Gameday Preview: Blue Jackets vs. Ducks

The Details

BLUE JACKETS vs. DUCKS
GAME INFO
COLUMBUS: 13-29-2, 8th in Metropolitan
ANAHEIM: 12-28-5, 8th in Pacific
NATIONWIDE ARENA, 7 p.m. ET
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BROADCAST INFO
TV:
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AUDIO:
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What They're Saying

The Blue Jackets put together a pretty solid contest Tuesday night, but the team fell short in a 2-1 loss to Nashville.
Head coach Brad Larsen didn't think the team played a perfect game but was still happy with the performance his team put on the ice, particularly goalie Daniil Tarasov.
"It's a heck of a game on the road," Larsen said. "I thought we played very well. First period they come. We know they're going to come hard in their building, especially early. They have some heavy bodies, they forecheck well, they funnel a ton of pucks to the net. I thought Daniil settled us in, and the second, you come out of the second period down 2-0, we didn't give up a lot. It's two coverage mistakes (on their goals) that guys know. It's unfortunate because we are doing a lot of good things. And then the third, we gave up one chance in the third. We generated a ton. Their goalie was good."
In the end, Columbus did a lot of good things, especially in comparison to the team's Monday night loss to the New York Rangers. But despite putting 40 shots on goal Tuesday night, the Jackets finished with just one tally on the board, a place Patrik Laine thinks the team can see improvement going forward.
"There's still things we need to improve, but I feel like from last game it was a step back in the right direction," Laine said. "One goal, that's not going to cut it. But Tarry gave us a chance in net, and we had a lot of chances. But we only got one tonight, so that's not gonna get the job done."

Know The Foe: Anaheim Ducks

Head coach:Dallas Eakins (Fourth season)
Season Stats:Goals per game: 2.27 (32nd) | Scoring defense: 4.18 (32nd) | PP: 16.7 percent (28th) | PK: 72.1 percent (30th)
The narrative: The glory days are long gone for Anaheim, as the franchise has followed 11 playoff appearances in 13 seasons -- including the 2007 Stanley Cup -- with four straight seasons without postseason hockey. It will be five this year, too, as the Ducks are a contender for the worst record in the league as a young core highlighted by Troy Terry, Trevor Zegras, Mason McTavish and Jamie Drysdale still has a ways to go.
2022-23 leaders:Terry is the team's All-Star choice and leads the way, as he's still just 25 years old has a team-best 36 points on 12 goals and 24 assists. Zegras, the 21-year-old wunderkind with skill to match his new-school approach, is next with 14 goals amid his 35 points. Just 20, McTavish -- the third overall pick in 2021 -- is next with a 9-18-27 line, while veteran Adam Henrique has a team-best 15 goals.
In net, John Gibson is in his 10th year as a Duck; still just 29 years old, he leads the team with 30 starts to go with his 7-19-4 record, 4.14 GAA and .895 save percentage. Anthony Stolarz has been the primary backup with 16 games, but just nine of them are starts.
What's new:Anaheim won its season opener against Seattle and then promptly lost seven straight, six of them away from the pond. Things haven't gotten much better from that point, and the Ducks are in the throes of a five-game losing streak in which the team has been outscored 28-10 (average of 5.6-2.0), not to mention outshot 218-141 (43.6-28.2). Drysdale, the sixth overall pick in the 2020 draft, is out with a shoulder injury, while young forward Isac Lundestrom has missed six weeks with a finger injury.
Trending: Talk about an even series -- Columbus is 7-6-3 since 2013-14 against the Ducks. It's been tough sledding in Nationwide Arena, too, with Anaheim winning three straight. The Ducks won in a shootout in the Columbus barn last year before taking a 6-4 victory to close the seaso
Former CBJ:None

3 Keys to the Game

Home ice advantage: Anaheim is struggling everywhere, but it's particularly true on the road, where the Ducks have just four victories on the season.
Play from ahead: In a game against two teams that don't have much experience winning this year, taking an early lead can be key.
Stay out of the box: Penalties have been a bugaboo recently for the Jackets, who have paid in some key moments when the opposition scored on the power play.

3 Stats to Know

• With one more point, Kent Johnson (8-11-19) will become the 17th first-year player in CBJ history to notch at least 20 points in a season.
• With nine goals, Kirill Marchenko has the second most tallies ever by a CBJ player in the first 21 games of his career (Matt Calvert, 10). His 2.02 goals per 60 minutes in all situations is seventh in the NHL among skaters with at least 200 minutes of action per MoneyPuck.com.
• Milestone watch: Laine is one point from 100 for his CBJ career (48-51-99, 129 GP). … Gustav Nyquist is four games from 700 for his NHL career (173-248-421, 696 GP).

Who's Hot

Johnny Gaudreau ranks tied for eighth in the NHL in assists since Nov. 10 with 7-25-32 in 32 contests. … Patrik Laine tied a CBJ record with 10 shots on goal Tuesday. … Jack Roslovic has a 2-14-16 line in the last 20 games. … Marchenko has seven tallies in the last 13 games, while his nine goals are tied for fourth among NHL rookies with Anaheim's McTavish. … Johnson's line puts him sixth in the NHL among rookies in goals and in points. … Gavin Bayreuther has two goals, an assist and a fight in his last five games after going more than 18 months without an NHL tally. ... CBJ rookies lead all NHL teams in goals and rank tied for third in points with 23-26-49 in 44 games.

This Day in CBJ History

Jan. 19, 2011: Antoine Vermette ties the game at 2 in the final minute before RJ Umberger wins the game with a power-play goal in overtime, giving the Blue Jackets a 3-2 victory at Florida and starting an eight-game road unbeaten streak.
Jan. 19, 2013: In the season opener of a 48-game season, Derick Brassard scores in a shootout to give the Blue Jackets a 3-2 victory at Nashville. Nick Foligno and Artem Anisimov also tally while Sergei Bobrovsky makes 32 saves in his CBJ debut.
Jan. 19, 2019: Jarmo Kekalainen becomes the longest tenured general manager in CBJ history when the Blue Jackets complete the first half of the season by playing the Minnesota Wild.

Roster Report

Projected Lineup (subject to change)
Johnny Gaudreau - Boone Jenner - Patrik Laine
Kirill Marchenko - Cole Sillinger - Gus Nyquist
Kent Johnson - Jack Roslovic - Emil Bemstrom
Eric Robinson - Sean Kuraly - Mathieu Olivier
Vladislav Gavrikov - Adam Boqvist
Tim Berni - Erik Gudbranson
Nick Blankenburg - Andrew Peeke
Elvis Merzlikins
Daniil Tarasov
Scratches:Liam Foudy, Gavin Bayreuther, Joonas Korpisalo
Injured reserve: Yegor Chinakhov (high ankle sprain, out six weeks as of Dec. 21); Carson Meyer (oblique, out six to eight weeks as of Jan. 11); Jake Bean (shoulder, out four to six months after surgery in November); Jakub Voracek (upper body, out indefinitely); Zach Werenski (shoulder surgery, out for season); Justin Danforth (shoulder surgery, out for season)
Roster Report:The Blue Jackets will go with the lines that seemed to create in the second half of the Nashville game, while Merzlikins will be back in net. Korpisalo did return to practice after missing three games with a personal issue but will be a scratch.