By Joe Coopersmith

NOV. 27, 2024 II NATIONWIDE ARENA II VS MONTREAL CANADIENS

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)

Canadiens to Watch

• RW Cole Caufield leads Montreal in goals and power play goals and ranks second in points with 12-4-16 in 20 games this season and has recorded 3-6-9 in eight career games against the Blue Jackets.
• C Nick Suzuki, who leads the Canadiens in assists (tied) and points with 7-12-19 in 20 contests in 2024-25 and has totaled 5-11-16 in 13 career appearances vs. CBJ.

All-Time Series

• Columbus has gone 20-17-5 in 42 all-time meetings vs. Montreal, including 10-7-1 at home.
• Montreal has won the last six contests in the series (CBJ; 0-5-1) following a six-game Blue Jackets win streak from Nov. 19, 2019-Nov. 17, 2022 and eight-game points streak from Mar. 28-2019-Nov. 17, 2022 (7-0-1).
• The winning team has scored four or more goals in four of the last five and nine of the past 12 games of the series.
• The winning team has won by multiple goals in seven of the last eight games of the series overall and 11 of the last 12 played at Nationwide Arena since Feb. 26, 2015.
• CBJ have won eight of the past 11 games played at Nationwide Arena dating back to Jan. 25, 2016.
• The Blue Jackets own four of the six shutouts in the all-time series but the Canadiens have earned the last two, including Cayden Primeau turning aside all 41 shots in a 3-0 win at Montreal on Mar. 12, 2024.
• Each team has recorded a hat trick in the series with Cam Atkinson netting three in a 5-2 CBJ win at Columbus on Jan. 25, 2016.

This Season (CBJ, 0-1-0)

• Nov. 16, 2024 – at MTL 5, CBJ 1
• Nov. 27, 2024 – at COLUMBUS (7:30 pm ET)
• Dec. 23, 2024 – at COLUMBUS (7 pm ET)

Player Notables vs. Canadiens

• RW Yegor Chinakhov – 2-1-3 in six career GP, with points in both career home games against the club (1-1-2).
• RW Kevin Labanc – 2-8-10 with three multi-point efforts in 12 career GP, including assists in two of his last three games against Montreal (0-3-3).
• C Sean Monahan – 10-9-19 with six multi-point outings in 26 career GP, including 3-2-5 with two multi-point efforts in his last five home contests against the Canadiens.
• RW Mathieu Olivier – 2-0-2 in 6 career GP, recording goals in both career home contests.
• C Cole Sillinger – 3-2-5 in nine career GP, including 2-1-3 in four career home outings against the team.
• LW James van Riemsdyk – 19-15-34 in 47 career GP, including points in his last three consecutive against Montreal (1-3-4) and nine points in his last eight games (3-6-9).
• LW Dmitri Voronkov – 0-2-2 in four career GP, with an assist in his lone career game against the team at Nationwide Arena (Nov. 29, 2023).
• D Zach Werenski – 2-9-11 in 19 career GP, including 1-7-8 in his last 10 outings overall and assists in two of his past three at Nationwide Arena.

BLUE JACKETS TEAM NOTES

• CBJ won their third-straight game with a 5-4 shootout victory over Carolina on Saturday.  It’s the first time the Blue Jackets have won three-straight contests since Mar. 11-16, 2022 (Minnesota, Vegas, Ottawa).  The club is also 4-1-0 in its last five games this season.
• Wednesday’s contest against Montreal is the third of a four-game homestand for the Jackets through Nov. 29.  CBJ have won three-straight home games are 6-1-0 in the last seven games played at Nationwide Arena, outscoring their opponents 33-21 over that stretch (not including SO goals).
• The club is 7-3-0 at Nationwide Arena this season, tying the franchise record for the most wins through the first 10 home contests of a campaign (2016-17 and 2021-22).
• The Jackets have recorded six or more goals in four of the last seven home contests, including a season-high seven in a 7-6 OT win over Tampa Bay on Nov. 21.
• Columbus has recorded six or more goals in six of its first 20 games this season.  It’s tied for the second-most games among all teams (Washington), trailing only Winnipeg (8).  It’s the sixth time in franchise history that CBJ have scored at least six goals in six 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 69 goals (not including SO goals) are tied for the most through the first 20 games of a season in franchise history (2018-19).
• Columbus’ 3.45 goals-for/game in 2024-25 is tied for the seventh-highest in the NHL.  The club averaged a franchise-best 3.15 goals-per-game during the 2021-22 season.
• The Jackets have averaged 4.30 goals-for/game at Nationwide Arena this season, tied with Winnipeg for third-highest and trailing only Vegas (4.70) and Carolina (4.67).
• CBJ scored goals in all three regulation periods and won the shootout on Saturday.  The team has scored in seven-consecutive periods in regulation, as well as nine-straight regulation periods at home.  The Jackets have scored in 41-of-60 periods in regulation this season and have registered 20 multi-goal frames.
• Columbus’ 51 goals scored at 5-on-5 play are the fourth-most in the NHL this season, trailing only Washington (62), Vegas (60) and Carolina (53).
• The Jackets, who have scored the first goal of the game in five of the last eight contests, have scored first in 12 (8-3-1) of the 20 games this season.
• CBJ lead the NHL in shots/game since Nov. 5, averaging 36.0 shots in the last nine contests.  The club ranks fourth in the league in shots on goal for the season, averaging 32.1 shots a game.
• The club recorded shorthanded goals in back-to-back games from Nov. 18-21, including tying a franchise record (sixth time) with two shorthanded goals at Boston on Nov. 18.  CBJ’s four shorthanded goals in 2024-25 trail only Florida (5) for the league lead.
• Columbus completes a stretch of six consecutive games against the Eastern Conference from Nov. 15-27, including four against the Atlantic Division on Wednesday.  The team will then play six-straight against the Western Conference from Nov. 29-Dec. 8.

