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BLUE JACKETS (25-19-7) at UTAH HOCKEY CLUB (21-21-8), 9 PM, DELTA CENTER

COLUMBUS, 4th in Metropolitan
UTAH, T-5th in Central

The cliché goes that patience is a virtue, and the Blue Jackets are finding that out as they continue to be one of the hottest teams in the NHL.

The last two games have been battles of attrition against two of the heaviest teams in the league in Los Angeles and Vegas, and the Blue Jackets weren’t going to be able to easily skate their way past either of those teams and post the high-scoring outbursts that often marked the first half of the season.

The Jackets were going to have to stick to the plan, play strong defense and seize their opportunities to beat the Kings and Golden Knights, and that’s exactly what they did. With consecutive overtime victories against those squads, Columbus moved back on the right side of the postseason line and showed they might have the right stuff to keep thriving as the games get bigger and bigger in the NHL season.

It all goes back to a word head coach Dean Evason has used a lot this season – patience. Given how many young players are in key roles for the Blue Jackets, you might expect them to want to push for goals and to make things happen in tight games, but this team has learned quickly that sometimes less is more when you’re facing the NHL's toughest teams.

“I’m impressed that the players don’t want to open it up,” Evason said after Thursday’s 2-1 win in Vegas. “They’re saying the same things (we’re saying as coaches). It’s not like we’re saying, ‘You can’t carry the puck in, you can’t try to score goals, you can’t try to make plays when it presents itself.’ But it’s fun because they’re coaching themselves, they’re coaching each other in situations. So yeah, it’s nice. Do you want to score as many goals as you can? Sure, but any type of win is a good win.”

Indeed that is true, and Columbus put two more points in the bank against the Golden Knights on Thursday night to kick off a key four-game road swing that continues tonight in the franchise’s first-ever visit to Utah.

The victory against Vegas was impressive in a number of ways, including the fact Columbus went into one of the most hostile environments in the league and didn’t seem flustered. They also didn’t bend or break after a shaky start that included a Vegas goal five minutes in, as the Blue Jackets stuck to their game plan and got better as the night went on.

“They scored first, but that didn’t break our confidence at all,” said Adam Fantilli, who scored the opening goal for the CBJ late in the first period. “We stayed sound in what we were doing, and we were able to get one and pretty much stay like that for the rest of the game. It went to overtime and we were able to finish it out, so two points is two points and we’re happy about it.”

While Fantilli knotted things with the lone CBJ tally of regulation, fellow young centerman Cole Sillinger won the game in overtime, capping a performance in which the Blue Jackets showed again they can hang in against some of the league’s best.

“These are the type of games that coming down the stretch here we need,” Sillinger said. “It’s nice to start this road trip off with the win.”

Know The Foe: Utah Hockey Club

Head coach: Andre Tourigny (Fourth season)

Team stats: Goals per game: 2.82 (22nd) | Scoring defense: 2.96 (16th) | PP: 22.5 percent (14th) | PK: 81.8 percent (7th)

The narrative: After years of trials and tribulations when it came to finding a feasible, long-term arena solution in Arizona, the then-Coyotes headed to Utah this offseason. Fans in Salt Lake City were rewarded with a young, entertaining team that appears to be on the cusp of success after making the playoffs just once in their last 12 seasons in the desert. The squad isn’t quite there yet, but the top nine scorers are all age 28 or younger, showing the talent is starting to fall into place.

Team leaders: Clayton Keller may be one of the most underrated players in the league, as the 26-year-old wing leads the squad in all three major statistical categories this season with a 18-36-54 line on the year. The No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 draft, Logan Cooley, is having a breakout season at age 20 with 15 goals and 43 points but is out with a lower body injury, while Nick Schmaltz has a 10-30-40 line. Another top draft pick, Dylan Guenther (ninth overall in 2021), is next on the team with 16 goals and 18 assists for 34 points but has missed time recently with a lower body injury.

In net, Karel Vejmelka has been one of the top netminders in the league this season, going 11-14-3 but posting a 2.47 goals-against average and .912 save percentage on the season in 30 games.

What's new: Utah was hanging in there with a 16-11-5 record through Dec. 20, but the Hockey Club has just five wins in the last 18 games and sits seven games out of a playoff spot going into tonight’s action after Wednesday night’s OT loss vs. Pittsburgh. Of note, fans at the Delta Center will be able to vote on the three finalists for the team’s permanent nickname – Hockey Club, Mammoth or Outlaws – over a four-game stretch that includes tonight’s contest vs. the Blue Jackets.

