PREVIEW: Blue Jackets close homestand against Canadiens

The Blue Jackets have points in four straight games, and they’ve gotten there through various means.

Columbus earned a win and an overtime loss in a pair of games vs. Edmonton that were rollicking, offensively charged affairs that both finished with a 5-4 score.

Then there was Tuesday’s shootout win at Seattle and Saturday’s shootout loss vs. the New York Rangers that both finished 65 minutes with a 1-1 score. Those were much tighter, defense-first contests, where the Blue Jackets had to grind their way to the points when offensive opportunities weren’t plentiful.

The fact that Columbus was able to handle both styles of games is a good sign, but it is probably even more positive that a CBJ team that has struggled defensively the past few years was able to navigate tight-checking battles like those against the Kraken and Rangers.

Kirill Marchenko described Saturday night’s game as a playoff-style contest, and Zach Werenski said he was proud of the way his team stuck with it and earned a point.

“I feel like if you can learn to play in those games, learn to battle through it, learn how to create offense and play well defensively, you’re going to set yourself up for success in other games,” Werenski said. “I like the way we handled it. It’s a (Rangers) team with a lot of good players, coached well, structured well, and we were right there with them. It’s a good game for our group.”

It’s fair to say head coach Dean Evason felt the same way.

“That’s exactly what we were saying in the coaches room, that that’s a very structured, strong hockey club with a lot of elements – great goaltending, a hard game to be in and to play, and our guys played extremely well,” Evason said. “We played hard, too. Consequently it’s a tie game with a couple power play (goals) and that’s it. ... I completely agree with the guys that it was a lot of valuable lessons to be remembered out of this game.”

Tonight’s game could be more like the Edmonton contests, though, as Montreal comes to Columbus in the top 10 of the NHL in goal scoring but in the bottom 10 in team defense.

Scratches: F Luca Del Bel Belluz, D Dysin Mayo

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

Roster Report: Greaves will make a fifth straight start in net, while Chinakhov moves up in the lineup with Del Bel Belluz out. Aston-Reese is expected to return to the lineup in his place.

This Day in CBJ History

Nov. 17, 2002: Geoff Sanderson scores the opening goal of a 3-2 overtime loss at Dallas, extending his CBJ-record run to tallies in seven straight games.

Nov. 17, 2017: Sergei Bobrovsky stops all 36 shots he sees as the Blue Jackets post a 2-0 shutout of the New York Rangers at Nationwide Arena. Zach Werenski and Artemi Panarin score for Columbus. Earlier in the day, Cam Atkinson signs a seven-year contract extension with the Blue Jackets.

Nov. 17, 2018: Atkinson has his fifth career hat trick, scoring three goals in a 4-1 win at Carolina. Atkinson was in the midst of a stretch of scoring in seven straight games, tying Sanderson’s club record.

Nov. 17, 2022: Mathieu Olivier scores his first goal as a Blue Jacket, notching the game-winning goal in a 6-4 victory against Montreal at Nationwide Arena. Sean Kuraly tallies two goals while Gustav Nyquist, Boone Jenner and Cole Sillinger also score.

The Numbers Game

With an assist vs. the Rangers, Kirill Marchenko extended his career-best point streak to 11 games (3-10-13) and has seven points in the last five games. The point streak is tied for the third longest in franchise history and is two shy of tying the CBJ record set by Ryan Johansen in 2014-15. ... Adam Fantilli has goals in three of the last four games and saw a four-game point streak (3-3-6) end Saturday. … Charlie Coyle has eight points in the last four home games (2-6-8) while Mathieu Olivier has seven (3-4-7) and linemate Cole Sillinger has five (2-3-5). ... Blue Jackets defensemen have scored in 11 of 18 games so far this year, and the team’s 13 tallies from blueliners lead the NHL. … Zach Werenski is tied for third in the NHL among defensemen in goals (four), is first in shots on goal (66) and places second in average time on ice (26:39). … Denton Mateychuk also has four goals on the year to tie Werenski and seven others for third among NHL defensemen. ... Elvis Merzlikins has 98 career victories, two shy of 100, heading into the game. ... The CBJ penalty kill is clicking at 90 percent (18 for 20) in the last 10 games. ... Werenski is three points from 400 in his CBJ and NHL careers; he would be the third Blue Jacket to reach the mark with the franchise following Rick Nash (547) and Cam Atkinson (402). ... Coyle is three points from 500 in his NHL career.

Know The Foe: Montreal Canadiens

Head coach: Martin St. Louis (Fifth season)

Team stats: Goals per game: 3.33 (T-6th) | Scoring defense: 3.39 (25th) | PP: 21.4 percent (13th) | PK: 79.4 percent (T-16th)

The narrative: Boosted by an underrated captain in Nick Suzuki and young offensive talents like Juraj Slafkovsky, Cole Caufield, Lane Hutson and Ivan Demidov, Montreal followed three straight last-place finishes in the Atlantic Division by edging out the Blue Jackets for the final Eastern Conference wild card spot a year ago. While the Habs lost a first-round series to Washington, it’s a talented, fast squad that has eyes on more this year, and a strong start to the season has done nothing to dull the enthusiasm in one of the most passionate cities in the NHL.

Scoring leaders: Coming off a career-best 89 point season, Suzuki again leads the Canadiens with a 4-17-21 line in the early going, and he’s tied for sixth in the NHL in helpers thus far. Caufield has followed a 37-goal season with 13 tallies in the early going this year to tie for second in the league, adding six assists for a total of 19 points. Just 21, Hutson won the Calder Trophy a year ago and leads the defensive corps with a 1-13-14 line, while Demidov’s first full NHL season has been exciting, as the 20-year-old Russian has posted four goals among 13 points.

In net: Returning starter Sam Montembeault has struggled (4-5-1, 3.56 GAA), and former Ohio State netminder Jakub Dobes will get the start against the Blue Jackets. The second-year netminder has a 6-1-1 record, 2.70 GAA and .901 save percentage.

What's new: Montreal might be the most fun team to watch in the NHL, able to score and give up goals in equal measure. The issue right now is injuries, though – after a 9-3-0 start, the Canadiens are just 1-3-2 in the last six games, while Alex Newhook and Kirby Dach have joined Patrik Laine and Kaiden Guhle on the shelf long-term. That’s more than $20 million on the injury list, and the Habs’ depth will be tested as they try to stay in the Atlantic race.

Trending: Columbus went 1-1-1 against the Habs last year, including 1-0-1 in Nationwide Arena. The Blue Jackets dropped an overtime contest against Montreal by a 4-3 score Nov. 27, then beat the Canadiens by a 5-4 final Dec. 23. Overall, the Blue Jackets are just 2-5-2 in the series the last three years.

Former CBJ: Laine played just five games without a goal before suffering a core muscle injury that will keep him out for months. Now in his sixth season in Montreal, Josh Anderson has a 2-3-5 line in 18 games, while St. Louis served as a CBJ coaching consultant during the 2018-19 season.