Thursday, November 18, 2021 – 9:00 EST
Gila River Arena – Glendale, Arizona
TV: Bally Sports Ohio; Radio: 97.1 FM
Opponent’s Blog: Five for Howling
Columbus Blue Jackets (8-5-0, 16 points, 6th Metro, 11th East)
at
Arizona Coyotes (2-13-1, 5 points, 8th Central, 16th East)
The Blue Jackets venture out West for the second time this season for a two-game road trip in the deserts of the NHL, starting in Glendale vs the Coyotes. Since opening night, the teams have gone in completely opposite directions; the Blue Jackets have exceeded their expectations, while Arizona, facing a boot from their home ice and potential relocation after the season, hit rock bottom and then grabbed a shovel.
Player to Watch – Adam Boqvist
Acquired as the centerpiece of the Seth Jones trade over the summer, the young defenseman recorded his first goal as a Blue Jacket Monday after returning from injury. He’s third on the team in Corsi For % (percentage of shot attempts while on the ice), fourth in Fenwick For % (same thing excluding shots blocked before getting to the net). Look for him to continue to get chances tonight.
Coyotes Notes
I’ll let Cannon commenter Dark and Stormy Bright and Sunny’s Twitter thread from yesterday take this one.
No NHL team in the salary cap era has scored fewer goals per game than this year’s Coyotes team (1.63/game). They are on pace for just 134 goals (!!).
(3/?) pic.twitter.com/PLIlYuFdUL
— DarkandStormy (@Darknstormy614) November 17, 2021
The ’21-’22 #Yotes are on pace for a -178 goal differential, which would rank 5th-worst all-time in NHL history.
It would be *BY FAR* the worst in the salary cap era (’19-’20 DRW were -122 or -141 pro-rated over 82 games). Truly a tank for the ages.
(5/5)
— DarkandStormy (@Darknstormy614) November 17, 2021
Season Series
10/14/21 – Arizona at Columbus – 8-2 Win
11/18/21 – Columbus at Arizona
Stats
| Arizona | Columbus | |
|---|---|---|
| 1.63 (32) | GPG | 3.23 (9) |
| 3.81 (32) | GAPG | 3.08 (20) |
| 16.7% (24) | PP% | 19.4% (15) |
| 67.3% (30) | PK% | 81.6% (15) |
| 45.6% (29) | 5v5 Shot Attempt % | 49.7% (19) |
| 45.8% (29) | 5v5 Unblocked shot attempt % | 48.9% (23) |
| 5.8% (31) | 5v5 Shot % | 8.7% (8) |
| .904 (30) | 5v5 Save % | .919 (20) |
| Lawson Crouse, 4 | G Leader | Captain Boone Jenner, 7 |
| Shayne Gostisbehere, 11 | A Leader | Jakub Voracek, 12 |
| Shayne Gostisbehere, 13 | P Leader | Oliver BJORKSTRAND, 15 |
| Liam O’Brien, 36 | PIM Leader | V. Gavrikov/C. Sillinger/J. Voracek, 10 each |
| 1-4-0 | Home / Road | 2-2-0 |
| 2-8-0 | Last 10 | 6-4-0 |
Projected Lineups
Columbus Blue Jackets
| Yegor Chinakhov | Cole Sillinger | Jakub Voracek |
| Gus Nyquist | Captain Boone Jenner | Oliver BJORKSTRAND |
| Eric Robinson | Sean Kuraly | Alexandre Texier |
| Gregory Hofmann | Jack Roslovic | Justin Danforth |
| Zach Werenski | Jake Bean |
| Vladislav Gavrikov | Andrew Peeke |
| Gavin Bayreuther | Adam Boqvist |
| Elvis Merzlikins |
| Joonas Korpisalo |
Arizona Coyotes
| Lawson Crouse | Travis Boyd | Clayton Keller |
| Alex Galchenyuk | Barrett Hayton | Phil Kessel |
| Antoine Roussel | Jay Beagle | Loui Eriksson |
| Liam O’Brien | Jan Jenik | Hudson Fasching |
| Jakob Chychrun | Ilya Lyubushkin |
| Shayne Gostisbehere | Dysin Mayo |
| Kyle Capobianco | Cam Dineen |
| Scott Wedgewood |
| Carter Hutton |