The Columbus Blue Jackets have a lot of decisions to make during the team's three-games-in-four-nights stretch, which begins Tuesday night on the road against the St. Louis Blues.
Here's who and what to follow as the Blue Jackets preseason continues:
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| CBJ @ STL |
TUESDAY, 10/1/24
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One of the most interesting storylines that has developed in the preseason is the one of 20-year-old Denton Mateychuk. He has top-pairing defenseman written all over his future, but will he make the team out of camp? Time will tell, but the fact that he's in the lineup again Tuesday and will play back-to-back games is a good sign that the Blue Jackets are interested in seeing how he does in consecutive games. Is Matecyhuk one of the six best defenseman in the organization? The answer seems to be yes, but the real question the team is going to have to answer is if they want him to continue to develop (in Cleveland) or have they seen enough? Each game seems to make it harder and harder for them to not leave him in Columbus.
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Forwards Yegor Chinkahov and Dmitri Voronkov are both in the lineup Tuesday night, as well. Neither will be on the top line (that seems to be settled with Sean Monahan centering Kirill Marchenko and Boone Jenner), and neither are fourth-line players. So which one plays with Adam Fantilli on the second line and which one plays with Cole Sillinger on the third? Dunno. But these next three games (especially Tuesday's, with both in the lineup) should provide a glimpse of what the team is thinking.
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There's also the question of the 12th and 13th forward, with plenty of candidates slated to play against the Blues: Dylan Gambrell, Gavin Brindley, Trey Fix-Wolansky, James Malatesta, and Mikael Pyyhtia will all be in action, and really, any two (with Justin Danforth out) of the five could make it. A lot of off-ice factors could come into play on these decisions (for example: who needs waivers, who doesn't), but what happens on the ice will matter most.
- Elvis Merzlikins and Daniil Tarasov are going to be the goaltending tandem to start the season, but which one has the inside track? That's one question that the Blue Jackets won't get an answer for Tuesday, as the team is putting Jet Greaves and Zach Sawchenko between the pipes. It's highly likely that Tarasov and Merzlikins split the home-and-home Thursday and Friday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, though it still may be some time before there is a definitive number one goalie.
