CBJ Gameday Guide: Oct. 19 at Detroit

It's a typical good news, bad news scenario.
For the Blue Jackets, the bad news is that forward Max Domi will miss two to four weeks with a rib injury suffered Saturday in Seattle, knocking out someone who seemed to be playing his best hockey with Columbus with a 1-3-4 start in his opening two games.
But the good news is that Columbus will get its first look at Yegor Chinakhov, who goes into the lineup
tonight in Detroit
in Domi's stead. The 2020 first-round pick has shown an electric shot since arriving from his native Russia, and now the 20-year-old will get to show it off as he makes his NHL debut tonight, Brad Larsen said.

What has the head coach most excited, though, is that the youngster is more than just a skilled player as he gets ready to show the NHL what he can do.
"One thing I'll say about him, I think he's plugged into what we're doing," Larsen said. "He thinks the game really well. Everyone talks about his shot -- his shot is great, he has great legs, but I think it's more the details (in his game). That is what is going to build trust and get him more ice time. That's what I've seen in camp.
"I think the closer you watch him in games, he thinks it really well. I'm not hesitant putting him in. I'm excited to see how he does tonight."

Coming off a season in which he had a 10-7-17 line in 32 regular season games and five more goals in the postseason as his Avangard Omsk team won the KHL title, Chinakhov was named the recipient of the Alexei Cherepanov Award as the league's top rookie last season.
He came to North America this year and had six goals in three games at the Traverse City prospects tournament and also tallied in his first preseason game. Chinakhov made the CBJ squad out of training camp but wasn't in the lineup for the opener, then was sent to AHL Cleveland for Saturday's game and scored in his debut.
"He played well," Larsen said of the stop with the Monsters. "Scoring is great, but that's not the whole picture, right, when a guy plays. But it sounds like he had a solid game, so that was good to hear."
Now, he gets the chance to do it in an NHL game for the first time tonight in the Motor City.

3 Keys to the Game

Stay committed: The Blue Jackets gave up just nine scoring chances against Seattle on Saturday; any single-digit total is a pretty good number. It's the kind of committed structure that can lead to a lot of wins this year if the team can stick with it.
Continue the party: One reason Columbus has been so good this year is nine players already have goals and 16 have points, led by Oliver Bjorkstrand's 2-2-4 line. That kind of balanced scoring makes a team hard to stop.
Get Chinakhov going: The rookie has passed every test so far, scoring in Traverse City, preseason games and then the AHL. Why not his NHL debut? No matter how it goes, it should be fun to watch.

Notable

Columbus is 2-0-0 for the third time in franchise history and will try to move to 3-0-0 for the first time ever. ... With two assists in the opener, Jakub Voracek is three assists away from 100 in union blue, while Bjorkstrand is four from the mark. … Chinakhov would be the third player to make his NHL debut this season and sixth to make his CBJ debut, joining Cole Sillinger and Gregory Hofmann in the former and Sean Kuraly, Jake Bean and Adam Boqvist in the latter. ... CBJ goaltender Joonas Korpisalo is 6-0-0 in seven all-time appearances vs. Detroit. … Columbus had the youngest opening roster in the NHL at an average of 25.71 years old. … The Blue Jackets have players from 10 different countries on the roster, most in the NHL. ... This is the only road game of the first six contests of the season for Columbus. … Forward Sam Gagner is the only former Blue Jacket on the Detroit roster … The teams played eight times last year, with Columbus posting a 4-3-1 record. The Blue Jackets had gone 11-1-0 combined in the previous four seasons. … Bjorkstrand led the way with seven points (2-5-7) in eight games against the Wings last year.

Projected Lineup

(Subject to change)
Patrik Laine - Boone Jenner - Jakub Voracek
Gustav Nyquist - Jack Roslovic - Oliver Bjorkstrand
Alexandre Texier - Cole Sillinger - Yegor Chinakhov
Eric Robinson - Sean Kuraly - Gregory Hofmann
Zach Werenski - Jake Bean
Vladislav Gavrikov - Adam Boqvist
Scott Harrington - Andrew Peeke
Joonas Korpisalo (confirmed starter)
Elvis Merzlikins
Scratches: Justin Danforth, Dean Kukan
Injured Reserve: Emil Bemstrom (oblique; four to six weeks as of Oct. 14); Max Domi (rib; two to four weeks as of Oct. 18)
Roster Report:With Domi out, the Blue Jackets will see the NHL debut of Chinakhov. Larsen wouldn't give his lines Tuesday morning, but this is how the team skated during its Monday practice. The rest of the skater lineup is expected to stay the same while the coach said Korpisalo will make his first start of the season.

This Day in CBJ History

Oct. 19, 2007: Pascal Leclaire made 21 saves while notching his third shutout in four games in a 3-0 victory at Buffalo. Rick Nash and Michael Peca each added a goal and an assist while Nikolai Zherdev tallied as well.
Oct. 19, 2017: The Columbus Blue Jackets Foundation announced a record-setting donation of $1.2 million granted to local community and youth hockey organizations, surpassing the $1,050,000 donated the previous year.
Oct. 19, 2019: Boone Jenner notched his 200th point in a Blue Jackets jersey when he scored a goal in a overtime loss vs. the New York Islanders.