By Joe Coopersmith

DEC. 10, 2024 II NATIONWIDE ARENA II VS. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS

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)

Flyers to Watch

• RW Travis Konecny leads the Flyers in goals, assists and points with 13-19-32 in 28 games and has totaled 15-15-30 in 26 career games against the Blue Jackets.
• RW Matvei Michkov, who has posted 3-5-8 during a four-game points streak, ranks second on the Flyers with 11-14-25 in 26 outings, while leading NHL rookies in goals and points.

All-Time Series

• The Blue Jackets have gone 27-18-6 in 51 all-time games against the Flyers, including 16-5-4 at home.
• CBJ have won the last two games in the series overall and three of the past four played at Nationwide Arena.
• The winning team has scored four or more goals in nine of the last 10 meetings of the series overall and in eight of the past nine played at Nationwide Arena.
• The teams have played past regulation in three of the past seven games (2 OT, 1 SO), while 12 of the 25 games in the all-time series have been decided after regulation (9 OT, 3 SO).
• The teams have combined for seven-plus goals in six of the last eight meetings of the series since Nov. 10, 2022.
• The winning team has won by multiple goals in four of the last five played at Nationwide Arena following a stretch of one-goal games in 11-of-12 from Dec. 9, 2014-Feb. 20, 2020.
• CBJ have recorded three of the five shutouts (MR: Bobrovsky, 36 saves in 1-0 W at CBJ on Mar. 25, 2017) and the lone hat trick (Atkinson, 3 goals in 5-3 W at PHI on Mar. 15, 2018) in the all-time series.

This Season (CBJ, 0-0-0)

• Dec. 10, 2024 – at COLUMBUS (7 pm ET)
• Dec. 21, 2024 – at PHILADELPHIA (7 pm ET)
• Jan. 14, 2025 – at COLUMBUS (7 pm ET)
• Apr. 15, 2025 – at PHILADELPHIA (7 pm ET)

Player Notables vs. Flyers

• LW Zach Aston-Reese – 5-3-8 in 18 career GP, including goals in three of his last four contests against the club (3-0-3).
• C Adam Fantilli – 0-2-2 in 3 career GP, including an assist in his lone career home game against Philadelphia on Oct. 12, 2023.
• D Jordan Harris – 0-3-3 in 5 career GP, recording a career-high three assists in his most recent contest against the Flyers on Apr. 9, 2024.
• F Kent Johnson – 1-1-2 in 4 career GP, including an assist in his lone home contest on Nov. 15, 2022.
• RW Kevin Labanc – 3-10-13 in 10 career GP, including assists in each of his past two games (1-2-3).
• C Sean Monahan – 12-5-17 in 19 career GP, including 2-2-4 in his last five contests against the Flyers as well as points in four of his past five home games (4-3-7).
• D Damon Severson – 10-10-20 in 42 career GP, including goals in two-straight games (3-0-3) after notching two goals in the most recent contest on Apr. 6, 2024.
• D Zach Werenski – 5-9-14 in 21 career GP, including 2-1-3 in the last meeting (Apr. 6, 2024) and multiple points in two of his last three home contests (3-2-5).

BLUE JACKETS TEAM NOTES

• Columbus wrapped up a five-game road trip (2-3-0) with a 4-1 win at Winnipeg on Sunday.  The Jets (20-9-0, 40 points) enter play on Monday tied for the most points in the league.
• The Jackets have earned points in eight of their last 12 games (7-4-1, 15 points), ranking third-T in the NHL in wins and points, fourth in goals per game (3.83, 46 goals) and sixth in shots per game (30.0) since Nov. 15.
• The team returns to Nationwide Arena for a three-game homestand from Dec. 10-14 (Philadelphia, Washington, Anaheim).  CBJ will also play six of the next nine games at home through Dec. 27.
• The club is 8-3-1 (17 points) at Nationwide Arena this season, tied for the second-most wins and points through the first 12 home games of a season in club history (eight wins in 2016-17 & 2017-18; 17 points in 2009-10 & 2016-17).
• CBJ have recorded points in five-straight home games (4-0-1) and are 7-1-1 in the last nine games played at Nationwide Arena, outscoring their opponents 41-27 over that stretch (not including SO goals).  The Jackets lead the NHL in points percentage (.833) and rank second in goals per game (4.56) and seventh-T in shots per game (31.4) at home since Oct. 22.
• Columbus has recorded six or more goals in seven of its first 27 games this season.  It’s tied for the second-most games among all teams (Florida & Washington), trailing only Winnipeg (8).  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 92 goals (not including SO goals) are the second-most through the first 27 games of a season in franchise history, trailing the 96 recorded in the first 27 contests of the 2018-19 campaign.
• Columbus’ 3.41 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 nine 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 56-of-81 periods in regulation this season and have registered 26 multi-goal frames after notching three goals in the third period at Winnipeg on Sunday.
• Columbus’ 67 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 15 contests, have scored first in 16 (9-5-2) of the first 27 games this season.
• CBJ lead the NHL in shots/game since Nov. 5, averaging 32.3 shots in the last 16 games.  The club ranks third-T in the league in shots on goal for the season, averaging 30.9 shots a game.
• The Jackets play 11 of the next 12 games against the Eastern Conference from Dec. 10-Jan. 2 (Dec. 14 vs. ANA).
• Columbus plays its sixth (1-3-1) of 17 Tuesday games when it hosts Philadelphia.  The Jackets play eight Tuesday home games this season (1-1-0).

