When: Saturday, Jan. 4 at 6 p.m. CT
Where: Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH
Watch: FanDuel Sports Network
Listen: 101 ESPN, Blues App
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BLUES With a Brandon Saad hat trick and a Jordan Binnington shutout, 2025 couldn’t have started any better for the St. Louis Blues (19-17-4).
The Blues handled the Ottawa Senators 4-0 in their first night of a back-to-back set, which continues Saturday in Columbus.
The Blues were hot from the start, with captain Brayden Schenn earning the first tally of the evening. Minutes later, Saad capitalized on a broken Ottawa pass, scoring his first goal of the night with a breakaway finish for a two-goal lead.
Saad continued his momentum throughout the game, netting two more tallies in the second and third period to seal the victory and earning his third career hat trick.
After the win, Head Coach Jim Montgomery expressed what it meant for him to see his player succeed after overcoming a challenging stretch of games.
“I’m happy, because it’s for him,” Montgomery said. “Because it’s a great example for the rest of our team. As a group we’re going to face adversity. As people in life, we would face adversity. What do you do? Do you sit and moan or do you go back and work and work your way back? And that’s a credit to him and his attitude, and it’s a good example for every individual in our room and in our organization.”
Binnington earned his third shutout of the season and 18th of his career on Friday after stopping all 20 shots he faced in goal.
The Blues will have a quick turnaround when they travel to Ohio on Saturday to face the Columbus Blue Jackets for the first time this season.
BLUE JACKETS The Columbus Blue Jackets (16-17-6) are entering Saturday night’s matchup coming off a 5-4 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday.
Forward James van Riemsdyk put the Blue Jackets on the board early in the opening period, however the Red Wings answered by scoring three consecutive goals to end the first. The Blue Jackets changed the narrative in the second, netting two tallies to tie the game.
Coming into the final period, the Red Wings capitalized on the power play to take the lead before van Riemsdyk scored his second on the night. Detroit sealed the game in the final 36 seconds with a goal from Jonatan Berggren.
The Blue Jackets acquired forward Sean Monahan in free agency this offseason. Monahan is third on the team in points with 37 (14 goals, 23 assists). Additionally, they acquired van Riemsdyk in free agency. In his 16th season in the League, van Riemsdyk has earned 641 points (317 goals, 324 assists) in 1,043 games.
Captain Boone Jenner suffered a preseason shoulder injury in the beginning of October. The Blue Jackets reported that Jenner received shoulder surgery soon after and is expected to miss five to six months, with a hopeful return date of March 1. In Jenner’s 715 games, he has 364 points (192 goals, 172 assists).
In the Blue Jackets’ 24 seasons in the NHL, they have made the playoffs six times, most recently in 2019-20 where they lost in the first round to the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games. Currently, they rank fifth in the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference.
