COLORADO AVALANCHE NOTES:
UPCOMING GAMES
Date Opponent Time (MT) TV Radio
Sat, Nov. 5 *at Columbus Noon Altitude 92.5
- – In Tampere, Finland (NHL Global Series)
Thu, Nov. 10 NASHVILLE 7 p.m. Altitude 92.5
Sat, Nov. 12 CAROLINA 7 p.m. Altitude 92.5
LAST GAME – Nov. 4 (Colorado 6, Columbus 3)
Finland native Mikko Rantanen tallied a hat trick and four points to lead the Avalanche to a 6-3 victory over the Blue Jackets in the first game of the 2022 NHL Global series in Tampere, Finland … Nathan MacKinnon added four assists, Cale Makar had a goal and one helper as the Avs won their first regular-season game outside of North America in franchise history … Alexandar Georgiev made 36 saves
SF: 36 SA: 39 PP: 2-5 PK: 6-7
TONIGHT’S GAME
COLORADO vs. COLUMBUS
8:15 p.m. local time / 12:15 p.m. MT
Altitude / 92.5
TV: Marc Moser (play-by-play), Mark Rycroft (analyst), Kyle Keefe (reporter)
Radio: Conor McGahey
The Colorado Avalanche takes on the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second and final game of the 2022 NHL Global Series in Tampere, Finland … Colorado won the first matchup 6-3 last night … The Avs will fly home tomorrow, nearly two weeks after they left Denver.
FINNISH FIREWORKS
Led by Mikko Rantanen’s hat trick, the Avalanche beat the Blue Jackets 6-3 last night in game one of the 2022 Global Series … Rantanen’s hat trick was just the third outside of North America in NHL history, while Nathan MacKinnon set a new record for the most assists in a single game outside of North America with four …. The Avalanche’s six goals set an NHL record for a single game outside of North America.
HAT TRICKS SCORED OUTSIDE NORTH AMERICA
3 – Mikko Rantanen (COL), Nov 4, 2022 vs. Columbus (2022 Global Series)
3 – Patrik Laine (WPG), Nov. 1, 2018 at Florida (2018 Global Series)
3 – Theo Fleury (CGY), Oct. 10, 1998 at San Jose (GAME ONe Japan ’98)
MOST GOALS, GAME, OUTSIDE NORTH AMERICA
6 – Colorado, 2022 Global Series vs. Columbus (Nov. 4, 2022)
5 – Tampa Bay, 2019 Global Series vs. Buffalo (Nov. 9, 2019)
5 – New Jersey, 2018 Global Series vs. Edmonton (Oct. 6, 2018)
5 – Phoenix, 2010 Premiere Series vs. Boston (Oct. 9, 2010)
5 – St. Louis, 2009 Premiere Series vs. Detroit (Oct. 3, 2009)
5 – Calgary, GAME ONe Japan ’98 at San Jose (Oct. 10, 1998)
MOST ASSISTS GAME OUTSIDE NORTH AMERICA
4 – Nathan MacKinnon (COL) Nov. 4, 2022 vs. Columbus (2022 Global Series)
3 – Dustin Byfuglien (WPG) Nov. 1, 2018 at Florida (2018 Global Series)
3 – Blake Wheeler (WPG), Nov. 1, 2018 at Florida (2018 Global Series)
TERVETULOA TO FINLAND
The Avalanche are playing two games against the Columbus Blue Jackets this weekend as part of the NHL Global Series … The Avs spent three days in Helsinki before heading to Tampere on Thursday … The Avalanche’s roster includes Finnish forwards Mikko Rantanen (Nouisianen) and Artturi Lehkonen (Turku) as well as goaltending coach Jussi Parkkila who hails from right here in Tampere … Colorado’s emergency goalie on this trip is fellow Fin Justus Annunen (Kempele) .. This is the second time that Colorado has played regular season games in Europe, as the club faced the Ottawa Senators in the 2017 NHL Global Series in Stockholm, Sweden … The Avalanche is just the second defending Stanley Cup champion to play a regular-season game outside of North America, joining the Anaheim Ducks on Sept. 29-30, 2007 in London, England against the Kings.
THAT’S THE POWER OF LOVE
Colorado is 13-for-33 (39.4%) so far on the power play, best in the NHL … The club recorded a 39.3 success rate (11-28) in October, the second-best mark in a single month since relocating to Denver (minimum five games), trailing only the 40.0% in November 2018 … The Avalanche’s power play scored at a 32.8% clip during the 2022 playoffs, the highest rate on record (since 1977-78) by an NHL team that played at least 20 games … During the 2021-22 regular season, Colorado finished seventh in power-play percentage (24.0%) and led all teams in power-play goals (67) … It marked the Avalanche’s fourth top-10 finish in the last five seasons.
BACK-TO-BACK
The Avs are finishing their fourth of 13 back-to-back games tonight against the Blue Jackets … Colorado is 2-2-0 in the first game of a back-to-back and 1-2-0 in the second … The Avalanche posted a 15-5-2 (.727) combined record in back-to-back games last season, the second-best mark in the NHL behind only Minnesota (.732, 19-6-3) … The Avs finished 7-3-1 in the first game and 8-2-1 in the second (.773), with only Tampa (10-0-2, .917) posting a better record in the second half of a back-to-back.
AVALANCHE & BLUE JACKETS
The Avalanche and Blue Jackets face off for the 2022 NHL Global Series … Tonight’s game wraps up the season series for 2022-23 after Colorado won 6-3 here last night in Tampere… Last year’s two meetings in Denver and Columbus were also close to each other and at the same time of year, as the Blue Jackets beat the Avalanche 5-4 in OT on Nov. 3, 2021 in Denver and 4-2 on Nov. 6, 2021 in Ohio.
ALL-TIME SERIES
2022-23: 1-0-0
Last Season: 0-1-1
Home: 0-0-1
Away: 0-1-0
All-Time: 41-17-6
H: 22-9-2
A: 19-8-4
SCHEDULE
Nov. 4 vs. CBJ (W, 6-3)
Nov. 5 @ CBJ
I HEAR THE TRAIN A COMING, IT’S ROLLING ROUND THE BEND….
Valeri Nichushkin leads the team with seven goals and is tied for first with 12 points (7g/5a) in seven games … Val and Nathan MacKinnon in 2018-19 (also seven) are the only Avalanche players to score seven goals in the first seven team games of the season … MacKinnon had eight goals through eight contests that year … Val scored in each of the first four ROAD games this year, one shy of a franchise record … He scored a goal in each of the first four games, a career long goal streak and tied for the third-longest streak to begin a season in franchise history behind MacKinnon (six games in 2018-19) and Mats Sundin (five games in 1992-93).
BEST SINCE 2019-20
The Avalanche are 142-56-20 (.697) since the start of the 2019-20 season, the most wins, points and best points percentage in the NHL … Only Tampa (49) has more playoff wins during that span
MOST WINS SINCE 2019-20 POINTS % SINCE 2019-20 PLAYOFF WINS SINCE 2019-20
Colorado 142 Colorado .697 Tampa Bay 49
Boston 138 Boston .685 Colorado 32
Tampa Bay 136 Carolina .676 NY Islanders 25
Florida 136 Florida .670 Vegas 23
Carolina 135 Tampa Bay .662 Montreal 19
CLIMBING THE FRANCHISE RECORD BOOKS
Erik Johnson played his 660th game as a member of the Avalanche on Oct. 22 in Las Vegas, passing Cody McLeod 659) for eighth place on the franchise’s all-time games played list … Samuel Girard picked up one assist in that game against the Golden Knights, breaking a tie with Alexei Gusarov (121) for sole possession of ninth place among Avalanche/Nordiques defensemen in career helpers … With a pair of goals on Oct. 19, Mikko Rantanen passed Alex Tanguay (167) for 10th place on the franchise’s all-time goals list … Cale Makar has 47 career multi-point games, tied with Rob Blake for the fourth most by a defenseman in franchise history.
GETTING OFFENSIVE
Colorado averaged a league-best 4.25 goals/game during the 2022 playoffs, the highest by an team that played at least 10 games in a postseason since 1987-88 (Edmonton 4.67, Detroit 4.31) … The Avalanche finished fourth in the NHL with 308 goals (3.76 per game) during the 2021-22 regular season, surpassing the 300-mark for only the second time since relocating to Denver (326 in 1995-96) … The Avs had four 80-point scorers, most in the NHL and tied for the most in franchise history (1981-82 Nordiques) … Colorado had seven 20-goal scorers, second in the NHL (St. Louis, nine) and the club’s most 20-goal scorers since relocating to Denver.
D-LIGHTFUL
Colorado’s defensemen have combined for 30 points (5g/25a) this year, tied for the NHL lead … The Avs defense produced 64 goals last season, a franchise record and the most by any team since the 1992-93 Capitals (94) … The Avalanche’s blueline also lead all teams in points with a franchise-record 238, the most since the 1995-96 Red Wings had 240 … Colorado’s defensemen finished with 69 points (18g/51a) during the playoffs, the most by any blueline in a four-round postseason since the 1984-85 Oilers (77).
SCHEDULE NOTES
The Avs will play 26 games against their division foes, meeting Arizona, Dallas, Nashville, St. Louis Winnipeg four times each (two home/away) and Chicago (two home/one away) and Minnesota (one home/two away) three times apiece … Colorado will play 24 games versus the Pacific Division (three times each) and 32 against teams from the Eastern Conference (one home/away).
ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH; AVS WIN STANLEY CUP
The Avalanche won their third Stanley Cup championship in 2022 following 1996 and 2001 … Colorado claimed its title by going 16-4 in the postseason, which included a pair of sweeps and defeating the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Lightning in six games during the Final … The Avs became the sixth team to win a Cup with four or fewer postseason losses since 1987 when the NHL went to four rounds of best-of-seven … And of those six only one team had fewer losses, the 1988 Oilers (two) … The Avalanche did not lose consecutive games all playoffs TAKE ME
HOME TONIGHT
The 2021-22 Avalanche finished their best home season in franchise history with a 32-5-4 record (68 points) … Colorado tied Florida for the league lead in home points, ending with the most home points in the NHL for the second straight season after tying Penguins for league lead with 46 in 2020-21 … The Avs are just the third team over the last 30 years to post the league’s best home record in back-to-back seasons (outright or tie), joining the 2016 and 2017 Capitals and the 2007 and 2008 Red Wings … Colorado went 30-3-3 over its last 36 at Ball Arena … the Avs posted an 18-game home winning streak from Nov. 11–Jan. 30, the fifth longest run in NHL history … The club had a franchise record 22-game home point streak (20-0-2) from Oct. 30–Feb. 10, the NHL’s longest since 2013-14 (Anaheim, 20-0-2) … Colorado recently completed its best 60-game home stretch in franchise history going 49-5-6 (.867) from March 10, 2021 to October 19, 2022.
