PREVIEW: Blue Jackets return from break vs. Bolts

There was no parade afterward, and Sean Kuraly wasn’t asking for one.

At the same time, the Blue Jackets can take some measure of satisfaction from their last performance. It feels like a month ago – it was in fact in January – but Columbus went into the NHL midseason break last Tuesday with a 1-0 shutout win at St. Louis.

For a team that has struggled to keep pucks out of the net and to close out games at times this season, the victory finally featured a strong defensive performance and the ability to finish with a one-goal lead.

“It’s one game out of the 82,” Kuraly said. “I’m not going to blow this out of proportion, but it’s a step in the right direction. You want to make steps in the right direction, and I think we have to learn from that. You saw, a lot more than usual, guys making plays for the betterment of the team, not for the play that’s right in front of them. It’s taken us a while to figure out, but we’re going to have to continue to do that now. That’s how you continue to win.”

To Pascal Vincent, the biggest key was the Blue Jackets’ ability to manage the game. The head coach saw improvement in the little things, from the way the Jackets changed on time to how they handled the puck in key situations.

“I don’t know the answer, but I would say the chances of us to win that game 1-0 a month ago, two months ago, would have been not as good,” Vincent said. “We’ve played some tight games. Our management of those games is getting better, and the last game led to a win. That’s a big positive.”

Now comes trying to keep making progress as the season gets back under way after more than a week off. The Blue Jackets will be looking to get their legs back quickly, while Tampa Bay comes to town having played twice since the break; the bad news for the Lightning is that games both Wednesday (3-1 at the Rangers) and Thursday (6-2 at the Islanders) were losses in the Empire State.

The Blue Jackets got back to practice Thursday and had a spirited day of work Friday to get ready for the Bolts.

“(Thursday), we wanted to be smart about it because most of them didn’t skate for a while, so it was intense but not crazy intense,” Vincent said. “(Yesterday) we wanted to push the pace a little bit, and we did. The energy on the ice was good.”

Know The Foe: Tampa Bay Lightning

Head coach: Jon Cooper (12th season)

Team stats: Goals per game: 3.40 (9th) | Scoring defense: 3.33 (25th) | PP: 30.0 percent (1st) | PK: 81.2 percent (12th)

The narrative: The 2020 and ‘21 Stanley Cup champs are likely headed to a seventh straight playoff appearance, but things are likely closer than one of the defining teams of this era would like. Tampa Bay enters this game in fourth place in the Atlantic Division but three points on the right side of the playoff bar. There are still stars aplenty, but the aging core has seen the salary cap chip away some of the secondary pieces that helped the Bolts win it all a few years ago.

Team leaders: Nikita Kucherov is back at the height of his powers, as the 2019 Hart Trophy winner has 20 points in his last 10 games (5-15-10) on the way to a 33-54-87 line that places him atop the league in assists and points and tied for third in goals. Longtime CBJ nemesis Brayden Point is next in scoring with 25 goals among his 54 points, while Victor Hedman’s 51 points (nine goals, 42 assists) are fourth among league blueliners. Steven Stamkos adds 21 goals (47 points) and Brandon Hagel 18 (45 points).

In net, the Lightning had to start the season without Andrei Vasilevskiy, who has finished in the top six in the Vezina Trophy voting each of the past six seasons. Since his return, the Russian has started 27 games, going 16-11-0 with a 2.82 GAA and .899 save percentage.

What's new: Tampa Bay comes into this one 8-3-0 in its last 11 games but on a two-game losing streak since the end of the midseason break. The Bolts are also susceptible on the road, posting a season record of just 10-14-2 away from Amalie Arena. Tampa Bay suffered a tough injury blow this week in its first game back from the break as defenseman Mikhail Sergachev injured his leg and appears to be out long term.

Trending: Columbus won the opening game of the series by a 4-2 score on Nov. 2 in Nationwide Arena thanks to a three-goal third period highlighted by Erik Gudbranson’s winning goal. As one of the better teams in the NHL, Tampa has had the better of the series in recent years, as the Jackets were just 4-13-4 since 2017-18 before that victory.

Former CBJ: Former Blue Jackets forward Tyler Motte has landed in Tampa, and the 28-year-old has a 4-2-6 line in 42 games on the season.

Roster Report

Projected Lineup (subject to change)

Johnny Gaudreau – Boone Jenner – Yegor Chinakhov
Kent Johnson – Dmitri Voronkov – Kirill Marchenko
Alexandre Texier – Cole Sillinger – Jack Roslovic
Justin Danforth – Sean Kuraly – Mathieu Olivier
Zach Werenski – Adam Boqvist
Ivan Provorov – Damon Severson
Jake Bean – Erik Gudbranson
Elvis Merzlikins
Daniil Tarasov

Scratches: Adam Fantilli (calf laceration, out eight weeks as of Jan. 31), Emil Bemstrom, Andrew Peeke

Injured reserve: None

Roster Report: The Blue Jackets are ready to roll with the same lineup they used going into the break but with Boqvist returning from an upper-body injury and heading into the lineup for Peeke. 

3 Stats to Know

• Not only are the Blue Jackets coming off their first shutout since 2022, the team allowed just 21 shots in the win at St. Louis, their lowest total of the season.
• Dmitri Voronkov’s goal against the Blues has him tied for third among NHL rookies with 12 tallies. He’s also tied for seventh among rookies with 25 points.
• Milestone watch: Adam Boqvist is six games from 200 for his NHL career (22-60-82, 194 GP). ... Zach Werenski is seven assists from 200 for his NHL career (80-193-273, 454 GP).

Who’s Hot

Yegor Chinakhov has three goals and five points in the last four games and has registered 11 goals and 19 points in his last 22 games. ... Voronkov has five goals in the last seven games. ... Cole Sillinger has posted a 7-3-10 line and a plus-7 rating in the last 18 games. ... Johnny Gaudreau has collected assists in three straight games and six of his past eight games (0-7-7). He has recorded 3-14-17 in the last 20 games. ... The team’s rookie stat line of 25-36-61 is first in the NHL in goals and second in points.

This Day in CBJ History

Feb. 10, 2001: Geoff Sanderson notches the first hat trick in CBJ history, scoring all three Blue Jackets goals to delight Nationwide Arena in a 3-2 victory over Nashville. Sanderson’s backhander past Mike Dunham in the third period broke a 2-2 tie and not only served as the game winner but send hats flying to the ice for the first time in team history.

Feb. 10, 2009: With the Blue Jackets in the thick of a playoff race, goalie Dan LaCosta makes 31 saves in just his fourth career start, earning a shutout to push the Jackets to a 3-0 win over Colorado at Nationwide Arena. It would be the last game of the then-22-year-old's NHL career.

Feb. 10, 2010: Columbus earns a shutout on this date for the second straight year, with Steve Mason making 40 saves in a 3-0 home win over San Jose.