Trending: Arizona swept the season series a year ago, and the Blue Jackets were 0-3-1 vs. the Coyotes the past two seasons after sweeping the two games in 2021-22.

Former CBJ: Defenseman Ian Cole has posted a 1-12-13 line this season while playing for his ninth NHL team, while center Kevin Stenlund has held down the fourth line while chipping in seven goals among his 12 points.

Projected CBJ Lineup (Subject to change)

LW 10 Dmitri Voronkov
C 19 Adam Fantilli
RW 86 Kirill Marchenko
LW 21 James van Riemsdyk
C 4 Cole Sillinger
RW 91 Kent Johnson
LW 27 Zach Aston-Reese
C 65 Luca Del Bel Belluz
RW 24 Mathieu Olivier
LW 82 Mikael Pyyhtia
C 7 Sean Kuraly
RW 17 Justin Danforth
LD 8 Zach Werenski
RD 15 Dante Fabbro
G 40 Daniil Tarasov
LD 5 Denton Mateychuk
RD 9 Ivan Provorov
G 90 Elvis Merzlikins
LD 2 Jake Christiansen
RD 78 Damon Severson

Scratches: Kevin Labanc, Jordan Harris, Jack Johnson

Injured reserve, Injured/Non-Roster list: Sean Monahan (upper body), Yegor Chinakhov (upper body), Erik Gudbranson (upper body), Boone Jenner (upper body)

Roster Report: With Sillinger’s return, the Blue Jackets went back to a 12-forward, six-defenseman deployment Thursday in Vegas. Tarasov seems likely to get the start in the second half of the back-to-back.

The Numbers Game

Since Dec. 19, the Blue Jackets are tied for second in the NHL in wins (13), tied for third in points percentage (.737), fourth in goals per game (3.37) and second in power-play percentage (32.4). ... With 15 points (5-10-15) in January, Zach Werenski is one point away from tying his franchise record of 16 points in a month, which he set in November and equaled in December. He has a 13-32-45 line in the last 36 games and has 23 points (5-18-23) in the past 17. His average ice time of 26:49 leads all NHL players, and he’s second among league defensemen in goals (16) and third in points (55) on the season. He is two points shy of the CBJ season record for points by a defenseman, set by Seth Jones in 2017-18 and equaled by Werenski a season ago. ... With his 20th goal of the season Saturday, Kirill Marchenko became the first CBJ player ever to reach that mark in each of his first three NHL seasons. He has a 10-16-26 line in the last 22 games and 37 points in the last 32 (14-23-37). He leads the NHL with a plus-30 rating. ... Dmitri Voronkov has 21 points (11-10-21) in the last 21 games. ... Adam Fantilli has an 8-6-14 line in the last 13 games and played in his 100th career game Thursday. With 27 tallies thus far, he is fourth all-time in goals for a CBJ player in his first 100 games, trailing only Marchenko, Rick Nash and Pierre-Luc Dubois. … James van Riemsdyk has notched a 6-6-12 line in 13 January games. ... Kent Johnson has eight points (3-5-8) in the past seven games as well as a five-game point streak. … Mathieu Olivier is one of two NHL players (Ottawa’s Brady Tkachuk) with 10-plus goals, 60 penalty minutes and 100 hits this season. ... Elvis Merzlikins is 10-2-1 in his last 13 starts and has posted a .939 save percentage in his last five games. … Columbus is tied for first in the NHL with 117 goals at 5-on-5, and their 3.27 goals per game are seventh in the league. ... Columbus has scored on 17 of 58 power plays (29.3 percent) in the last 24 games. ... Blue Jackets defensemen have 32 goals this season, most in the NHL. ... Cole Sillinger is two points from 100 in his NHL career while Ivan Provorov is three assists from 100.

This Day in CBJ History

Jan. 31, 2001: The Blue Jackets sign forward Jody Shelley, who had been playing for the team’s AHL affiliate in Syracuse. Shelley would make his debut later that season and go on to play 380 games with the Blue Jackets, scoring 11 goals and setting a then-franchise record with 1,025 penalty minutes.

Jan. 31, 2004: Anders Eriksson scores 2:59 into overtime and the Blue Jackets take a 2-1 win vs. Minnesota in Nationwide Arena.

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