Gameday Preview: Blue Jackets at Kraken

The Details

BLUE JACKETS at KRAKEN
GAME INFO
COLUMBUS: 15-31-3, 8th in Metropolitan
SEATTLE: 28-15-5, 1st in Pacific
CLIMATE PLEDGE ARENA, 10 p.m. ET
BROADCAST INFO
TV:
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AUDIO:
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BY THE NUMBERS
CBJ Player Statistics
Kraken Player Statistics
NHL Standings
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What They're Saying

All good things must come to an end, and the CBJ point streak did just that with last night's loss against Vancouver.
It was a weird game, as the Canucks scored two power-play goals and tallied shorthanded, while the two 5-on-5 goals Vancouver scored both went in off of Blue Jackets players.
At the same time, Columbus wasn't deluding itself into thinking it played a great game, as Vancouver had edges in shots and shot attempts, not to mention high-danger chances and expected goals, at 5-on-5.
"We just weren't really in this one," head coach Brad Larsen said. "We didn't have as much energy at all, all game. We had a little bit of juice in the beginning of the third. A couple of tough bounces off the end wall and another one off us, but we didn't have the gas. It was throughout our lineup. I don't know if we were low on energy or what, but we didn't have it tonight."
Columbus had had more jump in its previous three games, come-from-behind victories against San Jose and Edmonton as well as Monday's overtime setback vs. Calgary. Against the Canucks, the Blue Jackets weren't able to get much going consistently, but there is hope that will change with the quick turnaround against the Kraken.
"You have to know when we get on a roll and playing well, we have to play consistent," Cole Sillinger said. "It's something we talked about. As a group, in our play, I think we took a little step back. We'll regroup, and the good news is we get right back at it (tonight)."

Know The Foe: Seattle Kraken

Head coach:Dave Hakstol (Second season)
Season Stats:Goals per game: 3.63 (4th) | Scoring defense: 3.08 (17th) | PP: 20.6 percent (19th) | PK: 71.9 percent (30th)
The narrative: Last year was a tough one for the expansion franchise as the squad placed last in the Pacific Division, but things have turned around this year. Thanks to one of the deepest forward units in the league, the Kraken are second in the league in goal-scoring ratio at 5-on-5 (a league-best 128 goals for, with 88 allowed) and are on track for the first playoff appearance in team history.
2022-23 leaders:Seattle has 14 players with at least 20 points, with Andre Burakovsky leading the way, as the former Washington Capital has 39 points on 13 goals and 26 assists. Jordan Eberle is next with a 10-27-37 line, while Matty Beniers leads all NHL rookies with 17 goals and 36 points. Vince Dunn leads the blue line with a 9-27-36 line and could be in the Norris race, while Jared McCann has a team-best 23 goals among his 34 points and Yanni Gourde has a 6-26-32 line.
Three Seattle defensemen, meanwhile, are in the top 12 in the league in plus-minus (Adam Larsson, plus-30; Dunn, plus-25; Brandon Tanev, plus-23).
In net, the Kraken's goaltending has improved from what had been a major struggle a year ago. Martin Jones leads the way with 32 starts, posting a 23-7-3 record, while Philipp Grubauer (4-8-2/3.18/.893) likely goes tonight.
What's new:The Kraken is playing some of the best hockey in the NHL, posting a 10-3-1 record in the last 14 while outscoring teams 57-36 in that span. Beniers suffered an injury this week and is out for the game, joining a list of walking wounded that includes Joonas Donskoi, Justin Schultz and Jaden Schwartz, but not much seems to be impacting one of the deepest teams in the league.
Trending:Columbus has won both games in the series history in overtime, taking the home contest last year on Patrik Laine's OT goal and then triumphing in Seattle on Jake Bean's winner.
Former CBJ: Oliver Bjorkstrand's first season with the Kraken has yielded a 9-16-25 line as he gets set to play the Jackets for the first time, while Alexander Wennberg has a 9-14-23 line.

3 Keys to the Game

Find the energy: Two teams coming off matching 5-2 losses last night will both be looking to set the tone early.
Keep the power play going: The Blue Jackets have power-play goals in three straight games, going 5 for 12 in that time frame. That's a good way to steal games on the road.
60 minutes: Seattle's depth means the Kraken can get scoring at any time. Columbus can't afford to take a shift off throughout the game.

3 Stats to Know

• Per Hockey-Reference, Marchenko's 13 goals are tied for the fifth most for an NHL player in his first 26 games since the year 2000, trailing only Alex Ovechkin (16, 2005), Elias Pettersson (15, 2018), Patrik Laine (15, 2016) and Evgeni Malkin (15, 2016).
• Laine (2-6-8) and Johnny Gaudreau (1-6-7) each enter the game riding five-game point streaks.
• Milestone watch: Boone Jenner is set to play in his 628th game, passing Cam Atkinson (627) for the second-most games played in CBJ history. … Equipment manager Jamie Healy is set to work his 2,000th professional hockey game.

Who's Hot

Marchenko has four goals in the last three games, and his 13 are tied for the sixth-most ever for a CBJ rookie with Serge Aubin, David Vyborny and Nikolai Zherdev. He is the first NHL player to total 13 goals without an assist to start an NHL career since Pittsburgh's John McKinnon in 1926-27, per NHL Stats. Marchenko also places tied for second among NHL rookies in goals with Dallas' Wyatt Johnston. … Gaudreau ranks sixth in the NHL in assists since Nov. 10 with 8-31-39 in 37 contests. … Laine has a 5-9-14 line in the last 10 games, while Jenner has a 3-1-4 line in the last four games. … After his first-ever NHL overtime goal, Kent Johnson has a 9-14-23 line and is 11th all-time among CBJ rookies in points. He's also sixth among NHL rookies in goals and fifth in points, and his OT winner was just the ninth ever for a CBJ rookie. … Adam Boqvist has 10 assists in the last 13 games. … CBJ rookies lead all NHL teams in goals and place second in points with 29-31-60 in 49 games.

This Day in CBJ History

Jan. 28, 2018: Zach Werenski makes his first appearance in the NHL All-Star Game, skating for the Metropolitan Division in a game held in Tampa's Amalie Arena.
Jan. 28, 2021: Alexandre Texier's "firepoker" goal in a shootout past Florida netminder Chris Driedger gives the Blue Jackets a 3-2 victory at Nationwide Arena.

Roster Report

Projected Lineup (subject to change)
Johnny Gaudreau - Boone Jenner - Patrik Laine
Kirill Marchenko - Cole Sillinger - Kent Johnson
Liam Foudy - Jack Roslovic - Emil Bemstrom
Eric Robinson - Sean Kuraly - Mathieu Olivier
Vladislav Gavrikov - Andrew Peeke
Tim Berni - Erik Gudbranson
Gavin Bayreuther - Jake Christiansen
Elvis Merzlikins
Joonas Korpisalo
Scratches:Nick Blankenburg (upper body injury, day to day), Adam Boqvist (upper body injury)
Injured reserve:Gustav Nyquist (upper body injury, out indefinitely), 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 switched up the forward lines throughout Friday night's loss so the team could go a variety of directions tonight. Christiansen goes in for Boqvist, while Merzlikins makes his first start of the trip.