Game Preview: Leafs, Blue Jackets Battle At Nationwide On Saturday Night For Second Of Three December Meetings

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
16-8-6 (38 pts; .633%) ROSTER SCHEDULE
7:00 P.M. – SATURDAY, DECEMBER 23 NATIONWIDE ARENA  COLUMBUS, OH
TELEVISION: Bally Sports Ohio ESPN+ Power Play
ODDS & LINE:
ODDS OF CBJ WIN PER MONEYPUCK: 36%
TIPICO SPORTSBOOK: CBJ +195

The Columbus Blue Jackets played well enough for a second straight win Thursday night — but came up short in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Washington Capitals.

And no matter what the reason for the OTL may or may not have been (fans seem split on whether or not they support the extra time extracurriculars of Elvis Merzlikins), Thursday's game was another missed point in a season that seems to be full of opportunities that have slipped through the cracks.

When the Blue Jackets take the ice Saturday night to play the Toronto Maple Leafs, it'll serve as yet another reminder of why a full 60-minute effort is a must. It was just last week that Columbus allowed five third-period goals to Toronto, squandering a 5-0 final frame lead before Kent Johnson rescued his team in overtime to give the Blue Jackets a 6-5 win and avoid a historically embarrassing let-down.

Here's what to know when the puck drops at Nationwide Arena's center ice:

TALKING POINTS: TOR

• Remember that time, all the way back to Tuesday, when the Blue Jackets beat the Buffalo Sabres 9-4? Turns out, Buffalo got envious of that — and beat the Maple Leafs 9-3 on Thursday night. Hopefully Toronto doesn't develop a similar envy in their next game.
   
• We saw it last week: the Leafs have no problem scoring goals. Their 3.57 goals per game is 4th in the league and one good game away from second. The 3.43 goals they give up, though, is 26th in the league and one bad game away from 29th. Combined, the 7.00 goals scored between the two teams ranks second in the league behind only New Jersey, whose 7.03 figure is just barely ahead of them. In other words, Toronto plays in some high-scoring games. Given the roster, that's not a huge surprise.

TALKING POINTS: CBJ

• No Boone Jenner, no problem — when it comes to scoring. When it comes to the penalty kill, though? Big problem. The Blue Jackets gave up a power play goal for the fifth straight game Thursday, a stretch that has seen them kill just 50% of opposition power plays (6-of-12). That, to no surprise, is dead-last in the NHL over that stretch of time. 
   
• In what could be a continuing series with virtually no end, here's Saturday's "That Russian Line Is Pretty Good" fact: there are 78 lines in the NHL with 100+ minutes together this season. The trio of Yegor Chinakhov, Dimitri Voronkov, and Kirill Marchenko are tied for 4th in goal percentage, which is the percentage of goals scored by each team with those players on the ice. At 77.8% (seven goals for, two goals against), it's an indication of the strong two-way play from the young trio in 109 minutes together. A special shout-out to Marchenko: his 125 minutes with Jenner and Johnny Gaudreau checks in at 80% and third amongst the 78 pairings. 
   
• It's not a defenseman's job to score, but when they have a knack for it and go on a dry spell, it's worth pointing out. Zach Werenski hasn't put the puck past a goaltender yet this season. He scored an empty-netter October 20th in a 3-1 victory over the Calgary Flames, and that's been it. It's not for lack of trying, though: he has 85 shots, trailing only Adam Fantilli (87) and he's at 5.7 expected goals this season, a number that is tied with Voronkov (who has six goals) and surpasses Chinakhov (4.1 expected, nine actual), Patrik Laine (3.4 expected, six actual, get well soon), and Kent Johnson (2.2 expected, four actual). 

GAMEDAY NEWS & NOTES (Updated 2:15pm)

• Damon Severson is back. The Blue Jackets activated the defenseman in advance of Saturday's game after missing 15 games with an oblique injury suffered November 19th. Originally expected to miss six weeks, Severson comes back into the lineup about ten days early. In a corresponding move, the club put Nick Blankenburg on the injured reserved list, retroactive to Tuesday's game against Buffalo. Blankenburg is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury. 
   
• Severson comes in for Jake Bean and will be on the second pair, alongside Ivan Provorov. Those are the only changes to start the game, as forward pairings are expected to remain unchanged from Thursday's game, and Daniil Tarasov looks to get the start in net and will be backed up by Elvis Merzlikins.
   
• Betting odds have trended away from the Blue Jackets throughout the day. MoneyPuck gives them a 36% chance to win, down from 39% to start the day. Tipico Sportsbook has Columbus at +195, down from Saturday morning's +170. 
   
• Here are the full projected lineups: