PREVIEW: Blue Jackets open 2023-24 vs. Flyers at Nationwide

The Blue Jackets begin their 23rd season of hockey tonight at Nationwide Arena as Philadelphia comes to town.

It’s not quite a totally new-look version of the Blue Jackets squad, but there are some notable changes. Pascal Vincent is set to be a head coach for the first time in the NHL, while the Blue Jackets fortified the blue line by adding Damon Severson and Ivan Provorov, welcomed Alexandre Texier back from Europe and added No. 3 overall draft pick Adam Fantilli.

Those are four pieces who should be huge parts of this team, joining a crew of veterans that includes captain Boone Jenner, alternate captains Zach Werenski, Sean Kuraly and Erik Gudbranson, scorers Johnny Gaudreau and Patrik Laine and young offensive stars Kirill Marchenko and Kent Johnson.

Add it all up and the Blue Jackets are ready to show what they can do when the puck drops tonight.

“I think we had a really good camp, working on some systems,” Werenski said. “We’re playing with pace right now. Guys are getting to play with each other. So I think everything you want to accomplish in training camp, I think we’ve done that.”

Despite those pieces, most prognosticators have the Blue Jackets missing the playoffs for a fourth straight season, expectations that are reasonable considering Columbus finished second from last in the league a season ago in points.

At the same time, this is a different CBJ team, one that is eager to see what it can do when the lights go on.

“Obviously we know what people say about us and where we’re at in the projected standings and whatnot, but we don’t really care about that,” Werenski said. “We use it as motivation. Obviously we want to surprise some people this year. We got off to a good start. We’ll see where it goes. I think we have a good group in here. I think we had a good camp. Now it’s just putting it together for the real thing.”

Know The Foe: Philadelphia Flyers

Head coach: John Tortorella (Second season)

2022-23 Stats: Goals per game: 2.68 (29th) | Scoring defense: 3.37 (23rd) | PP: 15.6 percent (32nd) | PK: 74.7 percent (26th)

The narrative: Tortorella was brought in to restore the pride in the Broad Street Bullies, but it looks like it might be a long rebuild in Philadelphia. The Flyers were seventh in the Metro and 26th in the NHL last season with 75 points, outpacing only the Blue Jackets in the division, and have missed the playoffs for three straight seasons. The team is hoping to turn to a youth movement, as four of the top nine scorers were 23 or under (Owen Tippett, Morgan Frost, Joel Farabee and Noah Cates) and the squad drafted Russian scoring dynamo Matvei Michkov this summer.

2022-23 leaders: Despite all the struggles, Travis Konecny was a consistent scorer for the Flyers, posting team-best marks of 31 goals and 61 points. Tippett (27-22-49), Frost (19-27-46) and Scott Laughton (18-25-43) are next among returning scorers, but the team’s top two scoring defensemen in Anthony DeAngelo (Carolina) and Ivan Provorov (Columbus) have been traded. Travis Sanheim (7-16-23) and Cam York (2-18-20) are the top returnees.

In net, it’s hard to believe Carter Hart is going into his sixth NHL season, as the one-time top prospect has had his fair shares of struggles and injuries over the years. He played in a career-best 55 games last year, going 22-23-10 with a 2.94 GAA and .907 save percentage.

What's new: Philadelphia said goodbye to DeAngelo and Provorov on the back end as well as second-leading scorer Kevin Hayes up front, but some good news comes in the return to health of both Cam Atkinson, the longtime CBJ forward who missed all of last season with injury, and Sean Couturier. Forward Garnet Hathaway and defenseman Marc Staal have been added to add veteran depth, while top prospects Emil Andrae, Bobby Brink and Tyson Foerster made the opening roster.

Trending: Philadelphia and Columbus split the season series a year ago, with each going 2-1-1 – 2-0-0 at home and 0-1-1 on the road. The last matchup was April 11 of last year in Philly, a 4-3 overtime win for the Flyers on a goal by Tippett.

Former CBJ: Tortorella spent six seasons in charge of the Blue Jackets and is the winningest head coach in franchise history, while Atkinson’s 213 goals in 10 seasons are second in CBJ history.

3 Stats to Know

• Boone Jenner continued to move up the team records books last season, finishing the year with 657 games played, just 17 behind Rick Nash for the most in team history. He is set to become the first player in team history to skate in 11 different seasons on opening night.
• Columbus has gone 9-11-2 in season-opening games, including a 3-3-0 mark in the past six. Thursday’s contest against the Flyers marks the 15th time that the club will kick off a campaign at home.
• Milestone watch: Patrik Laine is two goals from 200 for his NHL career (198-181-379, 462 GP). … D Andrew Peeke is five games away from his 200th NHL game (9-25-34, 195 GP).

Who’s Hot

With his 74 points last season, Gaudreau placed fifth all-time in team single-season annals, and he became just the fourth CBJ player to have at least 50 helpers in a season. Gaudreau finished his first season in union blue with 20 multipoint games, third all-time in team history. … Gaudreau has 6-16-22 in 17 career games vs. the Flyers, including points in seven straight games against the club (2-7-9). ... Marchenko posted 21 goals to reset the team's rookie goal-scoring record, passing Pierre-Luc Dubois' mark of 20 set in 2017-18. With four assists, he also became the only CBJ player in history to score at least 15 times in a season with less than 10 helpers. … With a team-high 26 goals last year, Jenner joined Nash, David Vyborny, R.J. Umberger, Cam Atkinson and Oliver Bjorkstrand as the only Blue Jackets with three or more 20-goal seasons. … Columbus sold out 14 games in Nationwide Arena last year, including eight of the last nine.

This Day in CBJ History

Oct. 12, 2000: Kevyn Adams scores two goals, including the game-winner at 4:13 of the second period, as the Blue Jackets post the first win in franchise history with a 3-2 victory over the Calgary Flames at the Saddledome.

Oct. 12, 2021: Boone Jenner is named the seventh captain in franchise history prior to the start of the season. He had been one of the team's alternate captains since the start of the 2015-16 campaign.

Roster Report

\Projected Lineup (subject to change) \

Cole Sillinger – Patrik Laine – Johnny Gaudreau
Alexandre Texier – Boone Jenner – Emil Bemstrom
Kirill Marchenko – Adam Fantilli – Justin Danforth
Eric Robinson – Sean Kuraly – Jack Roslovic
Zach Werenski – Andrew Peeke
Ivan Provorov – Damon Severson
Jake Bean – Erik Gudbranson
Elvis Merzlikins
Spencer Martin

Scratches: F Liam Foudy, F Kent Johnson, D Adam Boqvist

Injured reserve/Injured Non-Roster: Yegor Chinakhov (back strain, week to week), Jordan Dumais (upper body, day to day), Mathieu Olivier (leg, day to day), Daniil Tarasov (knee, week to week)

Roster Report: Three players are set to make their Blue Jackets debuts in top draft pick Fantilli as well as veteran defensemen Provorov and Severson, while Danforth, Werenski and Bean are all welcomed back after suffering long-term, season-ending injuries last season.