BLUE JACKETS (8-9-2) vs. HURRICANES (14-5-0), 7 PM, NATIONWIDE ARENA

HOW TO FOLLOW

The person in charge of reloading the cannon may want to put in for overtime pay.

The Blue Jackets have shown they can score goals in bunches this season, and that’s been especially true in Nationwide Arena. After Thursday night’s 7-6 overtime win over Tampa Bay, Columbus has scored at least six goals in five of the team’s nine home games, and the squad is averaging 4.33 goals per game at home on the season. Perhaps not coincidentally, the Blue Jackets have won five of the last six in the downtown barn.

Fans, are you not entertained?

“Obviously, we have the skill in here to score goals,” said Zach Werenski, who had a hand in five of the seven tallies two nights ago. “We had a tough stretch there for a few games where we weren’t scoring goals, but for a majority of the year, we’ve scored. We have that confidence in here. A lot of guys have the confidence to do it, and tonight was just another example of that.”

Where head coach Dean Evason would like to see the team get better is defensively. After all, while fans may love the rare 13-goal outburst – Thursday’s game was just the fourth in franchise history with a final score of 7-6 – coaches are less paying customers and much more into attention to defensive details.

Coaching a team that’s 10th in the league in goals but 30th in team defense isn’t exactly where Evason wants to be. He knows he’s getting his fair share of effort from the Blue Jackets on a nightly basis – and there were some fluky tallies against on Wednesday – but it’s his job to make sure the squad doesn’t get into a track meet too often.

“It is wonderful that you can score goals,” Evason said. “Sure, everybody wants to score goals, 100 percent. We think we’re going to score goals hopefully consistently, but we have to really hammer down keeping it out of our net.”

After all, comebacks from a three-goal deficit aren’t going to happen every night. The Blue Jackets pulled it off Thursday after Tampa Bay scored the first three tallies of the game, but it was just the seventh three-goal comeback victory in team history, so it’s best to not try to make it a habit.

But the positive from the game is it showed a never-say-die spirit that is starting to become part of the identity of this CBJ team.

“It’s nice to see the boys stick with it,” Werenski said in the locker room after the Tampa game. “Obviously, it could have gone the other way. We had every reason to, I don’t want to say shut down, but down 3-0 early against a good team, it’s hard to come back from. But we just kept sticking with it, kept playing our game, and I’m really happy with how the boys played.”

Know The Foe: Carolina Hurricanes

Head coach: Rod Brind’Amour (Seventh season)

Team stats: Goals per game: 3.89 (3rd) | Scoring defense: 2.42 (4th) | PP: 24.2 percent (7th) | PK: 83.3 percent (7th)

The narrative: The Canes just keep on Canesing, as the team’s pressuring, speedy style leads to turnovers, shots on goal and a lot of wins. Fresh off six consecutive playoff appearances, Carolina went through major changes in the offseason – including the departure of GM Don Waddell to Columbus – but just keeps on rolling. The Canes are leading the Eastern Conference and on course for a fourth Metro title in five seasons, but the Stanley Cup is the one thing that has eluded the group to this point.

Team leaders: The talent has always been there, and now Martin Necas has fully arrived. The 25-year-old Czech leads Carolina and is third in the NHL with 31 points, including 11 goals and 20 assists, a mark that ties him for fifth in the league in helpers. Andrei Svechnikov (7-10-17) and Sebastian Aho (5-12-17) are next in points, while veteran Shayne Gostisbehere leads the defensive corps with 14 points (four goals, 10 assists). A familiar face is also tied atop the team’s goal chart, as Columbus native Jack Roslovic also has 11 tallies.

With goalie Frederik Andersen out with injury, Pyotr Kochetkov has stepped into a full-time starting role after some strong seasons, and the Russian is tied for second in the NHL in wins with a 10-2-0 record, 2.30 GAA and .907 save percentage.

What’s new: Carolina saw a shakeup in the front office and also in the lineup this offseason, as the team said goodbye to Jake Guentzel, Teuvo Teravainen, Stefan Noesen and Brady Skjei and welcomed in former Blue Jackets Roslovic and Eric Robinson as well as William Carrier, Gostisbehere and Sean Walker. It’s made little difference in the success of the team, as the Canes are yet to lose consecutive games this year, but it could happen tonight after the team’s 4-2 setback in New Jersey on Thursday.

Trending: Carolina has been the Blue Jackets’ kryptonite the past three seasons, as Columbus is 3-8-0 in the series since the start of the 2021-22 campaign. The Blue Jackets won just one of the four matchups a season ago, a 6-3 victory in the season finale at Nationwide Arena.

Former CBJ: Robinson is tied for fifth on the team in scoring on the season, posting a 5-7-12 line, while Roslovic’s goal-scoring touch has been on full display. The team also has goalie Spencer Martin, who has played in three games thus far.

Projected CBJ Lineup (Subject to change)

Scratches: Kevin Labanc, Jordan Harris

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

Roster Report: Columbus did not have a full team practice Friday, so any changes to the lineup will come from Dean Evason at his morning skate press conference.

The Numbers Game

Sean Kuraly is set to play in his 500th career game. … Zach Werenski (2-3-5) posted the first five-point night for a defenseman in franchise history on Thursday night vs. Tampa Bay. He leads NHL defensemen in shots on goal (73) and average time on ice (25:46) and is second in goals (six) and points (19). With the five points, he also moved into fifth all-time in scoring in CBJ history. … Werenski also has a four-game point streak (2-7-9). … Kent Johnson posted his second career two-goal game against the Lightning and has at least one point in every game he’s played this season (4-3-7 in five games). … Goalie Elvis Merzlikins has won his last three starts, while both Yegor Chinakhov and Dmitri Voronkov have goals in two straight games. … Columbus has six games with six or more goals for the sixth time in franchise history. This is the first time ever the team has reached that mark within the first 19 games. … Kirill Marchenko has a 6-12-18 line in the last 18 games. … Damon Severson notched his 300th career point Thursday. … Columbus has shorthanded goals in back-to-back games for the sixth time in franchise history.

This Day in CBJ History

Nov. 23, 2007: Goalie Pascal Leclaire continues his incredible start to the season, earning his sixth shutout of the year in the team’s 22nd game. Leclaire posts 32 games in a 4-0 victory at Minnesota, while Michael Peca, David Vyborny, Dan Fritsche and Rick Nash score goals.