Thursday, October 20, 2022 – 7:00 EDT
Nationwide Arena – Columbus, Ohio
TV: Bally Sports Ohio; Radio: 97.1 FM
Opponent’s Blog: On the Forecheck
Nashville Predators (2-2-1, 5 points, 2nd Central, 5th West)
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Columbus Blue Jackets (1-3-0, 2 points, 8th Metro, t-15th East)
Hey, we finally got a win! That’s cool. Can we do it again? The good news is, we’re still at home. The bad news is, it’s like our first three games: against a team that was in the playoffs last season. Can our momentum carry over against a tougher opponent?
Player to Watch
Matt Duchene
Remember this guy? After leaving Columbus, his first two seasons in Nashville were a disappointment. He bounced back in a big way last year, putting up career highs in goals (43) and points (86). He’s basically settled into a top line winger role rather than being the true 1C the Preds have been searching for seemingly forever. He has three points through five games this season, and in the last two games collected a whopping 16 PIM.
Jackets Notes
Expect the same lineup as Tuesday, with Nick Blankenburg remaining in the lineup, and paired with Zach Werenski again … The new Reverse Retro jerseys for all 32 teams are expected to be revealed tomorrow, but the Blue Jackets had theirs leaked today. It’s a color swap of the original alternates worn from 2003-2007. Dan Fritsche-ass jerseys.
The #CBJ #ReverseRetro is the latest to leak! Confirmation of the 2003 era third jersey with black and blue swapped.
Thanks to @capersinodj for the heads up on the photo! pic.twitter.com/vAT5WwEnJJ
— icethetics (@icethetics) October 19, 2022
The Other Bench
Nashville has had a weird schedule to start, with just two opponents in their first four games: two games vs. San Jose in Prague, followed by a home-and-home with Dallas. They won the first two and lost the second two … Their most recent game was Tuesday at home against Los Angeles, which the Preds lost in OT.
Season Series
10/20/2022 NSH @ CBJ
11/26/2022 CBJ @ NSH
Stats
| Nashville | Columbus | |
|---|---|---|
| 2.40 (28) | GPG | 2.25 (30) |
| 3.00 (14) | GAPG | 4.25 (28) |
| 4.8% (31) | PP% | 0.0% (32) |
| 81.8% (14) | PK% | 80.0% (17) |
| 53.9% (7) | 5v5 Shot Attempt % | 41.4% (28) |
| 53.7% (10) | 5v5 Unblocked shot attempt % | 42.9% (27) |
| 9.1 (16) | 5v5 Shooting % | 8.1 (19) |
| .924 (11) | 5v5 Save % | .883 (28) |
| Nino Niederreiter, 4 | G Leader | Johnny Gaudreau and Gus Nyquist, 2 |
| Mikael Granlund, 5 | A Leader | Boone Jenner, 3 |
| Mikael Granlund, 5 | P Leader | Johnny Gaudreau, 4 |
| Matt Duchene, 16 | PIM Leader | Cole Sillinger and Boone Jenner, 6 |
| 1-1-0 | Home / Road | 1-1-0 |
| 2-2-1 | Last 10 | 1-3-0 |
Projected Lineups
| Gus Nyquist | Boone Jenner | Johnny Gaudreau |
| Yegor Chinakhkov | Cole Sillinger | Justin Danforth |
| Kent Johnson | Jack Roslovic | Jake Voracek |
| Eric Robinson | Sean Kuraly | Mathieu Olivier |
| Zach Werenski | Nick Blankenburg |
| Vladislav Gavrikov | Andrew Peeke |
| Jake Bean | Erik Gudbranson |
| Elvis Merzlikins |
| Daniil Tarasov |
| Filip Forsberg | Mikael Granlund | Matt Duchene |
| Nino Niederreiter | Ryan Johansen | Eeli Tolvanen |
| Yakov Trenin | Colton Sissons | Tanner Jeannot |
| Cole Smith | Cody Glass | Zach Sanford |
| Roman Josi | Dante Fabbro |
| Ryan McDonagh | Mattias Ekholm |
| Jeremy Lauzon | Alexandre Carrier |
| Juuse Saros |
| Kevin Lankinen |