Scratches: F Kirill Marchenko (upper body injury), D Dysin Mayo
Injured reserve: Erik Gudbranson (upper body injury), F Boone Jenner (upper body injury)
Roster Report: The Blue Jackets announced Monday afternoon that Marchenko is out after leaving morning skate, with Aston-Reese likely to go into the lineup and Chinakhov moving up. Merzlikins will get the start against the Capitals.
This Day in CBJ History
Nov. 24, 2007: All three CBJ shooters tally in the shootout and the Blue Jackets earn a 3-2 victory vs. Detroit at Nationwide Arena. Michael Peca, Rick Nash and Nikolai Zherdev scored three straight goals past Chris Osgood to give the Jackets the shootout win. In the second period of the game, Detroit’s Tomas Holmstrom and Pavel Datsyuk scored five seconds apart, the fastest two goals against the Blue Jackets in team history.
Nov. 24, 2010: Jakeub Voracek tallies 2:31 into overtime and the Blue Jackets claim a 4-3 win at the New York Islanders.
Nov. 24, 2021: Elvis Merzlikins makes 36 saves and the Blue Jackets earn a 3-0 victory at Winnipeg behind goals from Gregory Hofmann, Zach Werenski and Andrew Peeke.
The Numbers Game
With a goal and assist Saturday at Detroit, Zach Werenski has a six-game point streak (3-7-10) and is tied for second among NHL defensemen in goals (seven), tied for third in points (21), is first in shots on goal (85) and second in average ice time (26:50). … Adam Fantilli has tallied in six of the last eight games and posted a 7-4-11 line in the last nine games. … With a goal and an assist Thursday in Toronto, Dmitri Voronkov has a team-high nine goals (three in the last five games) and notched his fifth multipoint game of the season. … Blue Jackets defensemen have scored an NHL-best 16 goals this season, while Washington is one behind with 15. … Jet Greaves has posted a 4-0-2 record and .916 save percentage in his last six starts, while Elvis Merzlikins is looking for the 99th win of his NHL career. … The CBJ penalty kill is clicking at 88.5 percent (23 for 26) in the last 13 games. … Charlie Coyle is one point away from 500 in his NHL career, while Dean Evason has 198 wins as an NHL head coach.
Know The Foe: Washington Capitals
Head coach: Spencer Carbery (Third season)
Team stats: Goals per game: 3.23 (9th) | Scoring defense: 2.73 (T-6th)| PP: 14.7 percent (27th) | PK: 71.8 percent (29th)
The narrative: You could be forgiven if you thought the Caps’ run among the NHL elite was over. The retirements of Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie marked the end of an era in DC, and Washington didn’t win a playoff series in the six seasons after capturing the 2018 Stanley Cup. Then came last year’s renaissance in which Alex Ovechkin set the NHL’s all-time goals record, the Capitals coasted to the Metropolitan Division title and won their opening series vs. Montreal. Things haven’t come quite as easily this year, but Washington remains in the hunt in the crowded Eastern Conference.
Scoring leaders: Tom Wilson is filling up the scoresheet this year, leading the squad with 11 goals and 21 points, posting a plus-9 rating and placing second in the NHL with 52 penalty minutes. For the second straight season, Dylan Strome is operating a point-per-game pace, posting a 5-15-20 line. Ovechkin has continued to light the lamp, coasting past 900 goals and scoring 10 times this year with 10 assists. Jakob Chychrun (6-13-19) and John Carlson (4-15-19) are tied for the team lead in scoring among defensemen and sixth among NHL D.
In net: Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren had nearly a 50-50 split in net a season ago but Thompson has taken the lead job this year thus far, starting 15 games and posting an 8-6-1 record, 2.24 GAA and .910 save percentage. Lindgren has made eight appearances with a 3-3-1 record, 3.14 GAA and .889 save percentage.
What’s new: The Caps made some changes over the offseason, saying goodbye to forwards Andrew Mangiapane, Lars Eller and Taylor Raddysh while bringing in Justin Sourdif up front. The biggest addition, though, has been rookie forward Ryan Leonard, the No. 8 overall pick in the 2023 draft who has five goals thus far. Washington had won three games in a row, scoring 17 goals in the process, before falling Saturday vs. Tampa Bay.
Trending: Washington won the series opener between the teams Oct. 24, pulling away late to a 5-1 victory at Nationwide Arena. The Blue Jackets are just 4-9-3 in the series the past five seasons.
Former CBJ: After a 66-point campaign a year ago, Pierre-Luc Dubois has played just six games this season and is out long-term thanks to a core muscle injury. Sonny Milano had an injury-plagued 2024-25 campaign and has played 11 games this year with three goals.
