Columbus Blue Jackets (0-1-0, 0 pts) at Colorado Avalanche (0-1-0, 0 pts)
Venue: Ball Arena
Date: Saturday, October 12
Time: 9:00 pm ET / 7:00 pm MT
TV: ESPN+ / BSOH / ALT
Radio:
Columbus – WBNS The Fan 97.1 FM
Colorado – Altitude Sports Radio 92.5 FM / 950 AM
DraftKings Sportsbook Betting Lines:
Columbus +1.5
Colorado -1.5
O/U 6.5
Columbus Blue Jackets Notes:
Columbus was satisfied with everything about their opener but the scoreboard, taking a 3-2 defeat at the hands of the Minnesota Wild. The Blue Jackets were pleased with their overall defensive structure, and their top line of Yegor Chinakhov, Sean Monahan, and Kirill Marchenko had a decided advantage in territorial play with a 16-4 shot attempt edge.
Colorado Avalanche Notes:
Jonathan Drouin is day-to-day with an upper-body injury suffered during the Avalanche’s 8-4 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. Drouin is expected to miss the next two games and will keep being reevaluated. Nathan MacKinnon recorded his 900th and 901st points of his career with his two assists against Vegas. MacKinnon is 45 points away from tying Michel Goulet for 3rd place on the Avs/Nordiques all-time scoring list.
Columbus Blue Jackets Lineup:
Chinakhov-Monahan-Marchenko
van Riemsdyk-Fantilli-Labanc
Pyyhtia-Sillinger-Johnson
Aston-Reese-Kuraly-Olivier
Werenski-Provorov
Christiansen-Severson
Johnson-Gudbranson
Tarasov
Merzlikins
Colorado Avalanche Lineup:
Kovalenko-MacKinnon-Rantanen
Colton-Mittelstadt-Ritchie
Wood-Kelly-O’Connor
Wagner-Ivan-Kiviranta
Toews-Makar
Girard-Manson
de Haan-Malinski
Georgiev
Annunen
Players To Watch:
Columbus – Kent Johnson has had a strong start to the 2024-25 season with 2 points in his first game. It was Johnson’s 11th career multi-point game. Columbus is hoping for a breakout year from the former No. 5 overall pick.
Colorado – Mikko Rantanen had a hat trick in the season opener and leads the Avs in points with three. In his last home game against Columbus, a 6-1 win for Colorado, Rantanen had two goals and an assist.
Injuries:
Columbus –
C Cayden Lindstrom – OUT Day To Day – Est. return October 30
C Boone Jenner – IR Month To Month- Est. return March 1
RW Justin Danforth – IR (Non-Roster) – Est. return October 15
Colorado –
LW Jonathan Drouin – OUT Day To Day – Est. return October 16
RW Valeri Nichushkin – IR (Non-Roster) – Est. return November 15
LW Gabriel Landeskog – LTIR
LW Artturi Lehkonen – IR (Non-Roster) – Est. return November 2
Next game
Columbus – October 15 vs. Florida
Colorado – October 14 vs. NY Islanders
