Gameday Preview: Blue Jackets at Maple Leafs

The Details

BLUE JACKETS vs. MAPLE LEAFS
GAME INFO
COLUMBUS: 24-44-8, 8th in Metropolitan
TORONTO: 45-21-10, 2nd in Atlantic
SCOTIABANK ARENA, 7 p.m. ET
BROADCAST INFO
TV:
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AUDIO:
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BY THE NUMBERS
CBJ Player Statistics
Maple Leafs Player Statistics
NHL Standings
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What They're Saying

The Jackets lost 7-0 on Saturday night to Florida, and it seemed like observers were willing to write it off as a mismatch on the ice.
But not the shorthanded Blue Jackets. Though everyone understood the team wasn't at full strength, with a bevy of players out injured or ill in the previous days, this is the NHL and everyone who gets called up believes they belong.
So being on the wrong end of a drubbing is no fun. However, winning in OT is, so you can imagine the sense of pride the Blue Jackets had after Sunday's 4-3 home overtime win against visiting Ottawa.
"I liked the fight from our group," captain Boone Jenner said postgame. "Funny first period with goals pretty quickly back and forth. And, you know, after that, I think we locked it down a little bit better defensively and our goalie kept us in it with some big saves throughout the second and third."
For head coach Brad Larsen, a game that featured a late tying goal from Jenner and a winner in overtime from Kirill Marchenko showed the resilience of his squad despite its spot in the NHL standings.
"There was some compete out there," Larsen said. "Guys were pushing."

Know The Foe: Toronto Maple Leafs

Head coach:Sheldon Keefe (Fourth season)
Season Stats:Goals per game: 3.38 (9th) | Scoring defense: 2.75 (7th) | PP: 25.7 percent (2nd) | PK: 80.5 percent (14th)
The narrative: It's April, which means the Maple Leafs are about to render judgment on their season. Toronto has made the playoffs each of the past six seasons but hasn't won a playoff series since 2004, and in the eyes of the voracious hockey media in Canada's biggest city, the season will be either a success or failure based on how far Toronto advances in the postseason. A star-studded group including Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner must win their first playoff series, or else.
2022-23 leaders:Much of the team's salary cap is tied up in four forwards - Matthews, Marner, captain John Tavares and William Nylander - and that quartet has delivered this year. Marner is having a tremendous season, posting a 28-67-95 line to place tied for 10th in the NHL in scoring, while Nylander has also filled up the score sheet with a career-best 82 points (37 goals, 45 assists). Matthews has been banged up at times but is red hot (nine goals in the last 13 games) and has a 37-42-79 line, while Tavares has 33-43-76.
Goaltending has been a hot-button issue all year in the Six, and Matt Murray had to leave the team's game Sunday with injury after a collision with Lucas Raymond. Ilya Samsonov has played a team-best 37 games, going 25-10-4 with a 2.41 GAA and .915 save percentage, while Murray is 14-8-2 with a 3.01 GAA and .901 save percentage.
What's new: Toronto has been pretty much locked into a playoff series with Tampa Bay since the early days of the season given how Boston has run away with the Atlantic Division. The Leafs are 8-6-2 in their last 16 games, but it hasn't meant much in the standings. Injuries have mounted all year -- Toronto has played 45 different players -- and such names as deadline acquisitions Ryan O'Reilly (finger) and Erik Gustafsson (personal) have been out of late. Defensemen Victor Mete and Jake Muzzin as well as forward Nicholas Robertson have been out long term.
Trending:Columbus snapped a two-game losing streak in the series with a 4-3 win at Toronto on Feb. 11. The Maple Leafs claimed a 3-0 decision the night before in Nationwide, so the teams have split the season series to this point. No team has swept a season series since Columbus won all three games in 2013-14.
Former CBJ:None

3 Keys to the Game

Embrace the challenge: This is one of the most noteworthy places in hockey to play. The Blue Jackets have to make the most of it.
Handle the swings: There will be momentum shifts in the course of a game, but the Blue Jackets have to be able to ride them in such a notable environment. It's especially important with a goalie making an NHL debut.
Play a team game: Columbus did so in Boston, where the Jackets got a point, and Sunday night in the win over Ottawa. On the other hand was Saturday's setback. For the team to win right now, they must play in fives and play connected.

