NEWS
The NHL has released their three stars of the week and to no surprise Columbus Blue Jackets' Zach Werenski was named as the Second Star of the week.
Werenski was joined by Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson who was named the First Star and San Jose Sharks forward Macklin Celebrini who was named Third Star.
The Blue Jackets have announced the signing of veteran defenseman Brendan Smith to a one-year, two-way National Hockey League/American Hockey League contract for the 2025-26 season.
Per the Blue Jackets Roster report, Defenseman Dysin Mayo, who was recalled by Columbus on October 30th, has been sent back to Cleveland.
Mayo played in one game on November 5th against Calgary. He played 7:33 of ice time, took three shots, and was a minus-1.
Kirill Marchenko - Seeing a doctor today about an injury John Davidson called "a muscle injury." It isn't expected to be serious according to Davidson. Evason said he's seeing a doctor today.
Mathieu Olivier - Left last night's game and looked to be in discomfort. He was ruled out soon after. Evason said Olivier is also seeing a doctor. It's believed to be an upper body injury.
Boone Jenner - Suffered an injury last week. It was originally reported that he'd miss 4-5 weeks, but he is skating and Don Waddell told NHL Radio late last week that he'd be back a lot sooner.
Erik Gudbranson - Has missed the last 15 games and is on IR. Evason says he is skating and could be nearing a return.
According to reports, newly signed Brendan Smith is set to make his Columbus Blue Jackets debut tomorrow night against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Smith, 36, signed with the club yesterday after being cut by them in preseason from a professional tryout. The contract is a one-year, two-deal, worth $800,000.
Columbus Blue Jackets' rookie Luca Pinelli is set to make his NHL debut tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Pinelli, 20, is a native of Stoney Creek, Ontario has an awesome opportunity to play his NHL debut against the team that he grew up watching.
Zach Werenski:
- Not pleased that they lost the point
- Team is sick of blowing leads and losing in OT
- No time to dwell on the loss, need to move forward
- Praised Woll for his effort
- Team needs to work on getting a bigger cushion heading into the third
- Felt the team's process is good
- Liked Pinelli's confidence
“I’ve talked to both representations from both players (Fantilli and Jenner), along with some other not only free agents but restricted to guys and, you know, pretty much we’ve all agreed let’s play to the Olympic break. There’s no big rush, you know, from any end."
Initially, Minnesota and Columbus had talked about working together to maximize the talent both could land. According to that year’s rules, if a team lost a goalie in the draft, for example, it couldn’t lose a defenseman. And if a team lost a defenseman, it couldn’t lose another. So if the Blue Jackets wanted a certain blueliner from Pittsburgh, they could have told the Wild not to take a Penguins goalie ahead of time.
Sean Monahan:
- Tough to handle losing like that "losing sucks"
- When you go into the third with a lead, they need to find a way to bring it home
- Believes it is on those in the room to figure it out
- Felt the team didn't react well to the Penguins' early third period goal
- Team needs to do the little things to keep the puck out of their net
- Mentioned that their mindset should be, every time you step on the ice, you play to win the game
GAME PREVIEWS & RECAPS
Series History vs. The Capitals
- Columbus is 21-27-1-10 all-time, and 10-14-1-4 on the road vs. Washington.
- The Jackets are 6-5-1 at Capital One Arena in the last 12 games.
- The CBJ went 2-1-1 vs. the Caps last season.
- The Capitals won the first meeting of the season 5-1 on October 24th.
Denton Mateychuk(5) scored the only goal for Columbus, and Elvis Merzlikins got shelled in a 5-1 loss to the Washington Capitals on Monday night.
This one was hideous. There's no other way to put it. Burn the tape.
Series History vs. The Maple Leafs
- Columbus is 23-20-1 all-time, and 10-11-0 at home vs. Toronto.
- The Jackets are 6-2 in the last 8 against the Maple Leafs, and have scored 5-plus goals in every win.
- The Blue Jackets have won three straight against Toronto at NWA.
- The CBJ are 2-0 against the Leafs this season.
Zach Werenski(8) scored the only goal for the Blue Jackets, and Jet Greaves was phenomenal in a 2-1 OT loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night.
Stop me if you've heard this one before. The Blue Jackets blew a late third-period lead and then lost the game in overtime. This feels like a Groundhogs Day scene starring Bill Murray, except we are all Bill Murray.
Series History vs. The Penguins
- Columbus is 19-30-9 all-time, and 13-11-4 at home vs. Pittsburgh.
- The Jackets are 5-4-1 in the last 10 against the Pens overall, and 5-5 in the last 10 at home.
- The CBJ are 1-0 against the Pens this season.
Sean Monahan(3), Brendan Gaunce(1), and Zach Werenski(9) provided the offense for Columbus is a losing cause, while Jet Greaves could only stop 20 of 24 Penguins shots.
No, you're not imagining things. The Jackets did, in fact, blow yet another two-goal third-period lead.
Up Next: The Blue Jackets travel to New Jersey to take on the Devils.
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