PREVIEW: Blue Jackets welcome kids for Saturday matinee

The Blue Jackets are have started to put together wins, capturing three of the last four games, but they also are aware that what they’ve done doesn’t mean a ton yet.

The team is playing for each other, but what they’ve accomplished is part of the deal for a team that is trying to play its best hockey down the stretch.

“There’s definitely this feeling among the team that we can do this for each other,” Olivier said. “I think what you guys are seeing on the ice is showing that. That comes with being a young team and getting experience. Everyone is getting a little more mature out there, and it’s starting to show and we’re starting to get results here. We’re on the right track.”

The Blue Jackets used that mojo to beat Edmonton by a 4-2 score on Thursday night, and head coach Pascal Vincent understands that his team is building something.

“I think we played a solid 60 minutes tonight,” Vincent said. “We’re seeing a team that is getting more confident. There’s no perfect systems, but when they start playing for each other, executing the system, all five guys on the ice at once, it becomes a good team.

“I was impressed with the fact that we went out there on a mission to win a hockey game, and we finished the game.”

Olivier was a big part of the Jackets win and says the Blue Jackets understand what it takes to build a winner.

“I think the results always help,” Olivier said. “This has always been a tight group since I’ve been here. It’s 100 percent that these games definitely help us with confidence. Our group is tight, but winning always helpers. You can cure any problem with winning.”

Know The Foe: Nashville Predators

Head coach: Andrew Brunette (First season)

Team stats: Goals per game: 3.19 (14th) | Scoring defense: 3.06 (16th) | PP: 20.2 percent (18th) | PK: 76.8 percent (24th)

The narrative: Coming off a disappointing 2022-23 season in which the squad missed the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons, the Predators have had a bounce-back campaign under their first-year coach. Eight points clear of Calgary, Seattle and St. Louis, the Preds are firmly in a playoff spot heading into this one, but the next quest will be to win a round in the postseason for the first time since 2017-18.

Team leaders: Filip Forsberg continues to be one of the most underrated players in the game, as the longtime Preds wing leads the team with 67 points on 33 goals (10th in the NHL) and 34 assists. Roman Josi remains one of the top play-driving defensemen in the league, as his 15 goals are second among NHL blueliners and his 62 points are fourth. Former CBJ forward Gustav Nyquist is third on the squad in his first year in Nashville with a 17-39-56 line, while Ryan O’Reilly adds 23 goals among 55 points.

What's new: The additions of veterans Nyquist and O’Reilly have given the Preds a different look this season, and such young talents as Luke Evangelista and Philip Tomasino have added a spark as well. Stop us if you’ve heard this before – it feels like every team faces the CBJ on a hot streak – but Nashville comes to town as one of the hottest teams in the NHL, having gone 9-0-1 in its last 10 games while outscoring teams 44-19. The Preds have scored at least four goals in nine of those games and allowed two or less in eight as well.

Trending: This will be the first matchup between the teams this season, one of the latest starts to a season series this year for the CBJ. The squads have split the games each of the past two seasons, and Columbus is 4-1-1 in the last six home games against the Preds.

Former CBJ: Nyquist is the only current former Jacket on the roster, but Liam Foudy has three assists in 12 games with the squad this season. In addition, Columbus-area native Kiefer Sherwood has a 7-9-16 line in 50 games with Nashville this season.

Roster Report

Projected Lineup (subject to change)

Johnny Gaudreau – Boone Jenner – Trey Fix-Wolansky
Yegor Chinakhov – Dmitri Voronkov – Kirill Marchenko
Alexandre Texier – Cole Sillinger – Alex Nylander
Sean Kuraly – Mathieu Olivier
Zach Werenski – Adam Boqvist
Ivan Provorov – Damon Severson
Jake Bean – Erik Gudbranson
Daniil Tarasov
Elvis Merzlikins

Scratches: Adam Fantilli (calf laceration, out eight weeks as of Jan. 31), Injured reserve: Kent Johnson (torn labrum in left shoulder, out for season), Justin Danforth (illness)

Roster Report: Fix-Wolansky was called up and will fit into the lineup but where he falls will up to the Jackets at morning skate.

3 Stats to Know

• With his goal Thursday night, Dmitri Voronkov now has 17 on the year, tied with Chicago’s Connor Bedard and Minnesota’s Marco Rossi for most among NHL rookies. His 31 points are also fifth among NHL rookies, while his plus-7 rating is tied for third among rookies with at least 50 games played.
• Alex Nylander has a 5-2-7 line in seven games since joining the Blue Jackets, and his five goals in the first seven games ties Antoine Vermette for the most to start a CBJ tenure. His seven points are tied for fourth all-time among CBJ players in scoring in their first seven games with the team as well.
• Milestone watch: Zach Werenski notched his 200th assist Tuesday to become the first defenseman in CBJ history to reach the mark. He is now four assists from tying David Vyborny for second in team history. ... MORE?

Who’s Hot

The CBJ top line has been streaking, with Johnny Gaudreau scoring 16 points (3-13-16) in the last 16 games, Boone Jenner posting 6-5-11 in 13 games since the All-Star break, and Jack Roslovic notching 4-9-13 in the last 12 contests. ... Blue Jackets goalies Daniil Tarasov and Elvis Merzlikins have combined to post a .925 save percentage in their last eight games, stopping 247 of 267 shots against. ... Cole Sillinger has points in five of the last six games (3-2-5) is one of three CBJ players all-time to have at least 30 goals before their 21st birthday (Rick Nash, 58; Pierre-Luc Dubois, 47). ... Alexander Texier has seven points in his last seven games (1-6-7) and has notched a new career-high for points (23). ... Gaudreau has four multipoint games in the last 13 contests (3-10-13). He now has 30 points in the last 33 games (6-24-30) and 20 points in the last 21 (3-17-20). ... The team’s rookie stat line of 30-37-67 is first in the NHL in goals and third in points.

This Day in CBJ History

March 9, 2001: Deron Quint notches the second hat trick in CBJ history and first for a defenseman, scoring three goals in a 7-6 OT win at Florida. David Vyborny, Geoff Sanderson, Bruce Gardiner also score in regulation and Robert Kron tallies a shorthanded goal 43 seconds into extra time to give the Blue Jackets the win.

March 9, 2004: On a busy day of trades, Columbus sends original Jacket Geoff Sanderson to Vancouver for a third-round pick and acquires Ohio native Bryan Holzinger in a trade from Pittsburgh for Lasse Pirjeta.

March 9, 2013: Sergei Bobrovsky notches his first hat trick in CBJ colors, stopping 30 shots against as the Blue Jackets post a 3-0 win vs. Detroit at Nationwide Arena. Meanwhile, Vinny Prospal gets a 10-minute misconduct in the third period for pointing at the scoreboard during a discussion with Wings forward Justin Abdelkader.