Game #18: Van Riemsdyk, Jiricek Enter Lineup As Blue Jackets Seek Spark Monday Night Versus Bruins

There are a pair of lineup changes for the Columbus Blue Jackets when they face the Boston Bruins on Monday night. 

One is innocuous enough: James van Riemsdyk, after three straight games as a healthy scratch, draws back into the lineup. 

The other is the reinsertion of David Jiricek into the defensive pairing, and that change is sure to have a lot of eyes on it.

Jiricek has been a healthy scratch in 12 of the team's first 17 games, playing less than ten minutes in his last two games (9:15 on November 5th and even less on November 9th). 

In speaking to the FanDuel Sports Network broadcast team of Jody Shelley and Steve Mears before Saturday's loss to the Montreal Canadiens, President of Hockey of Operations and General Manager Don Waddell explained Jiricek's absence with little coating.

"We haven't seen enough to keep him in (the lineup) on a regular basis."

Waddell added that a decision will need to be made on Jiricek "this week", particularly with Kent Johnson ready to be activated from injured reserve. Johnson is with the team but will not play Monday. "He's really close to playing," head coach Dean Evason said Monday.

For Jiricek, this could be his last chance to stick with the Blue Jackets this season and even an above-average game could be all for not, as Columbus has eight defensemen on the roster and five players locked into the lineup on an everyday basis. 

Here's what else to know when the Blue Jackets and Bruins face off from the TD Garden: 

• Dmitri Voronkov will again be on the Blue Jackets top line with Sean Monahan and Kirill Marchenko, and that line is matching the chemistry that Yegor Chinakhov had with Monahan and Marchenko to start the season. It's a small, four-game sample size, but 10-23-86 have a 4.54 expected goals per 60 in their brief time together, a 1.20 increase from Chinakhov's time with M&M. They also haven't been on the ice when the opposition scored in 5v5 play. 
   
• The Blue Jackets penalty kill has allowed a goal in four of the last five games, including in three straight games. Boston's power play is last in the league at 11.3% and is 0-for-17 over the last six games. They're desperate, so Columbus will need to be careful here.
   
• Monday's goalie matchup is Elvis Merzlikins versus Jeremy Swayman. Former Blue Jacket netminder Joonas Korpisalo will serve as the Boston backup. Swayman has struggled this season, posting a 3.35 goals against average and .888 save percentage in 13 starts.
   
• With Jiricek and van Riemsdyk in the lineup, Jordan Harris and Mikael Pyyhtia are scratched. For Pyyhtia, it's his first healthy scratch of the season. Kevin Labanc has been elevated to the second line, where he'll play with JVR and Adam Fantilli. Cole Sillinger centers the third line, with Yegor Chinakhov to his right and Justin Danforth on his left. Here are the full projected lineups: