Friday, November 26, 2021 – 7:00p.m. EST
Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
TV: Bally Sports Ohio; Radio: 97.1 FM
Opponent’s Blog: Nucks Misconduct
Vancouver Canucks (6-12-2, 14 points, 7th Pacific, 14th West)
at
Columbus Blue Jackets (11-6-0, 22 points, 4th Metro, 7th East)
The Blue Jackets are coming off an impressive win against the Jets on Wednesday night. An excellent defensive performance showed that this team can improve and play a complete game against good competition. Heading to Columbus is the struggling team from Vancouver. The Canucks have only won two of their last ten and haven’t shown much life to start the season.
Player to Watch
Andrew Peeke
The Notre Dame alumni struggled to start this season, but has improved as of late. On Wednesday night, he became the last Blue Jacket regular to score as he netted the late game empty netter. He also led all defensemen in CF% in that game. He has one goal and four assists so far this season, but it’s his physical presence that has stood out. He’s been noticeably more physical while clearing the crease, battling for pucks, and jumping in on scrums after the whistle. He was responsible for one of the more memorable moments of the game against the Jets when he hammered Pierre-Luc Dubois into the boards.
Scorin’ goals and throwin’ the body
The Andrew Peeke Way™️ pic.twitter.com/Og0qI5DAGi
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) November 25, 2021
Blue Jackets Notes
Expect no lineup changes after Wednesday night’s performance. Joonas Korpisalo will likely get the start as the Blue Jackets will immediately head to St. Louis after the game to face the Blues on Saturday night.
Canucks Notes
The Canucks’ penalty kill ranks last in the league at an awful 63.1%. It’ll be important for the Blue Jackets to keep their legs moving and keep a quick pace against these Canucks. If they can draw a few penalties, they’ll have a pretty good chance to capitalize.
The one bright spot this season for Vancouver has been the 5v5 goaltending. Thatcher Demko has a .931 save percentage and Jaroslav Halak is boasting a .949. Producing quality shots will be key for the Blue Jackets tonight.
Season Series
11/25/21 – VAN @ CBJ
12/14/21 – CBJ @ VAN
Stats
| Vancouver | Columbus | |
|---|---|---|
| 3.30 (28) | GPG | 3.41 (6) |
| 3.25 (25) | GAPG | 3.00 (20) |
| 15.9% (24) | PP% | 20.0% (14) |
| 63.1% (32) | PK% | 83.0% (12) |
| 50.7% (17) | 5v5 Shot Attempt % | 49.4% (19) |
| 50.0% (15) | 5v5 Unblocked shot attempt % | 48.8% (21) |
| 6.1% (31) | 5v5 Shot % | 8.8% (6) |
| .935 (6) | 5v5 Save % | .920 (18) |
| J.T. Miller, 7 | G Leader | Captain Boone Jenner, 9 |
| Miller & Hughes, 7 | A Leader | Jakub Voracek, 15 |
| J.T. Miller, 19 | P Leader | Oliver BJORKSTRAND, 18 |
| Ekman-Larsson, 22 | PIM Leader | Kuraly & Sillinger, 15 |
| 3-6-1 | Home / Road | 7-3-0 |
| 2-7-1 | Last 10 | 7-3-0 |
Projected Lineups
Columbus
| Yegor Chinakhov | Cole Sillinger | Jakub Voracek |
| Gus Nyquist | Captain Boone Jenner | Oliver BJORKSTRAND |
| Eric Robinson | Sean Kuraly | Alexandre Texier |
| Max Domi | Jack Roslovic | Justin Danforth |
| Zach Werenski | Jake Bean |
| Vladislav Gavrikov | Andrew Peeke |
| Gavin Bayreuther | Adam Boqvist |
| Joonas Korpisalo |
| Elvis Merzlikins |
Vancouver
| Nils Hoglander | J.T. Miller | Brock Boeser |
| Tanner Pearson | Bo Horvat | Tyler Motte |
| Conor Garland | Elias Pettersson | Vasily Podkolzin |
| Alex Chiasson | Juho Lammikko | Jason Dickinson |
| Tyler Myers | Oliver Ekman-Larsson |
| Tucker Poolman | Quinn Hughes |
| Luke Schenn | Kyle Burroughs |
| Thatcher Demko |
| Jaroslav Halak |