Monday, March 7, 2022 – 7:00 EST
Nationwide Arena – Columbus, Ohio
TV: ESPN+/Hulu; Radio: 97.1 FM
Opponent’s Blog: Pension Plan Puppets
Toronto Maple Leafs (35-16-4, 74 points, 3rd Atlantic, 6th East)
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Columbus Blue Jackets (28-25-3, 59 points, 5th Metro, 9th East)
Whew, it has been a busy weekend in Blue Jackets Land, but we still have one more home game to get through before the Jackets hit the road to play the Islanders on Thursday.
Saturday night was a thrilling night at Nationwide, as the Jackets ultimately fell to the Bruins in an exciting game that ended in a shootout. Read our recap here if you missed it! The Rick Nash retirement ceremony was also lovely and heart-warming to be a part of – Columbus is a hockey city, if you didn’t already know.
All that being said, the Jackets need to continue to work hard tonight to finish out this home stand on a good note – to be clear, a “good note” here would be a regulation win, not an overtime loss. We’ll take the two points from the last two games, but I’d love an actual win tonight.
Player to Watch
Oliver BJORKSTRAND
Ollie has been an impactful player lately, with three goals and one assist in the last five games. Alongside Boone Jenner and Jakub Voracek, Bjorkstrand is usually able to step up and be productive when it’s needed most. More of that tonight, please!
Jackets Notes
Jake Bean and Joonas Korpisalo have been activated off IR, and J-F Berube was assigned back to the Monsters. Brendan Gaunce is also on the roster tonight, and Emil Bemstrom and Gavin Bayreuther are out. Elvis Merzlikins will start in net.
The Other Bench
The Toronto Maple Leafs boast a nearly unstoppable offense (read: Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews), but coupled with their lagging goalkeeping, this could be anyone’s game.
Season Series
12/07/2021 CBJ 4 @ TOR 5
02/22/2022 TOR 3 @ CBJ 4/OT
03/07/2022 TOR @ CBJ