Gameday Preview: Blue Jackets at Oilers

The Details

BLUE JACKETS at OILERS
GAME INFO
COLUMBUS: 14-30-3, 8th in Metropolitan
EDMONTON: 27-18-3, 4th in Pacific
ROGERS PLACE, 9:30 p.m. ET
BROADCAST INFO
TV: TNT
AUDIO:
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CBJ Player Statistics
Oilers Player Statistics
NHL Standings
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What They're Saying

The Blue Jackets stepped into an emotionally charged environment on Monday night in Calgary and acquitted themselves quite well.
It wasn't enough to leave with a full two points, but the 4-3 overtime loss that featured a pair of CBJ comebacks looked an awful lot like growth for a young team. Columbus went into a lion's den considering the response to Johnny Gaudreau's return to the Stampede City, and the Blue Jackets turned in enough good minutes and enough fighting spirit to leave with a point.
"The guys, they battled hard," head coach Brad Larsen said. "We had some puck management issues, no doubt, but that team does that to you. They're a big, strong team, and they force you into some of those plays. Going down and then coming back, the power play answered the bell and gets us a couple of big goals and gets us back into it. (Joonas Korpisalo) was outstanding. It's a good night. We come back in the third and get a point out of it."
For someone like Gaudreau, it was a memorable night. His return to Calgary was perhaps the biggest storyline in the NHL on the evening, and Flames fans weren't shy about voicing their displeasure with his decision to leave the team after nine excellent seasons.
Calgary drew from that energy early and built a 2-0 lead, but Gaudreau and the Blue Jackets were able to battle back and leave with their heads held high.
"We are a really young group, and the guys fought hard," Gaudreau said. "I was really proud of them. Hopefully these are games that your team builds around and keep pushing and get better every single day. These past two games, we're making a little bit of a push and we like where our game is going, so we just need to build off that and keep getting better."

Know The Foe: Edmonton Oilers

Head coach:Jay Woodcroft (Second season)
Season Stats: Goals per game: 3.71 (3rd) | Scoring defense: 3.23 (19th) | PP: 31.0 percent (1st) | PK: 74.9 percent (22nd)
The narrative: It's another season where the talents of McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have shone brightly, but one wonders exactly just how far they can take the Oilers. A season ago, the two were able to get Edmonton into the Western Conference Final for the first time as a duo, but Colorado quickly ended the Oilers' season there. Some of the same issues -- scoring depth and defensive question marks -- that have precluded the Oilers from hoisting the ultimate prize remain, but a team that has two of the top players in the league has the ability to run any team off the ice.
2022-23 leaders:You have to start with McDavid, who is turning in perhaps the best season yet in what has become an incredible career. The 26-year-old is threatening to turn the scoring race into a laugher, as he already has a ridiculous league-best total of 40 goals in 48 games, not to mention an NHL-best 88 points. Draisaitl is second in the league in scoring with 73 points thanks to 28 goals and 45 assists, and both of these standouts are tied for the NHL lead with 16 power-play goals. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is next with a 22-35-57 line, while Zach Hyman has 24 goals and 56 points.
In net, Stuart Skinner has turned in an All-Star season, as the fan vote will send him to South Florida as he's posted a 13-10-2 record, 2.92 GAA and .915 save percentage in 27 games. Jack Campbell is 14-8-1 with a 3.35 GAA and .887 save percentage.
What's new: Edmonton was in a rut earlier this month, as a 5-6-3 stretch had the team facing the same existential questions that have dogged it for years. But since then, the Oilers have won six straight, outscoring opponents 31-13 along the way. McDavid is in the midst of a 10-game point streak (8-8-16), and the team's power-play percentage of 31.0 is good for fourth all-time at the moment.
Trending:It's been a tough stretch for the Blue Jackets against the Oilers, winning just two of the last eight contests and losing three in a row in Edmonton.
Former CBJ:Devin Shore has played in 29 games with three assists, while Ryan Murray has skated 13 contests with three helpers as well.

