Thursday, January 2, 2025 – 7:00 PM EST
Nationwide Arena – Columbus, OH
TV: FDSNOH, CW 53; Radio 97.1 FM
Detroit Red Wings (15-18-4, 34 points, 7th Atlantic, 14th East)
at
Columbus Blue Jackets (16-16-6, 38 points, 5th Metro, 10th East)
Tonight, the Jackets will face off against their future Stadium Series opponents, the Detroit Red Wings. The Jackets are coming off a big win against the Carolina Hurricanes, while the Wings have won back-to-back against the Capitals and Penguins.
Don’t forget that tonight’s game is available on CW 53 over the air in Columbus. It would be great if the ratings were high to encourage more broadcasts like this in the future.
Player to Watch
Dmitri Voronkov
The puck loves Voronkov. In recent years (or forever), it seems as if pucks have been allergic to the sticks of Blue Jackets. Voronkov, however, seems to always be near the puck.
In his last five games, he has five goals and four assists. He played a whopping 21:13 against Carolina. He may eventually settle in as a third-line winger on a Cup-competing team, but he looks the whole part of a top-six power forward right now.
Jackets Notes
Chinakhov, Jenner, and Danforth have all been skating and running drills with Jared Boll. Jenner may still be a ways off, but hopefully, Chinakhov and Danforth will soon return to the lineup. The team has been playing well, but they are still a bit thin in the bottom six at 5v5.
The Other Bench
It’s fair to wonder how much patience the Detroit fanbase has remaining. Unless they can turn their season around, it’s looking like they may miss the playoffs for the ninth season in a row – they haven’t won a series since 2013.
With two solid wins in a row, they will be ready to roll against the Jackets. Three in a row would be a big deal for them.
Season Series
01/02/2025 DET @ CBJ
02/27/2025 CBJ @ DET
03/01/2025 DET @ CBJ
Stats
| Detroit | Columbus | |
| 2.62 (28) | GPG | 3.29 (9) |
| 3.24 (25) | GAPG | 3.58 (31) |
| 24.1 (9) | PP% | 21.4 (17) |
| 69.6 (31) | PK% | 75.0 (26) |
| 46.29 (30) | 5v5 Shot Attempt % | 49.44 (17) |
| 45.15 (31) | 5v5 Unblocked Shot Attempt % | 49.45 (19) |
| 8.33 (24) | 5v5 Shooting % | 9.94 (7) |
| 91.79 (9) | 5v5 Save % | 89.87 (26) |
| Raymond, DeBrincat, 15 | G Leader | Kirill Marchenko, 16 |
| Lucas Raymond, 23 | A Leader | Zach Werenski, 29 |
| Lucas Raymond, 38 | P Leader | Kirill Marchenko, 42 |
| Ben Chiarot, 39 | PIM Leader | Mathieu Olivier, 72 |
| 6-8-2 | Home/Road | 12-4-3 |
| 5-5-0 | Last 10 | 4-3-3 |
Projected Lineups
Columbus Blue Jackets
| Dmitri Voronkov | Sean Monahan | Kirill Marchenko |
| James van Riemsdyk | Adam Fantilli | Zach Aston-Reese |
| Mathieu Olivier | Cole Sillinger | Kent Johnson |
| Mikael Pyyhtia | Sean Kuraly | Kevin Labanc |
| Zach Werenski | Dante Fabbro |
| Denton Mateychuk | Ivan Provorov |
| Jake Christiansen | Damon Severson |
| Elvis Merzlikins |
| Daniil Tarasov |
Detroit Red Wings
| Joe Veleno | Dylan Larkin | Lucas Raymond |
| Alex DeBrincat | Andrew Copp | Patrick Kane |
| Jonatan Berggren | J.T. Compher | Vladimir Tarasenko |
| Michael Rasmussen | Marco Kasper | Tyler Motte |
| Ben Chiarot | Moritz Seider |
| Simon Edvinsson | Jeff Petry |
| Erik Gustafsson | Justin Holl |
| Alex Lyon |
| Cam Talbot |