Game Day #39: Blue Jackets Face Red Wings For The First Time This Season As Columbus Looks To Go Above .500

Here we are in January, and here we are with the Columbus Blue Jackets just two points out of a wild card spot.

And now that the calendar has flipped to 2025 and the season is nearing the halfway point, it's not too soon to say it:

The Blue Jackets are in a playoff race.

They'll look to help their positioning and get above .500 on Thursday night when they face the Detroit Red Wings and their new coach, Todd McLellan. This will be his first road game since taking over the job on December 26th.

McLellan was a finalist last summer for Columbus' head coaching vacancy before it ultimately went to Dean Evason.

No one is upset at that decision, especially when the Blue Jackets take the ice at Nationwide Arena.

Columbus continued their home-ice dominance Tuesday night, ending the 2024 calendar year with another home win — this one a 4-3 shootout victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.

The victory moved the Blue Jackets to a12-4-3 record at Nationwide. In the eastern conference, only the Toronto Maple Leafs (15) and Hurricanes (14) have more home wins.

The Blue Jackets have fired the cannon 76 times in those 19 home contests, an average of exactly 4.00 per game. No other team has more goals at home; Carolina and Vegas are tied for second at 72.

Here's what else to know when the Red Wings and Blue Jackets meet at Nationwide for the only time this season:

• RE: WINGS
  After dropping four straight games, the Red Wings had consecutive 4-2 victories over the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday and Tuesday, respectively. Those two games ended a four-game homestand for Detroit. ... Over the last three games, the Wings have four power play goals on ten attempts, bolstering them into the top ten in the NHL. ... Cam Talbot gets the start for Detroit tonight. He's lost his last starts, but despite that, is still sub-3 in goals against (2.98) and above .900 (.906) in saves.
   
• GET YOUR MONNY'S WORTH
  The Blue Jackets have relied heavily on veteran Sean Monahan this season. In his first season with Columbus, Monahan is averaging 19:30 of ice time per night — the second highest seasonal average of his career and just seven seconds from his highest. In the four games where the Blue Jackets have went with 11 forwards, Monahan's role has been even larger: he has two goals, six assists, and an average of 20:34 per night.
   
• POWER PLAY POTENTIAL
  The Columbus power-play has been clicking as of late, and it now goes against a Detroit team that is 31st in the league on the penalty kill, at just 69.6%. If the Blue Jackets can get opportunities and draw penalties, it would greatly behoove them.
   
• LINEUPS & PROJECTIONS
  If it ain't broke, don't fix it. For the fifth straight game, there are no lineup changes, meaning the Blue Jackets are again going with 11 forwards and seven defensemen. Elvis Merzlikins is in net, backed up by Daniil Tarasov. Here are the complete projections: