 |
| NASHVILLE PREDATORS |
46-29-5 (97 pts; .606%)
|
|
|
|
8:00 P.M. – SATURDAY, APRIL 13 BRIDGESTONE ARENA NASHVILLE, TN |
|
|
|
TELEVISION: Bally Sports Ohio ESPN+ Power Play (Out of Market) |
The second-to-last game of another long season for the Columbus Blue Jackets comes Saturday night when they face the playoff-bound Nashville Predators in the Music City.
It will mark the end of a four-game road trip for the Blue Jackets, who lost each of the first three games by three or more goals. Included in that was a 4-0 shutout loss to the Florida Panthers and former Blue Jacket netminder Sergei Bobrovsky.
The Predators defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 5-1 in Chicago on Friday night. Columbus will be facing a team on the second half of a back-to-back for the first time since February 25th and for just the second time in 2024. The Blue Jackets have had seven back-to-backs in the 2024 calendar year, going 1-6-0 in the second half of those games.
Here's what else to know as the Blue Jackets wear the white sweaters for the final time this season:
| COLUMBUS | SEASON STATS | NASHVILLE |
|---|---|---|
| 2.80 (26th) | GOALS FOR | 3.23 (12th) |
| 3.61 (31st) | GOALS AGAINST | 3.00 (14th) |
| 15.3% (30th) | POWER PLAY | 21.1% (16th) |
| 76.8 % (25th) | PENALTY KILL | 76.9% (24th) |
| 30.0 (20th) | SHOTS FOR | 32.2 (8th) |
| 34.3 (31st) | SHOTS AGAINST | 30.4 (20th) |
| 47.1% (27th) | FACE-OFF | 50.5% (15th) |
| NASHVILLE'S LAST THREE GAMES | ||
| SUN, 4/7 | @ Devils | SOW, 3-2 |
| TUE, 4/9 | vs. Jets | OTL, 4-3 |
| FRI, 4/12 | @ Blackhawks | W, 5-1 |
| NASHVILLE TEAM LEADERS | ||
| GOALS | Filip Forsberg | 46 |
| ASSISTS | Roman Josi | 60 |
| POINTS | Filip Forsberg | 92 |
| ODDS & PROJECTIONS | ||
| ODDS OF CBJ WIN PER MONEYPUCK: | 29.8% | |
| TIPICO SPORTSBOOK ODDS: | CBJ +240 | |
TALKING POINTS: NSH
-
The Predators have clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs but still could drop from the first to second wildcard spot. A win Saturday night would go a long way to securing (but can't mathematically clinch) the top wildcard spot.
-
Filip Forsberg had his 10th career hat trick in the Preds' Friday night win over the Blackhawks, two of which came on the Nashville power play. His first goal of the night — his 44th on the season — broke the club record for most goals in a season.
- Former Blue Jacket Gus Nyquist is having arguably the best season of his career in 2023-24 with the Preds. After never having 40 assists in the first 11 campaigns of his NHL tenure, Nyquist is currently at 50 this season — so far. His 72 points are a career-high, as well.
TALKING POINTS: CBJ
-
The 4-0 loss Thursday night was the Blue Jackets third consecutive loss by three or more goals — the first time this season they've been defeated by 3+ in three straight. It happened twice last season, including a particularly ugly five-game streak in November 2022. Progress?
-
Zach Werenski remains one assist away from breaking the club record for assists in a season by a defenseman. He's tied with James Wisniewski for 44. Werenski also remains just four points behind Seth Jones single season record for points by a defenseman, with Jones racking up 57 points in the 2017-18 season.
- Lines are based on Thursday's game and are subject to change:
| LW | C | RW | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Johnny Gaudreau | 10 | Dmitri Voronkov | 92 | Alex Nylander |
| 42 | Alexandre Texier | 4 | Cole Sillinger | 86 | Kirill Marchenko |
| 82 | Mikael Pyythia | 7 | Sean Kuraly | 24 | Mathieu Olivier |
| 67 | James Malatesta | 16 | Brendan Gaunce | 17 | Justin Danforth |
| LD | RD | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Zach Werenski | 78 | Damon Severson |
| 9 | Ivan Provorov | 44 | Erik Gudbranson |
| 77 | Nick Blankenburg | 55 | David Jiricek |
| Starting Goalie | Back-Up Goalie | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 73 | Jet Graves | 32 | Malcolm Subban |
