Game #65 Preview/Gamethread: Blues visit Blue Jackets
Emphasis on “blue”
Saturday, March 11, 2023 - 7:00 P.M. EST
Nationwide Arena - Columbus, Ohio
TV: Bally Sports Ohio; Radio: 97.1 FM
St. Louis Blues (28-31-5, 61 points, 6th Central, 11th West)
at
Columbus Blue Jackets (20-37-7, 47 points, 8th Metro, 16th East)
Two teams tonight who are having bad seasons, and have pretty similar stats. Could be competitive, at least?
Player to Watch
Jordan Kyrou
As disappointing as the season has been for the Blues, at least the top line of Jordan Kyrou and Matchbox 20 frontman Robert Thomas has lived up to expectations. Kyrou is maintaining his point-per-game production from last season, so appears to be worth the 8x$8.25M contract extension he signed in September, which kicks in next season.
Jackets Notes
Elvis Merzlikins has returned to Latvia to be with his grandmother, who is seriously ill. Our thoughts are with the family at this difficult time ... Daniil Tarasov was called up to take his spot, and Michael Hutchinson will make his first start as a Blue Jacket. He has played in two games in relief since his arrival last week, and has allowed six goals on 56 shots faced in 80 minutes.
Season Series
10/14/2022 CBJ 2 @ STL 5
03/11/2023 STL @ CBJ
Stats
| St. Louis | Columbus | |
|---|---|---|
| 3.03 (20) | GPG | 2.59 (29) |
| 3.66 (28) | GAPG | 3.72 (29) |
| 19.8% (22) | PP% | 17.8% (26) |
| 76.7% (20) | PK% | 76.3% (21) |
| 45.9% (27) | 5v5 Shot Attempt % | 45.1% (29) |
| 46.4% (26) | 5v5 Unblocked shot attempt % | 45.0% (29) |
| 9.0 (5) | 5v5 Shooting % | 7.8 (26) |
| .903 (28) | 5v5 Save % | .910 (22) |
| Jordan Kyrou, 26 | G Leader | Patrik Laine, 20 |
| Robert Thomas, 39 | A Leader | Johnny Gaudreau, 40 |
| Jordan Kyrou, 58 | P Leader | Johnny Gaudreau, 55 |
| Tyler Tucker, 31 | PIM Leader | Mathieu Olivier, 79 |
| 14-17-1 | Home / Road | 13-19-2 |
| 2-6-2 | Last 10 | 4-3-3 |
Projected Lineups
| Johnny Gaudreau | Boone Jenner | Kirill Marchenko |
| Patrik Laine | Jack Roslovic | Kent Johnson |
| Eric Robinson | Cole Sillinger | Mathieu Olivier |
| Liam Foudy | Lane Pederson | Emil Bemstrom |
| Tim Berni | Erik Gudbranson |
| Nick Blankenburg | Andrew Peeke |
| Gavin Bayreuther | Adam Boqvist |
| Michael Hutchinson |
| Daniil Tarasov |
| Alexei Toropchenko | Robert Thomas | Jordan Kyrou |
| Jakub Vrana | Pavel Buchnevich | Kasperi Kapanen |
| Brandon Saad | Brayden Schenn | Sammy Blais |
| Nathan Walker | Nikita Alexandrov | Josh Leivo |
| Nick Leddy | Colton Parayko |
| Marco Scandella | Justin Faulk |
| Torey Krug | Calle Rosen |
| Jordan Binnington |
| Thomas Greiss |