The Columbus Blue Jackets moved to 4-2-0 in the preseason on Tuesday night with a 3-1 win over the St. Louis Blues, who had a majority of their regular season lineup on the ice.
With just that and two other games remaining before Columbus' regular season starts, the contest was a chance for 'fringe' Blue Jacket players to state their case to make the team.
For the most part, they delivered.
Here's what stood out from the exhibition dub in St. Louis:
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| CBJ: 3, STL: 1 |
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In Tuesday's preview of what to look for in the game, it was noted that Denton Mateychuk was playing in back-to-back games on back-to-back nights — somewhat of a rarity in the preseason. Head coach Dean Evason and his staff must've liked what they seen, as Mateychuk played a team-leading 23:07 and saw time on both the power play (though Columbus had only one chance) and penalty kill. A deeper dive into the numbers indicate that the 20-year-old was the best player on the ice for the Blue Jackets:
Matecyhuk was also the top-rated Columbus skater Monday night.#NHL GameScore Impact Card for Columbus Blue Jackets on 2024-10-01:#CBJ pic.twitter.com/weoPO7WvvH
— HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) October 2, 2024
Yes, he can be sent to Cleveland without waivers. Yes, he's very young. No, Cleveland would not hurt him. But the Blue Jackets have to love what they're seeing out of the young defenseman and he's skyrocketed to the top of the blueline prospect list for the organization. Don't be surprised if he's done enough to force the Blue Jackets hand here and put him on the opening night roster.
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The preview also mentioned that it was a big game for fringe players, including Dylan Gambrell, Gavin Brindley, Trey Fix-Wolansky, James Malatesta, and Mikael Pyyhtia. Brindley scored what would be the game-winning goal for the Blue Jackets and has looked good throughout a majority of camp and the preseason. The rest didn't do much in the win over the Blues, and two of those names 1 Fix-Wolansky and Malatesta — are now heading for Cleveland as of Wednesday afternoon.
That leaves Gambrell, Brindley, and Pyyhtia — as well as Owen Sillinger, who didn't play Tuesday night — in the conversation to snag the remaining roster spots. Close race.Roster moves from #CBJ today:
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) October 2, 2024
- F Luca Del Bel Belluz and James Malatesta, D Cole Clayton and Stanislav Svozil, G Zach Sawchenko loaned to CLE.
- F Jake Gaudet returned to CLE.
- F Trey Fix-Wolansky on waivers to be assigned to CLE.
Roster is at 32 players (19 F, 10 D, 3 G).
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The competition between Yegor Chinakhov and Dmitri Voronkov for the second-line right wing spot remains close. Chinakhov scored on the power play, but Voronkov had the assist on it. These two will probably be interchangeable once the season starts, though they provide different types of value to the club.
- The Blue Jackets have two preseason games remaining: a home-and-home against the Pittsburgh Penguins that happens Thursday night (in Columbus) and Friday. With the roster now down to 29 skaters (plus three goalies) and rosters across the league being trimmed, these final two games should be the most competitive of the two-week marathon that is the exhibition season.
