PREVIEW: Blue Jackets finish final back-to-back in Carolina

Simply put, there haven’t been that many nights in Nationwide Arena this season like Saturday night.

It’s been a tough season for the Blue Jackets, but just about everything went right as the team blew out visiting Philadelphia last night by a 6-2 score. Columbus led 2-0 after one period, 4-1 after 40 minutes and never saw their advantage threatened in the final frame by the Flyers.

That it happened on 5th Line Celebration Night was even better, as a sellout crowd was on hand to witness one of the better CBJ performances of the season.

“Obviously it hasn’t been as good as we would have liked to be this year for them, but they show up every night,” Zach Werenski said of the CBJ fans. “Tonight was a fun one for us. I thought we played hard. (Goaltender Jet Greaves) played really well, and we gave our fans a good last Saturday night home game. It’s good for us.”

The key to the victory was a little NHL history as well as a first in CBJ annals. All six Blue Jackets goals were scored by defensemen, as Werenski and Damon Severson scored twice while Erik Gudbranson and Nick Blankenburg also lit the lamp.

The six goals by blueliners didn’t just set a CBJ record, it tied an all-time NHL mark, as the Washington Capitals got a sextet of goals from blueliners on Dec. 4, 1992, against the New York Rangers.

“Shout out to our forwards for having good traffic in front of the net tonight, and some nice seam plays obviously making the goalie move side to side, too,” Severson said. “We stuck to our game plan offensively and we were able to execute and get some goals.”

Add it all up and the Blue Jackets had a memorable night in Nationwide Arena. The victory was also the third in four games in the last multigame homestand of the season, but now the road gets a little tougher – literally – as Columbus begins a four-game trip tonight in Carolina.

Know The Foe: Carolina Hurricanes

Head coach: Rod Brind’Amour (Sixth season)

Team stats: Goals per game: 3.35 (8th) | Scoring defense: 2.60 (4th) | PP: 27.2 percent (2nd) | PK: 86.2 percent (1st)

The narrative: Is this the year for Carolina? The Canes have made five straight playoff appearances, two of which have ended in the Eastern Conference final, but have yet to get over the hump. The team’s up-tempo, relentless style exhausts teams in the regular season, but a squad many say is without a true superstar just hasn’t been able to get all the way to the Stanley Cup Final. That could change this season, though, as Carolina is as good as ever and landed perhaps the biggest fish in the pond at the trade deadline in Pittsburgh’s Jake Guentzel.

Team leaders: Sebastian Aho has long been one of the more underrated players in the NHL, but it’s hard to ignore his career-best 34-52-86 campaign that has him tied for 13th in the league in points. At just 21 years old, Seth Jarvis has proved to be a shrewd draft pick as he has 29 goals among his 62 points. Martin Necas adds 24-29-53 while Teuvo Teravainen (21-27-48), Andrei Svechnikov (17-9-46) and defensemen Brady Skjei (13-31-44) and Brent Burns (10-30-40) aren’t far behind.

The Hurricanes have used five netminders on the season, with young Russian Pyotr Kochetkov leading the way with a 21-13-4 record, 2.37 GAA and .910 save percentage. Frederik Andersen is back from injury and is 11-2-0 in 14 games.

What's new: A noted CBJ killer in his career, Guentzel has had little trouble settling in with the Hurricanes, posting a 5-15-20 line and plus-12 rating in 13 games. The Canes also got Evgeny Kuznetsov (2-5-7 in 15 games) at the deadline, boosting a squad that’s already one of the top-scoring teams in the league. They’re finishing strong, too, with a 31-9-3 record since late December and an 11-3-1 mark since the deadline.

Trending: The Blue Jackets have struggled with Carolina’s pressing ways in recent years and are 0-2 this year, falling 3-2 in Raleigh on Nov. 26 and 4-2 at Nationwide Arena on Leap Day. In all, the Blue Jackets are 2-7-0 the past three seasons against the Canes.

Former CBJ: Carolina grabbed former CBJ goalie Spencer Martin on waivers earlier this season and he’s 4-0-1 with the team in five appearances with a 1.97 GAA and .922 save percentage, though Martin hasn’t played since the Feb. 29 win over Columbus.

Roster Report

Projected Lineup (subject to change)

Johnny Gaudreau – Dmitri Voronkov – Alex Nylander
Alexandre Texier – Cole Sillinger – Kirill Marchenko
Mikael Pyyhtia – Justin Danforth – Mathieu Olivier
James Malatesta – Sean Kuraly – Brendan Gaunce
Zach Werenski – Damon Severson
Ivan Provorov – Erik Gudbranson
Nick Blankenburg – David Jiricek
Malcolm Subban
Jet Greaves

Scratches: Adam Fantilli (calf laceration), Yegor Chinakhov (upper-body), Adam Boqvist (upper body), Boone Jenner (day to day), Elvis Merzlikins (lower body), Daniil Tarasov (upper body), Jake Bean (upper body), Carson Meyer

Injured reserve: Kent Johnson (torn labrum in left shoulder, out for season)

Roster Report: Subban gets his first start in CBJ colors while Kuraly is set to return for the first time since March 12 at Montreal.

3 Stats to Know

• Coming off a 2-1-3 performance last night, Zach Werenski has set a career high with 52 points on the season thanks to nine goals and 43 assists. His point total is second all-time for a single season among CBJ defensemen (Seth Jones, 57, 2017-18), and his assist total is second behind only James Wisniewski (44, 2013-14).
• Johnny Gaudreau’s two assists last night gives him 100 in a CBJ uniform, making him the 20th Blue Jackets player to reach that mark in his career.
• Milestone watch: Johnny Gaudreau is one assist from 500 for his NHL career (242-499-741, 758 GP). ... Werenski is three points from 300 for his NHL career (88-209-297, 480 GP).

Who’s Hot

Dmitri Voronkov’s 18th goal of the season Thursday moved him into third place alone in CBJ annals in goals for a rookie, behind only Kirill Marchenko (21, 2022-23) and Pierre-Luc Dubois (20, 2017-18). He is currently fourth this season among NHL rookies in tallies. … Kirill Marchenko has scored in three of the last four games and has a 3-2-5 line in that span, while Cole Sillinger has a 2-3-5 line in the last five contests and Alexandre Texier has assists in three straight games. ... Alex Nylander’s 10 goals since making his Blue Jackets debut Feb. 23 are a franchise record for a player in his first 19 games with the squad. He has three multigoal contests in that time span. ... Zach Werenski has a 5-9-14 line in the last 12 games, and his seven goals since Feb. 17 are second among NHL defensemen. ... Johnny Gaudreau has a 4-25-29 line in the last 29 games and has reached the 40-assist plateau for the second straight season. ... The team’s rookie stat line of 31-42-73 is first in the NHL in goals and fourth in points.

This Day in CBJ History

April 7, 2006: Rick Nash notches his first NHL hat trick, scoring three goals including the tying tally with 33 seconds left against future CBJ goaltending coach Manny Legace, but the Red Wings capture a 6-5 win in a shootout at Joe Louis Arena.

April 7, 2007: The Blue Jackets add some punch to their future lineups, signing both Jared Boll and Derek Dorsett to three-year entry-level contracts.