One of the biggest games in Blue Jackets history will take place this evening at one of college football’s cathedrals.
Ohio Stadium will be the setting later today for one of the coolest events in sports. The NHL will be invading the home of the Buckeyes when they host the Navy Credit Union Stadium Series game between the Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets.
This marks the 43rd outdoor NHL regular season game, and second the league has held this year. Back on New Year’s Eve, the St. Louis Blues beat the Chicago Blackhawks 6-2 at Wrigley Field
Photo by Ben Jackson/NHLI via Getty Images
As if playing the game outdoors at one of college football’s most prestigious stadiums wasn’t entertaining enough, the Blue Jackets and Red Wings are neck-and-neck for playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.
The teams each enter tonight’s game with 66 points. Detroit holds the first Wild Card spot because they have more wins in regulation than Columbus. The Blue Jackets were able to cut into Detroit’s advantage on Thursday night when they beat the Red Wings 5-2 in Detroit, earning some revenge for Detroit beating the Blue Jackets 5-4 in Columbus on January 2nd.
Following a scoreless first period on Thursday night, the Red Wings jumped out to a 1-0 lead early in the second period. Not long after the Blue Jackets found their offense, scoring four goals in an 11-minute span to take a 4-1 lead at Little Caesars Arena. James van Riemsdyk scored two of those goals, Boone Jenner was credited with three assists, and Kent Johnson scored a goal and dished out an assist.
Kirill Marchenko added to his team-high goal total when he scored an empty net goal late in the game to close out the scoring. Marchenko now has 24 goals this season, four more than Johnson has netted.
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With the victory, Columbus has now won all three games they have played since returning from the 4 Nations Tournament break. For those outside Columbus, Zach Werenski became a household name with his performance in the four-team tournament, assisting on five goals over the four games Team USA played.
Werenski has been one of the best defensemen in the NHL so far this season, potting 18 goals and dishing out 44 assists, giving him a team-high 62 points. Werenski has a shot at breaking Artemi Panarin’s team records of 59 assists and 87 points, both of which were set in the 2018-19 season.
Columbus being in the mix for a playoff spot shows just how tough this team is after all they have endured since before the season even began. On August 29th, Blue Jackets winger Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew were tragically killed by a drunk driver in New Jersey, just a day before their sister was to be married.
Since their passing, there have been a number of touching tributes to the Gaudreau brothers by the Blue Jackets, the NHL, and the Ohio State Buckeyes even paid tribute to them prior to a football game during the season. The most touching moment came recently at a Blue Jackets game when the crowd at Nationwide Arena sang Happy Birthday to Johnny’s son, who was turning one.
Head coach Dean Evason has also had to navigate dealing with a number of injuries during his first season as head coach of the Blue Jackets. Then a week before the season started, captain Boone Jenner suffered a shoulder injury that sidelined him for the first 56 games of the season. Defenseman Erik Gudbranson was injured three games into the season.
Recently, Sean Monahan was injured after joining the team in the offseason. Monahan had 14 goals and 27 assists before he was sidelined, but should be returning in the next month. Kirill Marchenko also suffered a broken jaw before the 4 Nations break but was able to return to the ice a few weeks earlier than most were expecting since the injury wasn’t as severe as first thought.
Likely to be between the pipes for the Blue Jackets tonight is Elvis Merzlikins, who is in the midst of the best season of his NHL career. Thursday night saw backup goaltender Daniil Tarasov get the start for Columbus, clearing the way for Merzlikins to get the start at Ohio Stadium. Merzlikins is 21-14-4 this year with a 2.96 goals against average, which is a massive improvement from the last three years, which saw Merzlikins post a goals against average over three.
The only area lacking for the top goalie of the Blue Jackets is in shutouts, as he has just one so far this season, well below his career-high of five shutouts, which he set back in the 2019-20 season. Although it would be nice to see more shutouts from Merzlikins, all that matters in the end is if Columbus wins games.
To win their fourth consecutive game, the Blue Jackets will have to defeat a Detroit team that is hungry to make their first playoff appearance since the 2015-16 season. The Red Wings looked dead in the water early in the season, leading to management firing head coach Derek Lalonde on Dec. 26.
Replacing Lalonde was long-time NHL head coach Todd McLellan, who made previous stops in San Jose, Edmonton, and Los Angeles. Over the last 12 games, Detroit has posted a 9-3 record, with a seven-game winning streak kicking off that stretch.
Photo by Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images
Leading the charge for the Red Wings are a quartet of scorers. Lucas Raymond is one of the best young scorers in the NHL, netting 22 goals and 41 assists so far this season. Center Dylan Larkin is the team’s captain and coming off the 4 Nations Tournament, which saw him score the game-winning goal for Team USA in the first matchup with Canada. Alex DeBrincat has a team-high 27 goals, while Patrick Kane has racked up 35 points as he is in the twilight of his career after winning three Stanley Cups with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Luckily for fans heading down to campus for tonight’s game the weather looks almost perfect for an outdoor game. There is no threat of heavy precipitation forecasted, and the overcast skies are actually welcomed in Ohio during the winter since sun actually hurts keeping the ice in top form. Although the wind will add a little chill to the air, it feels fitting for a hockey game.
Prior to the game there will be plenty of events to keep fans busy around campus. From 12:00 p.m. ET to 5:00 p.m. ET there will be the NHL PreGame in the Riverwatch Tower parking lot, allowing fans to get a picture with the Stanley Cup, as well as participate in a number of other fun activities.
There will also be a pep rally at St. John Arena, which will include a performance from the band, along with OAR. Doors at St. John Arena will open at 1:30 p.m. ET. Following the OAR concert, the Blue Jackets will do a team walk from the pep rally to Ohio Stadium.
Hopefully the Blue Jackets can earn a win in a big game at Ohio Stadium over a team from Michigan! If they are able to beat the Red Wings, maybe Ryan Day should call Dean Evason for some tips!