3 Keys to the Game

Stay out of the box: I mean, really. Stay out of the box. As we mentioned earlier, the Oilers' power play checks in fourth all-time for a single season in NHL history, so don't poke the bear.
Best on best: OK, the Jackets' best players aren't likely to match the production of McDavid and Draisaitl -- no one's can -- but Columbus is seeing Johnny Gaudreau and Patrik Laine fill up the stat sheet of late. That has to continue to have a chance.
Score: Edmonton is probably going to get its goals, but the Oilers are 4-12-2 when giving up at least four goals. The best way to beat them is to outscore them.

3 Stats to Know

• Gaudreau has five points in the last three games (1-4-5) while Laine has six (2-4-6) in that span.
• No NHL player since Normie Himes in 1928-29 has finished a season with at least 10 goals and zero assists, but Kirill Marchenko reached those marks with a goal Monday. He is the 14th CBJ rookie to reach 10 goals in a season, and he is tied for the most tallies ever by a Jackets player in the first 24 games of his career (Matt Calvert, 10, 2011).
• Milestone watch: Gustav Nyquist is set to play in his 700th NHL game (174-249-423, 699 GP). … With 625 games played in union blue, Boone Jenner is two games from tying Cam Atkinson (627) for the second-most games played in CBJ history.

Who's Hot

Gaudreau ranks tied for sixth in the NHL in assists since Nov. 10 with 8-29-37 in 35 contests. … Laine has a 5-7-12 line in the last eight games. … Joonas Korpisalo has a .919 save percentage in his last nine appearances. … Jenner has scored in two straight games. ... Jack Roslovic has six points (1-5-6) in the last six games and a 3-17-20 line in the last 26 games. … Mathieu Olivier has fought in three straight games. ... With two assists Saturday, Kent Johnson now has an 8-13-21 line and is the 20th CBJ rookie in franchise history to reach the 20-point mark. With 21 points, he's tied for 13th all-time among CBJ rookies. He's also tied for sixth among NHL rookies in goals and alone in sixth in points. … Marchenko's 10 goals are fourth among NHL rookies. … CBJ rookies lead all NHL teams in goals and place third in points with 25-30-55 in 47 games.

This Day in CBJ History

Jan. 25, 2009: Rick Nash totals a 1-2-3 line while competing in his fourth NHL All-Star Game at Bell Centre in Montreal.
Jan. 25, 2015: Columbus hosts the NHL All-Star Game for the first time, with Team Toews beating Team Foligno in a 17-12 game that set a new ASG record for scoring -- and served as the last traditional 5-on-5 All-Star contest. CBJ forwards Nick Foligno and Ryan Johansen took part, with Johansen chosen as game MVP thanks to two goals and two assists.
Jan. 25, 2016: Cam Atkinson notches the third hat trick of his CBJ career, scoring three times on Montreal's Mike Condon in a 5-2 victory in Nationwide Arena. He becomes just the third player in team history with at least three hat tricks, joining Nash (five) and Tyler Wright (three).
Jan. 25, 2019: Playing in their second NHL All-Star Games, Atkinson (3-2-5) and Seth Jones (2-2-4) help the Metropolitan Division win the 3-on-3 tournament title for the second time in three years with a 10-5 victory over the Pacific Division in the final.

Roster Report

Projected Lineup (subject to change)
Johnny Gaudreau - Boone Jenner - Patrik Laine
Gus Nyquist - Cole Sillinger - Kent Johnson
Liam Foudy - Jack Roslovic - Kirill Marchenko
Eric Robinson - Sean Kuraly - Mathieu Olivier
Vladislav Gavrikov - Andrew Peeke
Tim Berni - Erik Gudbranson
Nick Blankenburg - Adam Boqvist
Joonas Korpisalo
Elvis Merzlikins
Scratches:Emil Bemstrom, Gavin Bayreuther
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: Columbus shook up the lines during Monday's game and looks likely to keep the top two forward lines together based on Tuesday's practice in Edmonton. Foudy skated in place of Bemstrom and goes into the lineup, while Korpisalo starts again.