Game Day #51: Cole Sillinger Returns To Lineup As Blue Jackets Face Golden Knights Thursday Night

Cole Sillinger will return to the lineup Thursday night when the Columbus Blue Jackets take the ice for the first time this week.

The game against the Vegas Golden Knights kicks off a four-game road trip for the Blue Jackets, and it's their first game since Saturday's overtime win against the Los Angeles Kings.

Sillinger missed three games with an upper body injury.

"When I was out, I got to watch from up above (in the press box), and you learn some things, you see the game from a different perspective," said Sillinger. "I thought that was helpful and beneficial for my game personally."

Getting Sillinger back into the lineup adds the 21-year-old's seven goals and 16 assists in 45 games this season, but it's more about the return of a player that can play in any situation: even-strength, on the power play, and on the penalty kill. 

With Sean Monahan still out and time added to his original anticipated return, Sillinger will be a key middle-six player over the Blue Jackets' final six games before the two-week break for the Four Nations Face-Off.

Here's what else to know as Columbus has their final 10 p.m. puck-drop of the season:

• RE: KNIGHTS
  Ilya Samsonov will be Vegas' starting netminder. He's 12-6-1 in his 19 starts this season, posting an above-average goals against average of 2.78 but a below-average save percentage of .898. ... Pavel Dorofeyev is in the midst of a breakout season. The 24-year-old Russian leads the Knights in goals (22), including three in his last five games. ... After beginning the month with three straight wins, Vegas now has just three wins in their last ten games. 
   
• ANOTHER START FOR ELVIS
  Elvis Merzlikins has been playing some of his best hockey in years over the last number of weeks, with his goals against average of 2.95 under 3 for the first time since the 2020-21 season. He's won six of his last seven starts with a .917 save percentage in those games.
   
• 100 FOR MO'
  Thursday's contest is the 100th NHL game for Adam Fantilli. He has 26 goals and 29 assists for 55 points through the first 99 games, but has come into his own lately since taking Monahan's spot as the top center on the depth center. Fantilli has seven goals and six assists (13 points) in his 12 games in January thus far, and has averaged over 19 minutes per game since then — including a career high 25:58 in Saturday's win.
   
• LINEUPS & PROJECTIONS
  Sillinger's return to the lineup puts the Blue Jackets back in a traditional 12 forward/6 defenseman set; they had playing with 11/7 when Sillinger was out. Here are the complete lineup projections: