COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS NOTES:
Apr. 6, 2023 Game No. 78 (24-45-8, 56 pts.)
at New Jersey Devils (49-21-8, 106 pts.), Prudential Center Road Game No. 40 (9-24-6, 24 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: APR. 4, 2023 – CBJ 2 at TOR 4
CBJ Goal Scorers: Roslovic (11), Robinson (12)
TOR Goal Scorers: Aston-Reese (9), Kerfoot (10), Aston-Reese (10), EN – Matthews (38)
Goalies: CBJ – Greaves (46/49; 58:57); TOR – Woll (24/26; 60:00)
CBJ PP: 0/2; PK: 3/3 | Shots: CBJ: 26 / TOR: 50
3 Stars: 1. Aston-Reese, TOR; 2. Greaves, CBJ; 3. Kampf, TOR
Noteworthy: CBJ scored with 7:38 left in the 1st period to tie the game at 1… TOR scored GWG 8:11 into the 3rd period… Greaves set a new franchise record for most saves and shots faced in a CBJ and NHL debut… Roslovic has recorded a point in each of his last six games played (4-4-8)… Johnson recorded his 24th assist of the season to give him 16-24-40 in 2022-23, becoming the 3rd CBJ rookie to reach the 40-point mark in a single season in club history… Robinson has goals in two-straight games (2-0-2).
OhioHEALTH INJURY REPORT
Danforth (torn labrum); Placed on Injured Reserve (Oct. 25); approximately 6 months (71 games)
Werenski (torn labrum); Placed on Injured Reserve (retro to Nov. 10); rest of regular season (64 games)
Bean (shoulder); Placed on IR (retro to Nov. 15); out indefinitely (62 games)
Laine (triceps strain); approximately two-four weeks (7 games)
Gudbranson (separated shoulder); approximately six weeks (6 games)
Olivier (lower leg bone bruise); approximately two-four weeks (6 games)
Blankenburg (ankle); week-to-week (5 games)
Merzlikins (lower body); day-to-day (5 games)
Pederson (upper body); day-to-day (3 games)
TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 512
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Apr. 5 Added Gillies to roster on emergency recall from Cleveland (AHL), assigned Christiansen and Greaves to Cleveland (AHL)
Apr. 4 Signed Chinakhov to one-year contract extension for 2023-24 NHL season
Apr. 3 Added Greaves to roster on emergency recall from Cleveland (AHL), assigned Gillies and Richards to Cleveland (AHL)
Apr. 1 Added Bjork, Luoto and Richards to the roster on emergency recall from Cleveland (AHL) and assigned Fix-Wolansky to Cleveland (AHL)
TONIGHT’S GAME BROADCAST INFO
7pm ET | Bally Sports Ohio | 97.1 The Fan
AGAINST THE DEVILS
2022-23 Series: 0-2-0 (0-1-0 at NJD)
2021-22 Series: 3-1-0 (1-1-0 at NJD)
All-Time Series: 27-16-1-2 (11-8-1-2 at NJD)
Last 10 (Overall | Road): 6-3-1 | 7-2-1
All-Time GF/GA: 125/105
All-Time SF/SA: 1,302/1,389
All-Time PP: 17-of-146
All-Time PK: 125-of-150
THE LAST GAME VS. NJD: FEB. 14, 2023 – CBJ 2 vs. NJD 3
CBJ Goal Scorers: PP – Gaudreau (15), Boqvist (1)
NJD Goal Scorers: Sharangovich (12), Bratt (21), Graves (6)
Goalies: CBJ – Merzlikins (29/32; 60:00); NJD – Vanecek (31/33; 60:00)
CBJ PP: 1/3; PK: 2/2 | Shots: CBJ: 33 / NJD: 32
3 Stars: 1. Graves, NJD; 2. Boqvist, CBJ; 3. Vanecek, NJD
Noteworthy: CBJ and NJD were tied at one after the 1st period and at two after the 2nd period, but NJD scored with 1.4 seconds left in the game to win… Gaudreau tied for the team lead with his goal and now has 2-8-10 in his last 10 games… Boqvist recorded 1-1-2, giving him 2 multi-point efforts in his last 5 outings (1-4-5)… Jenner registered his 14th assist of the campaign to give him points in 2-straight contests (1-2-3).
SEASON SERIES LEFT: Series is complete.
NOTED (Team Highlights vs. NJD)
CBJ have won 15 of the last 20 games of the series dating back to 3/5/17 (15-4-1), outscoring the Devils 61-39 over that stretch… 3 of the last 5 games played at NJD have gone past regulation (CBJ; 2-2-1)… CBJ have recorded power play goals in 3 of the last 4 meetings (3-of-11; 27.3 pct.) and 4 of the past 6 (4-of-17; 23.5 pct.)… Winning team has recorded 3+ goals in 11 of the last 12 games… CBJ own 4 of the 7 shutouts in the series with Merzlikins registering the most recent one with 41 saves in a 5-0 win on 1/18/20 at NWA… Most goals scored at NJD: 5 (12/8/17)… Most goals allowed at NJD: 7 (10/30/22).
NOTED (Player Highlights vs. NJD)
Gaudreau recorded his 5th career hat trick on 3/12/19 vs. NJD (Blackwood)… Peeke scored his 1st career goal on 2/16/20 at NJD.
SCORING NOTABLES vs. NJD
• Boqvist – 1-3-4 in 4 career GP, including multiple points in each of his last 2 games vs. the club after picking up 1-1-2 on 2/14
• Gaudreau – 7-16-23 in 15 GP with points in all but 3 of his contests, including points in 9 of his last 10 against the club (7-12-19)
• Jenner – 10-8-18 in 31 career GP, including 2-2-4 in his last 4 contests overall
NEW JERSEY DEVILS NOTES:
Last Game:
Pittsburgh Penguins 1 New Jersey Devils 5
(38-30-10 – 86 PTS) (49-21-8 – 106 PTS)
Three Stars: 1. D. Mercer 2. V. Vanecek 3. D. Hamilton
SCORE 1ST 2ND 3RD OT SO FINAL
Pittsburgh 0 0 1 – – 1
DEVILS 2 2 1 – – 5
Goals:
PIT: B. Rust
NJD: D. Hamilton, D. Mercer, T. Meier (PPG), D. Mercer, D. Mercer
INJURIES/ILLNESS
PLAYER INJURY OUT SINCE GAMES MISSED
Jonathan Bernier – LTIR Lower-body, hip 2021-22 78
Curtis Lazar Undisclosed 3/19/23 9
2022-23 Total Man-Games Lost to Injury/illness: 218
The Devils earned their 49th win for the season, after Tuesday’s win against Pittsburgh at the Rock. The 49 wins tied the second-most wins earned in a single season for franchise history (2006-07). The franchise record for the most wins in a single season is 51, which was earned in 2008-09 (51-27-4=106 PTS). The most points that the Devils earned in a single season was 111 PTS, after posting a 48-19-12 record in 2000-01. The Devils officially clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Saturday, March 25 for the first time since 2017-18, but also earned 100 points in a season for the first time since 2011-12 (48-28-6=102 PTS). It marked the 14th time in franchise history that the Devils earned 100, or more, points in a single season for the standings. After Thursday’s win vs the New York Rangers, the Devils earned more than 100 points for the first time since 2011-12 (102 PTS). The Devils witnessed their third hat-trick for the season on Tuesday, after Dawson Mercer earned his first-career hat-trick. J. Hughes: Nov. 26, 2022, 5-1 win vs WSH, 3g-0a (First career hatty) J. Bratt: Mar. 19, 2023, 5-2 win at TBL, 3g-0a (First career hatty) The last time that the Devils earned three hat-tricks in a single season was 2011-12, after Zach Parise logged one and Ilya Kovalchuk earned two.