BLUE JACKETS PLAYER NOTES

• RW Kirill Marchenko (8-12-20), C Sean Monahan (7-13-20) and D Zach Werenski (6-14-20) have each recorded 20 points in the first 20 gams this season, marking the first time in franchise history that three players have posted 20-plus points in the first 20 games of a campaign.
• RW Yegor Chinakhov has notched goals in two of his last three games and has recorded points in three of the past five contests (2-1-3).  He ranks third-T on the team in goals and fourth in points with 6-7-13 in 20 outings.
• F Kent Johnson has collected multiple points in back-to-back games (2-2-4) after a 14-game absence due to an upper body injury.  He has recorded points in all six of his outings in 2024-25 (4-5-9).
• RW Kevin Labanc has recorded a point in nine of his 15 games this season and ranks fourth-T on the team in assists with 1-9-10.
• RW Kirill Marchenko collected his team-leading seventh multi-point outing with two goals against Carolina.  The forward also leads the club in goals and points (tied) and ranks third in assists with 8-12-20 in 20 contests.  His 52 career goals are the most by a Blue Jacket since making his NHL debut in 2022-23.
• G Elvis Merzlikins has won his last four starts against Pittsburgh (Nov. 15), Boston (Nov. 18), Tampa Bay (Nov. 21) and Carolina (Nov. 23).
• C Sean Monahan has registered assists in three consecutive games (1-6-7), including his eighth career four-point outings on Nov. 21 vs. Tampa Bay.  He has picked up points in four of the last five contests (1-8-9) with three multi-assist efforts.  The forward leads the club in points (tied) and multi-assist efforts and ranks second-T in goals, assists and multi-point outings with 7-13-20, four multi-assist and six multi-point outings in 20 contests.
• RW Mathieu Olivier, who has points and three of his last five (2-1-3), has also notched the game-winning goal in two of the club’s last four victories (Pittsburgh and Boston).  He’s tied for eighth in the league in GWG, ninth-T in penalty minutes and 15th-T in hits and has already set a single-season career high in goals with 6-3-9, 35 PIM, three GWG and 66 hits in 20 contests.
• C Cole Sillinger has collected 1-3-4 in the last six games, including his second multi-assist effort of the campaign with two assists on Nov. 21 vs. Tampa BAy.  A season after setting a single-season career high in assists (19), he has collected 3-9-12 in the first 20 outings.
• F Dmitri Voronkov has posted goals in a career-high three-straight outings (3-1-4) as well as four of the last five (4-2-6, two multi-point games).
• D Zach Werenski was named the NHL’s First Star of the Week ending Nov. 24 after leading league blueliners and tied for first among all skaters in scoring with 2-5-7 in three contests.  He has recorded assists in five consecutive games (3-7-10) and six of the past seven (3-8-11), tied for the longest streak of his career (0-5-5 from Nov. 11-18, 2023) and by a Blue Jacket defenseman (Bryan Berard, 6 games from Oct. 26-Nov. 4, 2005).  He leads the NHL in TOI/GP and ranks second among league blueliners in points (tied) and shots on goal and third-T in goals with 6-14-20 and 76 shots on 26:05 of ice time in 20 contests this season.  With 3-9-12 in the first 11 games of November, he’s already set the club record for most points by a blueliner in the month of November (11, 2x, MR: Werenski, 0-11-11, 2023).

BLUE JACKETS MILESTONES

• RW Kevin Labanc is seven games from 500 for his NHL career (83-152-235, 493 GP).
• RW Kirill Marchenko is 13 points from 100 for his CBJ/NHL career (52-35-87, 157 GP).
• C Sean Monahan is 16 games from 800 for his NHL career (251-307-558, 784 GP).
• RW Mathieu Olivier is 12 games from 200 for his NHL career (19-24-43, 188 GP).
• C Cole Sillinger is 10 games from 250 and 14 points from 100 for his CBJ/NHL career (35-51-86, 240 GP).
• F Dmitri Voronkov is 14 games from 100 for his CBJ/NHL career (23-18-41, 86 GP).
• D Zach Werenski is four goals from 100 for his CBJ/NHL career (96-226-322, 506 GP).

OhioHEALTH INJURY REPORT

• F Boone Jenner (shoulder) is on Injured Reserve on Oct. 7; (20 Games)
• D Erik Gudbranson (upper body) is on Injured Reserve on Oct. 16; (17 Games)

TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 80

COURTESY BLUE JACKETS COMMUNICATIONS