ALL I DO IS WIN WIN WIN NO MATTER WHAT
The Avalanche equaled the NHL record for the most combined regular season/playoff wins with 72 (56 regular season, 16 playoff), a feat only three teams in NHL history had achieved before … The 2021-22 Avalanche joined the 1995-96 Red Wings, 1983-84 Oilers and 1976-77 Canadiens on that list
RECORD REGULAR SEASON
The 2021-22 Avalanche set a franchise record with 56 wins and 119 points en route to winning their second straight division title and 11th since moving to Denver (13th in franchise history) … It marked the club’s first back-to-back division championships since their NHL-record run of nine straight from 1994-95 to 2002-03 … The Avs clinched the conference’s top spot despite facing a 10-point deficit behind the No. 1 seed on Dec. 3 … The last team to win their conference after overcoming a deficit of 10 or more points was the Rangers in 2014-15 (13) … After sweeping a back-to-back from Arizona on Jan. 15, the Avalanche remained in first place in the West over the final 106 days of the regular season … During a span of over two months from Feb 10–April 19, Colorado was first in the entire NHL for all but one day (68 out of 69)
WINS, FRANCHISE HISTORY POINTS, FRANCHISE HISTORY
56 2021-22 119 2021-22
52 2000-01 118 2000-01
52 2013-14 112 2013-14
ROAD, SWEET ROAD
The Avalanche finished a league-best 9-1 on the road during the 2022 postseason, tied for the fewest road losses by a Stanley Cup champion since 1987 (the 2012 Kings and 1995 Devils were both 10-1) … Colorado earned all four series-clinching wins on the road, including Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final in Tampa Bay … Colorado won its first seven away games to start these playoffs, matching its longest road playoff winning streak in franchise history (1999) and equaling the second longest such streak in NHL history
AINT NO MOUNTAIN HIGH, AINT NO VALLEY LOW
Colorado’s Stanley Cup championship came five years after a last-place finish in 2016-17 …. The Avs became the fifth team in the expansion era (1967-68) to win a title within five years of a last place finish and the first since the 2009 Penguins … Colorado won the Presidents’ Trophy the previous year in 2020-21, becoming the first NHL team to go from worst to first overall in four seasons or less since the Bruins in 1970-71
DOWN BUT NEVER OUT
Ten of the Avalanche’s wins during the 2022 postseason were earned in come-from-behind fashion, including four third-period comebacks … Colorado’s 10 comeback wins tied the 2009 Penguins for the most in NHL history … The Avs trailed in all four of their series-clinching victories, the first team in NHL history to do so
MAGIC YEAR FOR MAKAR
After becoming the first player in franchise history to win the Norris Trophy, Makar followed that up by winning the Conn Smythe as playoff MVP … At 23 years, 239 days, he became the youngest defenseman in 52 years to win the Conn Smythe and just the third overall to do so at age 23 or younger, joining Bobby Orr with the 1970 Bruins (22 years, 51 days) and Serge Savard with the 1969 Canadiens (23 years, 102 days) … Makar won the Conn Smythe just five days after receiving his first Norris Trophy … He became the third player to win both awards in the same season, following Orr in 1970 and Nicklas Lidstrom in 2002 … Makar led the Avalanche and all NHL defensemen with 29 points (8g/21a) in 20 games, the fourth-highest total by a defenseman in Stanley Cup Playoff history … Only Paul Coffey (37) with the 1985 Oilers, Brian Leetch (34) with the 1994 Rangers and Al MacInnis (31) with the 1989 Flames had more.
SUPER JOE ACHIEVES RARE FIRST
General Manager (now President) Joe Sakic, who captained the Avalanche to a pair of titles in 1996 and 2001, became the first individual in league history to win a Stanley Cup as a captain and GM with the same organization … He was just the third to win a championship as a player and general manager with the same franchise, joining Serge Savard of the Canadiens and Milt Schmidt of the Bruins
IN BEDNAR WE TRUST
Jared Bednar is beginning his seventh season as the Avalanche’s head coach … Hired on Aug. 25, 2016, he is the third-longest tenured coach in the NHL behind Jon Cooper (March 25, 2013) and Mike Sullivan (Dec. 12, 2015) … Jared led the 2021-22 Avalanche to their most successful regular season in franchise history (56-19-7, 119 points) and continued that into the postseason with a 16-4 playoff mark en route to capturing the 2022 Stanley Cup … Bednar, who won a Calder Cup with the Lake Erie Monsters in 2016 and a Kelly Cup with the South Carolina Stingrays in 2009, became the first individual to win a championship in the NHL, AHL and ECHL as a head coach … He is the winningest coach in Avalanche history with a 245-172-47 (.579) regular season record … Bednar owns a 40-22-1 (.635) record in 63 postseason games, the best playoff winning percentage among active coaches and the third highest all time (min 50 GP) behind Glen Sather (.706), Toe Blake (.689).
