Saturday, February 22, 2025 – 7:00 PM EST
Nationwide Arena – Columbus, OH
TV: FDSNOH; Radio: 97.1 FM
Chicago Blackhawks (17-31-7, 41 points, 8th Central, 15th West)
at
Columbus Blue Jackets (26-22-8, 60 points, 4th Metro, 9th East)
The Blue Jackets are back in action tonight after the 4 Nations break. After being decimated by injuries before the break, some good news is finally here. Boone Jenner, Kirill Marchenko, and Dante Fabbro will all return to the lineup tonight. The bottom six still isn’t ideal, but Jenner and Marchenko will be bringing some much-needed firepower.
Player to Watch
Boone Jenner
Not only will it be Jenner’s first game of the season, but he’ll also be playing his first game under Dean Evason. It looks like Evason will indeed be starting Jenner out on the wing. It will be interesting to see how he adjusts to a new system and a new coach.
Jackets Notes
LDBB did not get a call-up after going 2-6-8 in 15 games played. This is a bit of a head scratcher to me, especially with ZAR and Olivier playing third line minutes. When factoring in the injuries, LDBB seems an obvious top-nine forward in the organization.
Joe LaBate will be playing his first game as a Blue Jacket and his first NHL game since 2016-17 tonight. The 31-year-old is 6’5″, 225 lbs, and has spent most of his career in the AHL. He spent the 2023-24 season in the KHL.
Season Series
12/01/2024 CBJ 6 @ CHI 3
02/22/2025 CHI @ CBJ
Stats
| Chicago | Columbus | |
| 2.69 (28) | GPG | 3.21 (10) |
| 3.44 (30) | GAPG | 3.30 (25) |
| 24.6 (8) | PP% | 21.1 (18) |
| 82.0 (7) | PK% | 75.3 (25) |
| 44.3 (32) | 5v5 Shot Attempt % | 47.3 (29) |
| 44.1 (32) | 5v5 Unblocked Shot Attempt % | 47.6 (26) |
| 9.3 (8) | 5v5 Shooting % | 10.0 (3) |
| 90.4 (24) | 5v5 Save % | 90.7 (22) |
| Ryan Donato, 19 | G Leader | Kirill Marchenko, 21 |
| Connor Bedard, 33 | A Leader | Zach Werenski, 42 |
| Connor Bedard, 49 | P Leader | Zach Werenski, 59 |
| Pat Maroon, 71 | PIM Leader | Mathieu Olivier, 99 |
| 6-18-4 | Home/Road | 17-6-4 |
| 3-3-4 | Last 10 | 4-5-1 |
Projected Lineups
Columbus Blue Jackets
| Dmitri Voronkov | Adam Fantilli | Kirill Marchenko |
| Boone Jenner | Cole Sillinger | Kent Johnson |
| Zach Aston-Reese | Justin Danforth | Mathieu Olivier |
| James van Riemsdyk | Sean Kuraly | Joe LaBate |
| Zach Werenski | Dante Fabbro |
| Denton Mateychuk | Ivan Provorov |
| Jake Christiansen | Damon Severson |
| Elvis Merzlikins |
| Daniil Tarasov |
Chicago Blackhawks
| Landon Slaggert | Connor Bedard | Ryan Donato |
| Philipp Kurashev | Frank Nazar | Tyler Bertuzzi |
| Teuvo Teravainen | Nick Foligno | Ilya Mikheyev |
| Pat Maroon | Lukas Reichel | Craig Smith |
| Alec Martinez | Seth Jones |
| Alex Vlasic | Connor Murphy |
| Ethan Del Mastro | TJ Brodie |
| Petr Mrazek |
| Arvid Soderblom |