The team’s 10 OT victories ranks first in the NHL. Winnipeg, Carolina and Seattle rank second with nine wins in OT. The Devils are 2-4 in games decided in a shootout this season. The team’s last shootout victory was earned on Mar. 9, at Washington in a 3-2 win. The team’s last shootout was on Thursday, March 16, in a 4-3 loss to Tampa at the Rock.
VS CONFERENCE/DIVISION
The Devils are 22-5-5 vs the Western Conference this season. The franchise record for most wins vs the Western Conference was 18, which was logged in 2000-01. The Devils own a 27-16-3 record vs the Eastern Conference and 16-6-2 vs the Metropolitan Division.
BACK-TO-BACK GAMES
Overall: 15-8-1
First game: 6-5-1 | home: 0-1-0 | road: 6-4-1
Second game: 9-3-0 | home: 4-2-0 | road: 5-1-0
STATS EXPANDED
New Jersey enters Thursday’s contest with an overall face-off percentage at 51.5%, while the highest overall face-off percentage the team finished with in franchise history for a single season was 51.4% 1997-98 (face-offs were tracked & recorded starting in 1997-98). Jersey’s team is averaging 34.5 shots per game, while the team’s highest shots per game for franchise history in a single season was 33.1 in 1999-00. The Devils are 28-9-1 when scoring first in a game this season and 21-12-6 when trailing first in a contest. New Jersey’s 21 wins when trailing first in a game this season ranks first in the NHL, while Boston (20-11-2) ranked second. The Devils are 32-1-2 (ranks 6th in NHL) when leading after the second period this season, while Boston ranks first in the NHL for this matter with a 44-1-2 record. The Devils are 15-5-2 when outshot by an opponent this season and 32-16-6 when outshooting teams. The Devils are 1-0-0 when shots are even vs an opponent for 2022-23. The Devils have allowed 1, or fewer, goals against 17 times this season in a game. Jersey’s team allowed one, or fewer goals against, in a game just eight times all of last season.
VS CBJ
The Devils and Columbus conclude their 2022-23 regular-season series. Jersey recorded a season-high seven goals in a game Oct. 30, after a 7-1 win at Prudential Center against the Jackets. The last time the Devils won a season series vs Columbus was in 2011-12, when the two foes met just once. Jersey earned the lone victory. Jersey’s team is 2-0-0 vs Columbus. The most wins earned in a single season vs Columbus is two, which the team logged in 2014-15 (2-1-1) and this season. Jersey’s team recorded a 1-2-1 record vs Columbus last season. The last time that the Devils earned a win at Columbus was Dec. 5, 2017, after a 4-1 win.
ALL-TIME vs COLUMBUS
Record: 18-22-1-5
Home: 10-8-1-3
Road: 8-14-0-2
DID YOU KNOW…
The most goals in franchise history earned in a single game vs Columbus is seven goals, which was earned on Oct. 30, 2022, at the Rock in a 7-1 win. The most goals that the Devils allowed in a single game vs Columbus is six goals, three times, with the last time taking place on Feb. 10, 2018, after a 6-1 defeat at Columbus. The most shots that Jersey earned in a single game vs Columbus is 53, which was also earned on Oct. 30, 2022. The most shots that the Devils allowed in a single game vs Columbus is 55, which was logged on Feb. 16, 2020, in a 4-3 shootout win at the Rock. The last time the Devils shut out the Jackets was Feb. 28, 2015, in a 2-0 victory at the Rock. Goaltender Cory Schneider earned 33 saves in the effort. The last time Columbus shut out the Devils was Jan. 18, 2020, in a 5-0 loss at Columbus – Elvis Merzlikins denied the Devils 36 times in the effort. The two foes first-ever meeting took place on Dec. 27, 2000, at Continental Airlines Arena, after a 2-2 tie. Espen Knutsen scored the game’s first goal, while Randy McKay scored New Jersey’s first-ever goal vs Columbus in franchise history. The two teams have never met in the postseason. In the NHL’s 2000 Expansion Draft, Columbus selected forward Jeff Williams from New Jersey.