TIP OF CAP
Gabriel Landeskog enters his 12th NHL season and 11th as team captain … Landeskog was the youngest captain in NHL history when he assumed the role at 19 years, 286 days on Sept. 4, 2012, a title he held for four years before Connor McDavid was given the ‘C’ by Edmonton at 19 years, 266 days on Oct. 5, 2016 … Landeskog is the second-longest serving captain in franchise history behind only Joe Sakic (17 seasons, 16 consecutive) … Only three players have been captain of their current teams longer:
Sidney Crosby (PIT) 16th season (since 2007-08)
Jonathan Toews (CHI) 15th season (since 2008-09)
Alex Ovechkin (WSH) 14th season (since 2009-10)
Gabriel Landeskog (COL) 11th season (since 2012-13)
MILE HIGH MAINSTAY
Erik Johnson begins his 15th NHL season and 13th with the Avalanche … His 13 seasons rank fourth in franchise history behind only Joe Sakic (20), Adam Foote (17) and Milan Hejduk (14), with Foote the only other defenseman on that list … Johnson is the longest current tenured athlete of any of Denver’s four major sports teams, followed by Gabriel Landeskog and Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon (both 12 seasons).
2022-23 AVALANCHE TRANSACTIONS
Oct. 22 – Martin Kaut and Jayson Megna reassigned to the Colorado Eagles (AHL)
Oct. 23 – Mikhail Maltsev and Martin Kaut recalled from the Colorado Eagles (AHL)
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS NOTES;
Nov. 5, 2022 Game No. 12 (3-8-0, 6 pts.)
vs Colorado Avalanche (5-4-1, 11 pts.), Nokia Arena Home Game No. 7 (2-4-0, 4 pts.) The Blue Jackets Press Box website, which includes game notes, stats, releases and video/audio clips as well as the 2022-23 Media Guide can be accessed at bluejackets.com/pressbox. Follow @BlueJacketsPR on Twitter for comprehensive information and updates on the team.
THE LAST GAME: NOV. 4, 2022 – CBJ 3 at COL 6
CBJ Goal Scorers: PP – Voracek (1), Laine (2), Kuraly (2)
COL Goal Scorers: O’Connor (2), PP – Compher (1), Rantanen (5), PP – Rantanen (6), Makar (1), EN – Rantanen (7)
Goalies: CBJ – Merzlikins (30/35; 57:23); COL – Georgiev (36/39; 60:00)
CBJ PP: 1/7; PK: 3/5 | Shots: CBJ: 39 / COL: 36
3 Stars: 1. Rantanen, COL; 2. MacKinnon, COL; 3. Laine, CBJ
Noteworthy: CBJ lost 4th consecutive game… CBJ trailed 3-0 in the 2nd period, but scored 3 consecutive goals to tie the game with 17:28 left in the 3rd period… COL scored 3 unanswered goals (1 ENG) in the final 11:06 to win… CBJ notched their 1st PPG of the season.. CBJ won a season high 52-of 81 faceoffs (64.2 pct.) and Roslovic won a career-high 20 faceoffs (20-of-25; 80.0 pct.)… Tampere native Laine recorded his 1st multi-point game of the season (1-1-2)… Jenner tallied his 4th assist of the season in his 600th career NHL game.
