Game #10 preview, the Blue Jackets look to drop the Leafs at home

The Blue Jackets will be right back at it tonight, facing the Toronto Maple Leafs at home in the second half of back-to-back starts.

With all 32 teams playing in last night's "Frozen Frenzy", it's a rare quick turn around where both teams involved had to travel. And, it's about the same distance.

Last night, the Leafs beat the Calgary Flames 4-3 in Toronto, thanks to a late third period Max Domi goal. They have now won two games in a row, after snapping a three game losing skid by beating the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.

The Opponent

Toronto's record sits at 5-4-1 (11 points), with 35 goals scored and 36 goals conceded. Despite some roster change over the summer, this is still a very talented Maple Leafs club that should give the Blue Jackets all they can handle tonight.

They are led in scoring by William Nylander, who has 3 goals and 15 points in 9 games played. Captain John Tavares (5-8-13), Matthew Knies (4-9-13), and Auston Matthews (5-3-8) give them a strong start to their top two lines.

They lost Mitch Marner in the offseason, so the "core four" era in Toronto is finished. Instead, they now have a deeper, more balanced forward group with some added physicality and different traits to work with.

On the blue line, they are still lacking a true #1 defenseman. They're led by Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Jake McCabe and Morgan Rielly, who are certainly talented; but their overall mix is not on the level of some of the recent defense corps the Blue Jackets have gone up against.

Here are their lines from last night (subject to change for tonight's game):

In goal, expect Cayden Primeau to get the start, after Anthony Stolarz went against the Flames last night. Primeau is 2-0-0 on the season, with a .875% save percentage and 3.46 goals against average.

The Good Guys

The Jackets got a little bit of a shakeup after warmups last night, with Erik Gudbranson being a late scratch due to a hip ailment. That thrust Jake Christiansen back into the lineup, and I thought he played a good game.

Miles Wood also returned for the Jackets, and his line with Isac Lundestrom and Yegor Chinakhov stole the show. Wood scored two goals - the late tying goal and the OT winner - in last night's victory over Buffalo.

I would expect the Jackets to roll out with the same lineup tonight, with the lone exception being Elvis Merzlikins starting in goal. Elvis is 3-1-0 with a .915% save percentage and 2.96 goals against average in his four starts so far.

The Jackets are led in scoring by Kirill Marchenko Dmitri Voronkov, who both have 5 goals and 9 points through 9 games. Boone Jenner and Zach Werenski each have 2 goals and 6 points, then it's Adam Fantilli with 2 goals and 5 points.

I will be interested to see if any of the lines are shaken up for tonight's game. Last night, I thought the entire middle six up front was lacking, so head coach Dean Evason might be looking for a spark if they start slow tonight against Toronto.

Three Keys to Success

1. Don't get into a track meet. Despite the loss of Mitch Marner, this is still a lethal offensive team from Toronto. They can make teams pay, especially with quick transitions. The Blue Jackets cannot let this game turn into a battle of odd man rushes.

2. Shoot! And hit the net. Why are the Leafs so dangerous offensively? They shoot the puck in their high danger chances. I would like to see the Blue Jackets be more selfish and take advantage of slot chances tonight. Put them on goal, see what happens.

3. More than one line, please. While I loved seeing the fourth line win last night's game for the Blue Jackets, they need to have other guys show up tonight. The first line was okay last night, but the second and third had a tough go. At least two or three of these lines needs to show up and show out tonight.

Puck drop is late for this one. It's a 7:30 start from Nationwide. You can catch the action via Fan Duel Sports Network, ESPN+, or tune in via NHL radio. As always, give us a follow on X for live in-game reactions.