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| SEATTLE KRAKEN |
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18-14-9 (45 points; .549%) ROSTER / SCHEDULE |
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7 P.M. – SATURDAY, JANUARY 13 NATIONWIDE ARENA COLUMBUS, OH |
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TELEVISION: Bally Sports Ohio ESPN+ (Out of Market) |
The 13-20-9 Blue Jackets host the 18-14-9 Kraken on Saturday in a matchup between two teams at the opposite end of streaks. Seattle has won its last eight games while the Blue Jackets have lost their last two and are 6-7-5 since the beginning of December.
The teams will meet for the fifth time, with Columbus winning both games in 2021-22 in overtime while the Kraken took both matchups in 2022-23 in regulation.
In the standings, the Kraken are tied with Edmonton for the second wild card spot in the Western Conference, while the Blue Jackets are 15th in the Eastern Conference.
Former Blue Jackets Oliver Bjorkstrand and Alex Wennberg will be returning to Columbus, as well.
Here's what to know when Columbus hosts Seattle for just the third time ever:
| SEA | SEASON STATS (NHL RANK) | CBJ |
|---|---|---|
| 2.78 (27th) | GOALS FOR | 2.98 (22nd) |
| 2.78 (9th) | GOALS AGAINST | 3.67 (30th) |
| 0 | GOAL DIFFERENTIAL | -0.69 |
| 20.7% (17th) | POWER PLAY | 14.5% (25th) |
| 80.9% (13th) | PENALTY KILL | 79.9% (16th) |
| 29.3 (24th) | SHOTS FOR | 29.2 (25th) |
| 29.7 (12th) | SHOTS AGAINST | 34.1 (30th) |
| 51.32% (13th) | xGF% (5v5) | 45.81% (28th) |
| 48.4% (24th) | FACE-OFF % | 47.7% (26th) |
| PROJECTIONS | ||
| ODDS OF CBJ WIN PER MONEYPUCK | 40.1% | |
| ESPN BET BETTING | SEA -165, CBJ +140 | |
| KRAKEN: LAST THREE GAMES | ||
| THU, 1/11 | @ Capitals | W, 4-1 |
| TUE, 1/9 | @ Sabres | W, 5-2 |
| THU, 1/4 | vs. Senators | W, 4-1 |
| KRAKEN: TEAM LEADERS | ||
| GOALS | Jared McCann | 14 |
| ASSISTS | Vince Dunn | 26 |
| POINTS | Vince Dunn | 34 |
TALKING POINTS: SEA
- After posting 24-33--57 and winning the Calder Trophy in 2022-23, Kraken center Matty Beniers is off to a slower start in his second full season, scoring 6-13--19 in 41 games, which puts him on pace for 12-26--38 this season. Beniers, the second overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, will join Kent Johnson (5th) and Cole Sillinger (12th) as other players from that draft playing in Saturday's contest.
- The aforementioned Bjorkstrand will represent the Kraken at the 2024 NHL All-Star game in Toronto. He's second on the team in goals (11), assists (20), and points (31), in 41 games. The Kraken acquired him from the Blue Jackets in July of 2022 for the 80th and 114th overall picks in the 2023 NHL Draft, the latter of which the Blue Jackets used to select Ottawa 67's forward Luca Pinelli.
TALKING POINTS: CBJ
- The main storyline in Columbus is the situation of goaltender Elvis Merzlikins, who spoke to the media on Friday. He is scheduled to be the backup on Saturday, meaning he'll dress for the first time since Jan. 2.
- Since Dec. 1, the Blue Jackets have the league's 3rd-worst penalty kill at 68.5% and are allowing four goals per game, which is second-worst on a league-worst 35 shots against per game.
BLUE JACKETS PROJECTED LINES
Updated: 7:05 a.m. // Subject to Change
| LW | C | RW | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Johnny Gaudreau | 4 | Cole Sillinger | 59 | Yegor Chinakhov |
| 91 | Kent Johnson | 11 | Adam Fantilli | 96 | Jack Roslovic |
| 42 | Alexandre Texier | 10 | Dmitri Voronkov | 86 | Kirill Marchenko |
| 16 | Brendan Gaunce | 17 | Justin Danforth | 52 | Emil Bemstrom |
| LD | RD | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 78 | Damon Severson | 27 | Adam Boqvist |
| 9 | Ivan Provorov | 2 | Andrew Peeke |
| 22 | Jake Bean | 44 | Erik Gudbranson |
| Starting Goalie | Backup | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | Daniil Tarasov | 90 | Elvis Merzlikins |
KRAKEN PROJECTED LINES
via dailyfaceoff.com // Subject to Change
| LW | C | RW | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 90 | Tomas Tatar | 10 | Matty Beniers | 7 | Jordan Eberle |
| 17 | Jaden Schwartz | 21 | Alex Wennberg | 13 | Brandon Tanev |
| 20 | Eeli Tolvanen | 37 | Yanni Gourde | 22 | Oliver Bjorkstrand |
| 52 | Tye Kartye | 19 | Jared McCann | 95 | Andre Burakovsky |
| LD | RD | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | Vince Dunn | 6 | Adam Larsson |
| 24 | Jamie Oleksiak | 3 | William Borgen |
| 8 | Brian Dumoulin | 4 | Justin Schultz |
| Starting Goalie | Backup | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | Joey Daccord | 60 | Chris Driedger |