OhioHEALTH INJURY REPORT
Luoto (lower body); Placed on Injured/Non-Roster (Oct. 10); (11 games)
Danforth (torn labrum); Placed on Injured Reserve (Oct. 25); 6 months; (5 games)
Boqvist (broken foot); Placed on IR (Oct. 26); 6 weeks; (3 games)
TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 39
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Nov. 4 Activated Blankenburg off IR and assigned Bayreuther to Cleveland (AHL)
Oct. 30 Recalled Korpisalo from Cleveland (AHL)
Oct. 29 Activated Korpisalo off the Injured/Non-Roster list and loaned him to Cleveland (AHL) and placed Blankenburg on IR
retroactive to Oct. 23
TONIGHT’S GAME BROADCAST INFO
2pm ET | Bally Sports Ohio | 105.7 FM
AGAINST THE AVALANCHE
2022-23 Series: 0-1-0 (0-0-0 vs. COL)
2021-22 Series: 2-0-0 (1-0-0 vs. COL)
All-Time Series: 22-36-1-5 (11-16-1-3 vs. COL)
Last 10 (Overall | Home): 6-4-0 | 5-3-2
All-Time GF/GA: 144/212
All-Time SF/SA: 1,923/1,959
All-Time PP: 28-of-230
All-Time PK: 186-of-242
SEASON SERIES LEFT: Series complete.
NOTED (Team Highlights vs. COL)
CBJ are 5-3-0 in last 8 meetings against COL and 13-7-2 vs. the club since 3/1/12… CBJ have collected points in 18 of past 26 games of series (14-8-4)… CBJ were 1 of 2 teams to go without a loss to COL in 2021-22 (WSH)… Winning team has scored at least 4 goals in 7 of last 8 games in series… CBJ are 4-1-1 in last 6 home games of the series… Most goals scored at CBJ: 5 – 4x (MR: 10/9/18)… Most goals allowed at CBJ: 5 – 7x (MR: 2/24/12).
NOTED (Player Highlights vs. COL)
Chinakhov notched his 1st career point with 2 assists on 11/6/21 vs. COL… Gaudreau recorded his 200th career point on 3/27/17 vs. COL… Jenner skated in his 600th career game on 11/4/22 at COL… Nyquist collected 100th career NHL point (assist) on 2/5/15 at COL and skated in 500th career NHL game on 4/6/19 vs. COL… Werenski became franchise all-time leading scorer from blueline passing Klesla (42) on 11/9/19 at COL.
SCORING NOTABLES vs. COL
•Gaudreau – 8-10-18 in 22 career GP, including 3-7-10 in his last 10 contests after picking up an assist on Friday
•Jenner – 6-6-12 in 15 career GP, including points in 4-straight games played (1-3-4).
•Laine – 6-12-18 in 18 career GP, including multiple points in three consecutive contests played (1-5-6).
•Voracek – 7-17-24 in 30 career GP, including points in each of his last six matchups (1-6-7) after scoring a goal on Friday.
GOING GLOBAL
On Friday the Blue Jackets and 2022 Stanley Cup Champion Colorado Avalanche faced off in the first of a pair of 2022-23 regular-season games at Nokia Arena in Tampere, Finland as part of the 2022 Global Series, with the Avalanche earning a 6-3 victory. The teams close out the home-and-home series on Saturday, Nov. 5, completing Columbus’ series against Colorado for the season. The Blue Jackets headed to Helsinki, Finland following their contest at New Jersey on Oct. 30 and stayed in the capital city through Thursday morning before making the trek to Tampere. The team has several Finns on the club. General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen is a native of Kuopio, Finland and the NHL’s first European-born general manager while left wing Patrik Laine (Tampere) and goaltender Joonas Korpisalo (Helsinki) also hail from the country.