BLUE JACKETS PLAYER NOTES

• CBJ leads the league in goals by defensemen and rank second in goal percentage and fifth in points and points percentage with 19-49-68, 20.7 pct. of the club’s goals and 27.9 pct. of the team’s points in 27 contests.
• F Kent Johnson recorded his third career two-goal game in the victory at Winnipeg on Sunday and has recorded points in 10 of his first 13 games this season (8-6-14), including all six of his contests at Nationwide Arena (3-5-8).
• RW Kirill Marchenko has collected assists in consecutive games and has recorded 4-6-10 in the last nine games.  The forward leads the club in goals and multi-point efforts and ranks second in assists and points with 10-16-26 and eight multi-point outings in 27 contests.  He is already three assists shy of tying his single-season career high (19, 2023-24).  He’s registered 5-11-16 in 12 home games and is tied with teammate Zach Werenski for the highest plus/minus in the NHL at home (+14).
• C Sean Monahan recorded an assist on Sunday and has picked up 2-10-12 with four multi-point efforts in his last 12 games.  The forward ranks second-T on the club in goals and multi-point outings and third in assists and points with 8-15-23 and seven multi-point outings in 27 contests.
• RW Mathieu Olivier has already set a single-season career high in goals and ranks sixth in the NHL in penalty minutes and 11th in hits with 8-3-11, 47 PIM and 90 hits in 27 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 2-5-7 in the last nine contests dating back to Nov. 21.  He ranks sixth-T among NHL defensemen in goals and second among club blueliners in goals, assists and points with 6-9-15 in 27 contests.
• C Cole Sillinger has recorded points in seven of his last 11 contests since Nov. 15 (2-8-10).   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 26 outings.
• F Dmitri Voronkov recorded a power play goal on Sunday and has notched points in eight of the last 12 games (6-5-11, three multi-point efforts).
• D Zach Werenski collected an assist on Sunday and has recorded assists in 11 of the past 14 games (5-14-19).  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 ranks second among league blueliners in goals (tied) and shots on goal, third in points and sixth in assists with 8-20-28 and 94 shots on 26:10 of ice time in 27 contests this season.  He’s two games shy of tying Rostislav Klesla for third on the club’s all-time games played list for defensemen at 515.

BLUE JACKETS MILESTONES

• LW Zach Aston-Reese is 11 points from 100 for his NHL career (46-43-89, 336 GP).
• RW Kirill Marchenko is eight points from 100 for his CBJ/NHL career (54-38-92, 164 GP).
• C Sean Monahan is nine games from 800 for his NHL career (252-309-561, 791 GP).
• RW Mathieu Olivier is five games from 200 for his NHL career (21-24-45, 195 GP).
• C Cole Sillinger is four games from 250 and eight points from 100 for his CBJ/NHL career (36-56-92, 246 GP).
• F Dmitri Voronkov is seven games from 100 for his CBJ/NHL career (25-21-46, 93 GP).
• D Zach Werenski is two goals from 100 for his CBJ/NHL career (98-232-330, 513 GP).

OhioHEALTH INJURY REPORT

• F Boone Jenner (shoulder) is on Injured Reserve on Oct. 7; (27 Games)
• D Erik Gudbranson (upper body) is on Injured Reserve on Oct. 16; (24 Games)
• C Yegor Chinakhov (upper body); (6 Games)

TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 102

COURTESY BLUE JACKETS COMMUNICATIONS