
• C Cole Sillinger – 4-1-5 in 6 career GP, including a goal in the most recent meeting of the all-time series on Apr. 1, 2024.
• D Zach Werenski – 2-5-7 in 14 career GP, including 0-2-2 in the past four games against the Avalanche.
• LW James van Riemsdyk – 8-7-15 in 20 career GP, including goals in each of his past two games at Ball Arena (2-0-2).

HONORING JOHNNY & MATTHEW GAUDREAU

• The Blue Jackets will honor the memory of LW Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, during the 2024-25 season with a special “13 & 21” helmet sticker and “13” patch on their jerseys.

BLUE JACKETS TEAM NOTES

• Columbus kicked off the 2024-25 season with a 3-2 loss at Minnesota on Thursday.
• The 2024-25 campaign marks just the third time in franchise history the Blue Jackets start with a multiple-game road trip to kick off a season (3-game road trip in 2008-09 and 4-game road trip in 2020-21).
• After the season-opening two-game road trip, the Jackets will play seven of their next eight at Nationwide Arena from Oct. 15-Nov. 1, including a four-game homestand from Oct. 15-22 (Florida, Buffalo, Minnesota, Toronto).
• The team has rotated between starting at home and on the road dating back to the 2017 campaign.
• CBJ play five of their first eight games of the season against the Western Conference.  The club went 14-14-4 against the West in 2023-24, finishing 6-9-1 against the Central Division and 8-5-3 against the Pacific Division.
• The team plays 21 Saturday games during the 2024-25 season with 11 contests played away from Nationwide Arena.  CBJ play on seven-straight Saturdays from Oct. 12-Nov. 23 to begin the season.
• Columbus scored the first goal of the game 45 times in 2023-24, tied for the ninth-most in the NHL and finishing with the fourth-most in a season in franchise history.

BLUE JACKETS PLAYER NOTES

• The Blue Jackets’ average age of their opening-day roster was 27.3, the seventh-youngest team in the NHL.  Columbus was tied for the third-youngest team to begin the 2023-24 campaign at 25.9.
• CBJ saw 11 players make their team debuts in 2023-24, including six make their NHL debuts.
• The club had 42 different players (skaters/goaltenders) and five different goaltenders play a game in 2023-24.
• Four players made their Blue Jackets debut in Thursday’s season opener at Minnesota with forwards Zach Aston-Reese, Kevin Labanc, Sean Monahan and James van Riemsdyk all suiting up against the Wild.  Two others on the 23-player roster are looking for their CBJ debut with forward Dylan Gambrell and defenseman Jordan Harris.
• F Kent Johnson notched points on both Blue Jackets’ goals on Thursday at Minnesota, including scoring the first goal of the campaign in the second period.  He set career highs during his rookie season in 2022-23, finishing with 16-24-40 in 79 outings.
• RW Kirill Marchenko led the Blue Jackets in goals and power play goals in 2023-24 with 23-19-42 and nine PPG in 78 appearances and with another 20-goal campaign in 2024-25 can become the first player in club history to hit the 20-goal mark in each of his first three NHL seasons.
• C Sean Monahan, who was signed as a free agent on July 1, 2024, has notched double-digit goals in nine of his 11 campaigns has recorded 20-plus goals eight times, including 26-33-59 in 83 contests split between Montreal and Winnipeg in 2023-24.
• D Zach Werenski recorded a power play goal in the third period on Thursday.  He is the Blue Jackets’ all-time leader in goals, assists and points by a defenseman with 91-212-303 in 487 games and sits 14 points shy of tying David Vyborny (317) for fifth on the all-time points list.  He set club records for most assists and points (tied) in a single season in 2023-24 with 11-46-57 in 70 outings.
• LW James van Riemsdyk, who was signed to a one-year contract on Sept. 15, has notched double-digit goals in each of his first 15 NHL campaigns and has recorded 20-plus goals seven times.

BLUE JACKETS MILESTONES

• D Erik Gudbranson is one assist from 100 and 10 games from 800 for his NHL career (34-99-133, 790 GP).
• F Boone Jenner is eight goals away from 200 for his CBJ/NHL career goal (192-172-364, 715 GP).
• D Jack Johnson is 12 games from 1,200 for his NHL career (77-259-336, 1,188 GP).
• C Sean Kuraly is 19 games from 500 for his NHL career (58-78-136, 481 GP).
• RW Kevin Labanc is 21 games from 500 for his NHL career (82-143-225, 479 GP).
• G Elvis Merzlikins is eight games from 200 for his CBJ/NHL career (68-80-30, 192 GP).
• C Sean Monahan is six assists from 300 for his NHL career (244-294-538, 765 GP).
• D Damon Severson is eight points from 300 for his NHL career (67-225-292, 715 GP).
• D Zach Werenski is nine goals from 100 and 13 games from 500 for his CBJ/NHL career (91-212-303, 487 GP).

OhioHEALTH INJURY REPORT

• F Justin Danforth (wrist) is on the Injured/Non-Roster List on Oct. 7 (1 Game)
• F Jordan Dumais (lower body) is on Injured/Non-Roster List on Oct. 7
• F Max McCue (lower body) is on Injured/Non-Roster List on Oct. 7
• F Boone Jenner (upper body) is on Injured Reserve on Oct. 7 (1 Game)
• LW Dmitri Voronkov (upper body) is on Injured Reserve on Oct. 4  (1 Game)
• C Gavin Brindley (broken finger) is on Injured Reserve on Oct. 3 (1 Game)

TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 4

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