PLAYING IN FINLAND
The Blue Jackets have a huge list of management and players with ties to Finland with nine having played in the country at some point in their careers. CBJ General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen was born in Tampere and played for KalPa, Ilves and Tappara before serving as club GM for HIFK (1995-99) and Jokerit (2010-13). Ville Siren (director of amateur scouting) was also born in Tampere and suited up for Ilves and HPK. Jarkko Ruutu (European development coach) played for HIFK and Jokerit. Niklas Backstrom played for HIFK and Tappara. Assistant coach Steve McCarthy played for TPS while players Justiin Danforth (currently injured) suited up for Lukko,from 2012-15, Joonas Korpisalo for Jokerit from 2012-15, Patrik Laine for Tappara from 2013-16 and Daniil Tarasov for Assat in 2019-20.
THE COMEBACK BLUE JACKETS
Columbus earned victories when trailing by multiple goals in back-to-back wins over Vancouver (2-0) on Oct. 18 and Nashville (2-0 and 3-1) on Oct. 20. It was the fifth time in franchise history that the team has earned consecutive multi-goal comeback wins (MR: Feb. 8-10, 2022). These victories have a familiar feeling to the club’s wins in 2021-22 when CBJ set a franchise record after coming back at some point in the game in 23 of their 37 wins. The club finished sixth in the NHL in comeback victories last season. The team also trailed only Florida (11) with nine come-from-behind victories when trailing heading into the third period.
ROOKIE REPORT
The club’s rookies, consisting of forwards Liam Foudy and Kent Johnson along with defensemen Nick Blankenburg and David Jiricek have had a strong start to the season, combining for 4-7-11 in 11 games. They have helped CBJ rank third-T among NHL teams in goals and fourth-T in points. Jiricek, who was Columbus’ sixth overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, made his NHL debut last Friday vs. Boston, registering one shot and three hits on 15:35 of ice time. At 18 years and 334 days, he is the seventh youngest player overall and second youngest defenseman to make his debut in franchise history (Rostislav Klesla; 18 years and 200 days on Oct. 7, 2000 vs. Chicago). With an assist in Sunday’s game vs. the Devils, Johnson now has 3-2-5 in the past seven contests, including recording goals in three-straight games from Oct. 22-25 (3-0-3) and points in four consecutive outings from Oct. 20-25 (3-1-4).
CAPTAIN BOONE JENNER
Boone Jenner has recorded 1-4-5 in 11 games this season and ranks sixth in the NHL in faceoff wins (130-of-227 faceoffs; 57.3 pct.). The 29-year-old, who was selected 37th overall at the 2011 NHL Draft, is the longest-tenured Blue Jacket in his 10th season with the club, including his second as the team’s captain. The forward skated in his 600th career game on Friday vs. Colorado, becoming just the third player to reach the milestone with the franchise. He also ranks third on the franchise’s all-time list in goals and fifth in points with 145-144-289.
RK PLAYER TOTAL GP SEASONS WITH CBJ
- Rick Nash 674 2002-12 (9 seasons)
- Cam Atkinson 627 2011-21 (10 seasons)
- Boone Jenner 600 2013-current (10 seasons)
- Nick Foligno 599 2012-21 (9 seasons)
- David Savard 597 2011-21 (10 seasons)
HERE’S JOHNNY!
Six-time All-Star left wing Johnny Gaudreau leads the club in scoring with 5-4-9 in 11 games, while recording points in seven of his contests. The winger had a five-game points streak from Oct. 14-22 (4-3-7) and a five-game home points streak from Oct. 14-25 (4-2-6). It was the third-longest home points-streak to start a player’s tenure in franchise history. He played in his 306th consecutive game on Friday, the third-longest active iron man streak in the NHL and trailing only Phil Kessel (994) and Brent Burns (689). The Salem, New Jersey native, who signed a seven-year contract with Columbus in July, has collected 215-403-618 in 613 NHL games, including a career-high 40-75-115 in 82 games with Calgary last season when he earned First Team All-NHL honors.