3 Stats to Know

• Coming off a 1-1-2 showing against Ottawa, Kirill Marchenko has 21 goals and four assists on the season, making him the only CBJ player in history to score at least 15 times in a season with less than 10 assists. Only one player in the NHL's modern era -- Florida's Brandon Pirri, with 22-2-24 in 2014-15 -- has finished a season with at least 20 goals and only four assists, per Hockey Reference.
• Johnny Gaudreau posted his 20th multipoint game of the season Sunday and has a 4-12-16 mark in the last 12 games.
• Milestone watch: Greaves is set to make his NHL debut, making him the 329th player in team history and the sixth goalie to play this year, a franchise record. ... Joona Luoto, Justin Richards and Jon Gillies made their CBJ debuts this weekend, making them the Nos. 326, 327 and 328 players in team history. … Marchenko passed Pierre-Luc Dubois' CBJ rookie record with his 21st goal of the season Tuesday. … Boone Jenner (170-159-329) is six points from surpassing Nick Foligno (142-192-334) for third most in Blue Jackets history. … Goalie Michael Hutchinson is two games from 150 for his NHL career.

Who's Hot

Gaudreau is the fourth player in team history with at least 50 assists in a season, joining joins Artemi Panarin (twice), Ray Whitney and Jakub Voracek. … The Blue Jackets rank tied for fifth in the NHL in power-play percentage since Jan. 21, converting on 22 of 88 opportunities over the last 27 contests (25.0 percent). … Jack Roslovic had points in five straight games (3-4-7), one off a career high, before last Tuesday night's shutout loss. ... Marchenko's 21 goals are tied for first in the league among rookie goal scorers with Wyatt Johnston of Dallas and Matty Beniers of Seattle. … Kent Johnson has 3-7-10 in the last 12 games, and his 16-23-39 line places him in the top 10 in team history among rookies in goals (tied for fourth), assists (fourth) and points (tied for third). He ranks tied for fifth in the NHL in goals and is fourth in points among rookies. … Columbus is first in the NHL in goals among rookies with 51 and second to Montreal in points with 107.

This Day in CBJ History

April 4, 2003: During the third period of a game vs. Detroit, Marc Denis breaks the NHL single season record for minutes played by a goaltender (4,433 by New Jersey's Martin Brodeur in 1995-96). He would go on to finish the season with a new standard of 4,511 minutes.
April 4, 2015: Columbus sets a franchise record with its ninth straight victory, downing Pittsburgh by a 5-3 score in Nationwide Arena. Nick Foligno notches his first hat trick in union blue, scoring three goals in the victory.
April 4, 2022: Carson Meyer becomes the fourth Ohio AAA Blue Jackets alum to play for the Blue Jackets and the first to come through the Ohio State program, making his NHL debut in a home overtime loss to Boston.

Roster Report

Projected Lineup (subject to change)
Johnny Gaudreau - Boone Jenner - Kirill Marchenko
Kent Johnson - Jack Roslovic - Liam Foudy
Eric Robinson - Sean Kuraly - Emil Bemstrom
Joona Luoto - Josh Dunne - Hunter McKown
Gavin Bayreuther - Andrew Peeke
Tim Berni - Adam Boqvist
Marcus Bjork - Billy Sweezey
Jet Greaves
Michael Hutchinson
Scratches:Jake Christiansen, Lane Pederson (upper body, day to day), Patrik Laine (triceps strain, out two to four weeks as of March 24); Nick Blankenburg (ankle, week to week); Mathieu Olivier (lower leg bone bruise, out 2-4 weeks as of March 27); Erik Gudbranson (separated shoulder, out six weeks as of March 27); Elvis Merzlikins (lower body, day to day)
Injured reserve: Jake Bean (shoulder, out four to six months after surgery in November); Zach Werenski (shoulder surgery, out for season); Justin Danforth (shoulder surgery, out for season)
Roster Report: Greaves will make his NHL debut in net, while Roslovic (upper body) and Boqvist (illness) return to the lineup in place of Justin Richards and Christiansen.