Gameday Guide: March 31 at New York Islanders

Looking back, the Blue Jackets did just about everything but win Tuesday night.

Columbus put 45 shots on goal, one off a season high, and had advantages in just about every counting stat in the game but goals. The Islanders took advantage of some CBJ defensive breakdowns to score four straight goals, then held on as the Jackets rallied and totally controlled the third in a final that read 4-3 in favor of New York.
Facing the Islanders in their home building tonight two days later, the Blue Jackets want to keep the same effort but shore up the mistakes in a bid to get the victory.
"Watching the game back I really liked our start," acting head coach Pascal Vincent said. "We had good jump. We had good support all over the ice. In the third period we pushed the pace quite a bit. We had to, right? We were trailing, but the mind-set was right the whole game. We made a few mistakes in the second period, cost us a few goals, but it wasn't any team mistakes, it was individual mistakes. The mind-set was right for 60 minutes. We want to recreate that mind-set for sure."
Vincent will be in charge for the second straight game after head coach Brad Larsen and assistant coach Steve McCarthy entered COVID protocol on Tuesday. The team's associate head coach -- who was joined on the bench Tuesday night by assistant Kenny McCudden, assistant/development coach Jared Boll as well as former assistant Craig Hartsburg -- said Larsen still runs the show even though he's not on Long Island.
"He's the head coach, and I'm just here to fill the position," Vincent said. "Lars is aware of everything we do. I run it by him, we have discussion, obviously not in person but on the phone. Same thing with Mac, so there's no changes there."

3 Keys to the Game

Keep it going: The Blue Jackets had the better of the puck against the Islanders on Tuesday night and would like to keep that going.
60 minutes: The problem is the Blue Jackets made one too many defensive mistakes to come away with the victory. Being on their game the whole time is key.
Who steps up: The Jackets continue to be without some important faces. They got two goals from defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov on Tuesday night; does another unsung hero pop up tonight?

Notable

Patrik Laine is set to play in his 400th NHL game tonight (175-146-322). He has a 19-17-36 line in the last 27 contests, plus 13 multipoint games in that span, while his seven game-winning goals are ninth for eighth in the NHL. … Oliver Bjorkstrand set a new career high with his 24th goal of the season Tuesday night. The Maestro has a 12-9-21 line in the last 23 games and a 4-6-10 line in the last nine. … Gustav Nyquist's four shorthanded goals on the season are tied for first in the NHL. … Jakub Voracek's 44 assists are tied for the eighth most in franchise history. His 0.69 assists-per-game are the second most in a single season in franchise history, trailing only Artemi Panarin's .75 when he posted a club record 59 helpers in 2018-19. … With 11 goals on the year, Adam Boqvist is tied for sixth all-tie in single-season tallies among defensemen. … Gavrikov notched his second multi-goal of the season and of his career with two goals on Tuesday. … The Blue Jackets have set a new franchise record this year with 21 come-from-behind wins, which is also tied for the third most in the NHL. Columbus also has eight wins when trailing after two periods, tied with Florida for the most in the NHL and the second most in franchise history. … With 38 goals from defensemen, the Blue Jackets are tied for second in the NHL in the statistic. … Columbus is 1-2-0 in the season series and is looking for its first-ever win in UBS Arena. … The game matches the oldest player in the NHL (New York defenseman Zdeno Chara, 45) and the youngest (CBJ forward Cole Sillinger, 18).

Projected Lineup

(Subject to change)
Jakub Voracek - Jack Roslovic - Patrik Laine
Gus Nyquist - Cole Sillinger - Oliver Bjorkstrand
Yegor Chinakhov - Sean Kuraly - Justin Danforth
Eric Robinson - Brendan Gaunce - Emil Bemstrom
Vladislav Gavrikov - Andrew Peeke
Dean Kukan - Jake Bean
Gabriel Carlsson - Adam Boqvist
Elvis Merzlikins (confirmed starter)
Jean-Francois Berube
Scratches: Gavin Bayreuther
Unavailable: Zach Werenski (upper body, day to day); Joonas Korpisalo (hip surgery, out for season); Boone Jenner (back, week to week); Daniil Tarasov (hip surgery, out for season); Alexandre Texier (indefinite leave of absence)
Roster Report: The Blue Jackets will use the same 18 skaters and goalie, with the only expected change coming with a swap on the third and fourth lines. Werenski, Larsen and McCarthy did not make the trip.

This Day in CBJ History

March 31, 2013: Mark Letestu scores in overtime to move the Blue Jackets into the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference with a 2-1 win over Anaheim. The victory in Nationwide Arena moved a franchise-record point streak in the building to 12 games (9-0-3).
March 31, 2018: Pierre-Luc Dubois, Zach Werenski and Cam Atkinson each score in the last four minutes as the Blue Jackets turn a 4-1 deficit into a 4-4 tie with 1:21 to play to steal a point at Vancouver, which wins 5-4 on an Alex Edler goal in overtime.
March 31, 2019: Sergei Bobrovsky earns his third shutout in eight days as the Blue Jackets post a 4-0 win at Buffalo, the team's fifth straight victory as it battled for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.