DON’T SLEEP ON Z
Defenseman Zach Werenski, who recorded an assist on Friday vs. Colorado, has posted 2-3-5 in 11 games this season, leading the club’s blueliners in scoring and in goals (tied; Andrew Peeke). The two-time NHL All-Star blueliner set single-season career highs in assists, points and time on ice and posted the third-most assists (tied) and points by a defenseman in a single season in franchise history with 11-37-48 and 25:40 TOI in 68 games in 2021-22. He has averaged .76 points-per-game dating back to Feb. 10, 2022 in recording 7-21-28 in 37 contests.
UP IN CLEVELAND
Columbus’ AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters, have kicked off the 2022-23 season going 4-5-0 after falling 5-2 to the Chicago Wolves on Friday. Forwards Emil Bemstrom (5-6-11, ranks ninth-T in AHL in scoring), Kirill Marchenko (5-5-10, first-T among AHL rookies in goals and third-T in points) and Brendan Gaunce (4-6-10) lead the club in scoring with Marchenko collecting points in eight of nine games in 2022-23. The Monsters conclude their two-game set against the Wolves on Saturday, Nov. 5.
2022-23 TEAM QUICK HITS
•CBJ conclude their 3rd of 16 back-to-back sets on Sat. vs. COL(1-1-0 in 2nd game; 1-4-0 overall)
•CBJ have 16 different goal scorers, tied for 3rd-most (BOS) and trailing only SEA(19) and NJD (17)
•CBJ play 14 (13 at Nationwide Arena) of their 1st 20 games of the season at home
•CBJ are 13th-T in the NHL with 12 3rd period goals this season
•CBJ have recorded 9 multi-goal periods this season after recording 2 goals in the 2nd period on Fri. at COL
•CBJ are 5th-T in the NHL in goals by defensemen with 7-12-19 in 11 contests after CBJ blueliners combined for 3-6-9 in the past 5 games
•CBJ had a season-high 5 different goal scorers and 11 different skaters to record points on 10/23 at NYR
•CBJ were tied for 3rd-youngest team in the NHL (ARI and NJD) to start the season at 25.9, trailing only BUF (25.0) and OTT (25.7)
•CBJ’s opening-season roster included players from 7 different countries (Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Latvia, Russia, Sweden and the United States)
2022-23 LEADERS
•Kuraly (26), Olivier (21) and Gudbanson (19) lead CBJ in hits
•Werenski (23), Peeke (21) and Gudbranson (20) lead CBJ in blocked shots
•Werenski (25:07), Gavrikov (21:37) and Gaudreau (20:20) lead CBJ in TOI/GP
•Gaudreau (1) leads CBJ in multi-goal GP
•Chinakhov (2), Voracek (2), Bean (1), Jenner (1), Foudy (1) and Roslovic (1) lead CBJ in multi-assist GP
•Chinakhov (2), Gaudreau (2), Roslovic (2) and Voracek (2) lead CBJ in multi-point GP
CBJ 2022-23 TEAM GAME HIGHS
GOALS: 5 – 2x (MR: 10/23 at NYR)… GOALS AGAINST: 7 (10/30 at NJD)… PPG: 0… PPGA: 2 – 2x (MR: 11/4 at COL)… SHOTS: 42
(10/20 vs. NSH)… SHOTS AGAINST: 53 (10/30 at NJD)… PIM: 16 (10/25 vs. ARI)… HITS: 31 (10/22 vs PIT)… FOW: 52 (11/4 at
COL)… BKS: 22 (10/12 at CAR)
CBJ 2022-23 PLAYER SEASON HIGHS
GOALS: 2, Gaudreau (10/20 vs.. NSH)… ASSISTS: 2 – 8x, MR: Bean (10/25 vs ARI)… POINTS: 2 – 14x, MR: Laine (11/4 at COL)…
HITS: 6, Robinson (10/12 at CAR)… PLUS/MINUS RATING: +3, Werenski (10/23 at NYR)… SOG: 7 – 2x, MR: Laine (11/4 at COL)…
TOI: 28:55 – Werenski (11/4 at COL)… SAVES: 46, Merzlikins (10/30 at NJD, 53 shots)
