Columbus Blue Jackets at St. Louis Blues
Saturday, November 27, 2021 – 8:00 PMT EDT
Enterprise Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri
TV: Bally Sports Ohio – Radio: WBNS FM
Opponent’s Blog: St. Louis Game Time
Columbus Blue Jackets, 12-6-0, 24 points, 4th Metro, 7th East
@
St. Louis Blues, 10-7-3, 23 points, 2nd Central, 2nd West
The Columbus Blue Jackets enter the second biggest Ohio-based game today on the heels of a 4-2 win against the struggling Vancouver Canucks on Friday night. The Blue Jackets struggled mightily early, but found goals against the run of play to defeat the lackluster Canucks 4-2. The Jackets survived an onslaught and managed to find a victory – surely not a recipe for success, but a nice building block for tonight against the Blues.
The Blue Jackets will need to find a way to stop chances in the defensive zone and continue to capitalize offensive to get the win tonight against the Blues.
Player to Watch
Vladimir Tarasenko
Tarasenko, who is coming off two shortened seasons due to a recurring shoulder injury, is playing like the Tarasenko of old. In 19 game, Tarasenko has put up 16 points (seven goals and nine assists) while still reportedly seeking an exit from St. Louis. His goal scoring is all taking place at even strength, and he remains a power play playmaker. Tarasenko is a player the Blue Jackets will have to be aware of on the ice – he has 10-8-18 in 15 career games against the Blue Jackets with three game winning goals.
Jackets Notes
Elvis Merzlikins earned his eighth career shutout on Wednesday night against the Jets … The Blue Jackets have scored 41 goals in their last 11 games, covering for a poor defense that has allowed 11.8 high danger chances per 60 minutes in those games … Oliver Bjorkstrand has 18 points in 16 games this season … The Blue Jackets currently hold a wild card spot in the NHL standings
The Other Bench
After missing nine games with an upper body injury, Brayden Schenn returned to the lineup on Wednesday … Schenn is two goals away from 200 in his career … Ivan Barbashev is one goal away from 100 in his career … Jordan Binnington is having a solid season, with a 2.79 goals against average and a .914 save percentag in 14 games this season … the Blues offense has rediscovered it’s shot, taking the sixth most shots on goal in the league this season, up from 23rd last year
Season Series
Stats
| St. Louis | Columbus | |
|---|---|---|
| 3.26 (8) | GPG | 3.41 (6) |
| 2.74 (10) | GAPG | 3.00 (20) |
| 29.1% (24) | PP% | 20.0% (14) |
| 82.0% (14) | PK% | 83.0% (12) |
| 50.63% (17) | 5v5 Shot Attempt % | 49.43% (19) |
| 49.47% (19) | 5v5 Unblocked shot attempt % | 48.82 (21) |
| 7.69% (17) | 5v5 Shot % | 8.75% (6) |
| .928 (12) | 5v5 Save % | .920 (18) |
| Jordan Kyrou and Brandon Saad, 8 | G Leader | Boone Jenner, 9 |
| Robert Thomas, 15 | A Leader | Jakub Voracek, 15 |
| Jordan Kyrou, 20 | P Leader | Oliver Bjorkstrand, 18 |
| Justin Faulk, 21 | PIM Leader | Kuraly & Sillinger, 15 |
| 5-4-1 | Home / Road | 4-3-0 |
| 3-6-1 | Last 10 | 7-3-0 |
Projected Lineups
Columbus
| Yegor Chinakhov | Cole Sillinger | Jakub Voracek |
| Gustav Nyquist | 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 |
St. Louis
| Ivan Barbashev | Ryan O’Reilly | David Perron |
| Brandon Saad | Brayden Schenn | Jordan Kyrou |
| Pavel Buchnevich | Robert Thomas | Vladimir Tarasenko |
| Klim Kostin | Tyler Bozak | Oskar Sundqvist |
| Marco Scandella | Colton Parayko |
| Torey Krug | Justin Falk |
| Niko Mikkola | Scott Perunovich |
| Jordan Binnington |
| Ville Husso |