PREVIEW: Blue Jackets, Red Wings battle in Saturday afternoon hockey

If form holds true, expect another nailbiter today as the Blue Jackets take on the Red Wings in a Saturday matinee.

The Blue Jackets have certainly kept fans on the edge of their seats the last few games, going to overtime in five of the last seven contests. Fourteen of the team’s 21 games thus far have been decided by one goal, with Columbus holding an 8-4-2 record in such contests.

But that doesn't make the Jackets unique around the NHL. Tight games are the norm across the league, with a record total of contests going to overtime at the quarter mark of the season, more than three in four contests within a one-goal (or two with an empty-net tally) margin and nearly half of wins featuring a comeback of some sort.

“I think every year you go, ‘Jeez, there’s such great parity in the National Hockey League,’ and this year probably even more,” head coach Dean Evason said. “Every team, it’s like it’s a grind. They’re tough games, and I think every team in the league right now thinks they can make the playoffs. It’s fantastic. It’s the best league in the world, and it should be that close.”

Of course, that won’t make weary, stressed-out CBJ fans feel any better, but it’s part of the world the team lives in right now. With games coming down to the wire across the league, the Blue Jackets have to be comfortable playing in close games, and defenseman Zach Werenski said that was exactly the case late in the team’s 3-2 overtime win at Toronto on Thursday.

“I just liked where we were at,” Werenski said of the team’s play and mind-set. “I felt comfortable we were going to win the game pretty much the whole time. I think that's a good step in the right direction for this group.”

To Evason, those are likely the words he’d like to hear from the alternate captain.

“I think it’s the leadership in the room that provides that, that you stay calm,” Evason said. “Our group, our team, last year, this year, hasn’t shown panic. There’s great leadership in there. The ability to stay calm in those tight situations, up or down, is a very positive thing.”

Scratches: F Zach Aston-Reese, D Dysin Mayo

Injured reserve/Non-Roster: Erik Gudbranson (upper body injury), F Boone Jenner (upper body injury)

Roster Report: The Blue Jackets returned Luca Del Bel Belluz to Cleveland on Friday and called up Gaunce, who will go into the lineup, while Greaves gets the start in net.

This Day in CBJ History

Nov. 22, 2006: Ken Hitchcock is named the fourth head coach in Blue Jackets history. He’d go on to post a 125-123-36 record and lead the Blue Jackets to their first playoff appearance over four seasons at the helm. In addition, Rostislav Klesla scores the 1,000th goal in CBJ history, tying the score at 2-all in the second period in a game vs. St. Louis at Nationwide Arena. The Blues would go on to earn a 4-3 win in a shootout, the first shootout loss in CBJ history.

Nov. 22, 2008: Steve Mason earns his first career shutout, making just 15 saves – the fewest ever for a CBJ goalie in a blanking – in a 2-0 win at Atlanta behind goals from Rick Nash and R.J. Umberger. The rookie would go on to lead the NHL that season with 10 shutouts.

Nov. 22, 2010: Mason earns the 16th shutout of his career, this time stopping all 27 shots against in a 2-0 home win vs. Nashville. Nash and Mike Commodore score goals in the Blue Jackets’ fourth shutout of the month, with the previous three posted by Mathieu Garon.

Nov. 22, 2017: Shutouts are wild on this date in CBJ history, as Sergei Bobrovsky stops all 22 Calgary shots and Josh Anderson scores in overtime to give the Blue Jackets a 1-0 win in Nationwide Arena.

Nov. 22, 2023: The Blue Jackets take a 7-3 win over Chicago at Nationwide Arena on the night before Thanksgiving. Boone Jenner scores twice while Zach Werenski has four assists to set a CBJ record for helpers by a defenseman.

The Numbers Game

With three assists Thursday at Toronto, Zach Werenski moved into second place in points in CBJ history with 403, moving past Cam Atkinson (402). He has a five-game point streak (2-6-8) and is tied for third among NHL defensemen in goals (six), tied for fourth in points (19), is first in shots on goal (78) and second in average ice time (26:47). ... Adam Fantilli had the fifth three-point night of his career in Toronto and eighth multigoal game. He has tallied in five of the last seven games and posted a 6-4-10 line in the last eight games. ... With a goal and an assist in Toronto, Dmitri Voronkov has a team-high nine goals and notched his fifth multipoint game of the season. ... Charlie Coyle has a 2-8-10 line in the last 12 games and five points (1-4-5) in the last five games. He is one point from 500 in his 14-year NHL career. ... Blue Jackets defensemen have scored an NHL-best 15 goals this season. … Jet Greaves has posted a .926 save percentage in his last five starts, while Elvis Merzlikins is looking for the 99th win of his NHL career. ... The CBJ penalty kill is clicking at 87.5 percent (21 for 24) in the last 13 games. ... The Blue Jackets are 5-0-0 against Atlantic Division squads this year. ... Dean Evason has 198 wins as an NHL head coach.

Know The Foe: Detroit Red Wings

Head coach: Todd McLellan (Second season)

Team stats: Goals per game: 2.86 (23rd) | Scoring defense: 3.19 (T-22nd) | PP: 21.4 percent (14th) | PK: 81.7 percent (13th)

The narrative: The Red Wings enter today’s game in first place in the Atlantic Division, fueling hopes in the Motor City that the team could be playing playoff hockey in spring. It would be the first year since 2015-16 that would be the case, as the Wings’ 25-year run of qualifying for the Stanley Cup Playoffs has been followed by nine years on the outside looking in. Detroit was in the race until the end the last two seasons before falling just short, and their hope is they can finally make the next step this year.

Scoring leaders: The usual suspects are at the top of the chart for Detroit, starting with captain Dylan Larkin, who is one pace for a career high in scoring with a 12-12-24 line in 21 games while posting a plus-9 rating and winning 56.2 percent of his faceoffs. One of the top snipers in the game coming off a 39-goal season, Alex DeBrincat has nine goals among his 23 points, while Lucas Raymond has followed an 80-point season with a 6-16-22 line. Moritz Seider leads the defense with 12 points, including two goals.

In net: The game of musical chairs in the Detroit net that have marked the franchise since the end of the Jimmy Howard era has settled on John Gibson, as the Red Wings traded for the longtime Anaheim goalie this summer. Gibson is 4-6-1 with a 3.46 GAA and .870 save percentage in 12 starts, while Cam Talbot is 8-2-0 with a 2.64 GAA and .897 SV%.

What's new: The Red Wings are 3-1-1 in their last five games coming in but suffered a 5-0 thumping Thursday night at the hands of the Islanders. While their top players have been humming, the secondary scoring has struggled, and the Wings have scored two or fewer goals in 10 of 21 games thus far. McLellan joined Detroit midway through last season and led the team to a 26-18-4 record, but it wasn’t enough to get the Red Wings over the hump; this year, the solid start has the team in the thick of the race.

Trending: The Blue Jackets were 2-1-0 against the Red Wings last year, including the NHL Stadium Series win in Ohio Stadium as well as a 5-2 win in Detroit two days earlier. Columbus has fared well at Little Caesars Arena, posting an 8-4-2 mark since it opened in 2017.

Former CBJ: After spending last season with the Blue Jackets, veteran forward James van Riemsdyk signed with the Red Wings and has a goal and an assist thus far in 16 games.