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| ST. LOUIS BLUES |
| 0–0–0 (0 points) |
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8:00 P.M. – SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15 ENTERPRISE CENTER ST. LOUIS, MO |
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Bally Sports Ohio ESPN+ (Out of Network) |
When the Columbus Blue Jackets and St. Louis Blues meet Saturday night at the Enterprise Center, both teams will be winless on the season.
The thing is, only one of those teams has played a regular season game.
After dropping their home opener Friday night, the Blue Jackets (0-2-0) seek win number one with Johnny Gaudreau in a Columbus sweater as they play guest to the Blues in their season opener.
The Blue Jackets have looked shaky, at best, to start the season. A 4-1 opening night loss in Carolina was followed up with a 5-2 loss to Tampa Bay, making it 9-3 in favor of the opposition through the first two games of the season. Defense has been particularly bad. The nine goals have come on a total of 82 shots, just one away from the most the club has given up through two games — they allowed 83 in the first two games of the 2001-02 season, when the Columbus goaltender was Ron Tugnutt (!).
| CBJ | SEASON STATS | STL |
|---|---|---|
| 1.50 | GOALS FOR | — |
| 4.50 | GOALS AGAINST | — |
| 0.0% | POWER PLAY | — |
| 75.0% | PENALTY KILL | — |
| 30.0 | SHOTS FOR | — |
| 41.0 | SHOTS AGAINST | — |
| 33.6% | CF% (EVEN) | — |
| 52.6% | FACEOFF % | — |
| PROJECTIONS | ||
| 31.1% | MONEYPUCK'S ODDS TO WIN | 68.9% |
| 32.0% | THE 538'S ODDS TO WIN | 68.0% |
| CAESAR'S BETTING ODDS: STL -225 | ||
RE: BLUES
The only team in the league to not play a regular season game yet this season, the Blues finally open their 2022-23 season Saturday by welcoming Columbus to town. A former division rival of the Blue Jackets, St. Louis enters the new year seeking a fifth consecutive playoff appearance and seemed poised to do just that.
Goalie Jordan Binnington, who struggled at times last season and was in a split role with now-Red Wings goalie Ville Husso, gets the nod for St. Louis. He'll have a solid defense in front of him, including Torey Krug, Justin Faulk, and Nick Leddy. The duo of Krug and Faulk allowed just 2.02 goals per 60 minutes last season. Combine that with a league-leading 4.22 goals for per 60 when they were the defensive pairing, and their net of +2.02 was the second-best combination in the NHL last year behind Cale Makar and Devon Toews.
STORYLINES
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EFENSE, BECAUSE THERE HASN'T BEEN ANY "D"
It's bad. It's really bad. Expectations were that the defense would be better than last season, but still a weak spot. So far, they somehow look worse than the 2021-22 season — when they allowed a franchise high 300 goals. Not one defender has looked up to the challenge in the first six periods of the year, with some on the 5th Line already clamoring for a lineup change. Nick Blankenburg getting into the lineup seems to be imminent, and at this rate, it might be fair for one to wonder just how much longer until rookie David Jiricek debuts for the Blue Jackets.
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GAUDREAU'S ENCORE
Gaudreau picked up the first goal of his Columbus career in Friday's loss, giving the Blue Jackets a brief lead in the opening minutes of the game. The over-capacity crowd at Nationwide Arena gave their new star a boisterous reception for his efforts. Can Gaudreau make duplicate that effort Saturday?
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THIRD TIME'S A CHARM?
Scratched in the first two games as a result of an injury, though serving as the backup Friday night, Elvis Merzlikins is (finally) expected to debut Saturday night. So, for the third time: The 2021-22 season was rough for Merzlikins. The 5th Line knows it, the organization knows it, and Elvis knows it. As he begins year one of a five-year contract that puts him over $5 million per year, the expectations for the Blue Jackets top goalie have never been higher. The team around him is improving, he's the unquestioned #1 between the pipes for the first time to start a season, and he's had an entire offseason to shake off a tough season both on and off the ice.
PROJECTED LINES*
Updated: 7:05am
| LW | C | RW | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Johnny Gaudreau | 38 | Boone Jenner | 17 | Justin Danforth |
| 59 | Yegor Chinakhov | 96 | Jack Roslovic | 93 | Jakub Voracek |
| 14 | Gus Nyquist | 34 | Cole Sillinger | 91 | Kent Johnson |
| 50 | Eric Robinson | 7 | Sean Kuraly | 24 | Mathieu Olivier |
| LD | RD | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Zach Werenski | 27 | Adam Boqvist |
| 4 | Vladislav Gavrikov | 2 | Andrew Peeke |
| 77 | Nick Blankenburg | 44 | Erik Gudbranson |
| Starting Goalie | Backup | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 90 | Elvis Merzlikins | 40 | Daniil Tarasov |
*SUBJECT TO CHANGE
