Another quick turn-around for the Blue Jackets. Tonight, they'll play the Islanders on Long Island, with a start time that is just 23 hours after last night's puck drop at home.
Thank goodness for daylight savings time.
The NHL schedule makers did the Jackets no favors this season. This is their third back-to-back start in nine days, which has made an already busy schedule feel even more frantic.
Thankfully, they have played pretty well on both sides of the back-to-back so far this year. They are 4-1-0 so far, with the lone loss coming in the first half of their first back-to-back last Friday.
Tonight, the Jackets face a little bit of a different challenge. The Islanders are dead last in the tight Eastern Conference, with a 5-5-1 record (11 points). Do not let their standing fool you: this is a talented and very experienced team.
The Opponent
The Islanders had yesterday off. Their last game was on Friday night in Washington, where they beat the Capitals 3-1. The Capitals were the last team to beat the Blue Jackets, so this is evidence that the Islanders are still a pretty good team.
Prior to that win over the Caps, they had lost three straight games; but overall they sit with just a -3 goal differential on the year (37 scored, 40 allowed).
As we have come to know over the years, this is a team that does not have elite offensive talent. Instead, they rely on balanced scoring from throughout their lineup.
Bo Horvat (7g, 5a, 12pts) leads them in both goals and points, but Mat Barzal (3-6-9, 10gp) is not far off of his pace. Barzal missed one game as a healthy scratch due to a late arrival for a team meeting.
After those two, the Islanders have three players tied with 8 points apiece: veterans Kyle Palmieri and Anders Lee; along with standout rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer.
There is not much of a drop-off from that top-5, as three additional players are tied with 6 points apiece. As I mentioned, they are a very balanced offensive team.
In goal, Ilya Sorokin is off to a somewhat slow start with a 3-4-1 record through 8 starts (.877 save percentage, 3.40 goals against average). He is expected to get the start tonight against the Jackets.
The Good Guys
The Blue Jackets head into Long Island with four straight wins, and six wins in their last seven games. Dean Evason has found balance with his lineup, and on any given night this team is winning with contributions from different lines.
For that reason, I would not expect any changes to the CBJ lineup from last night's home win over the St Louis Blues. The only change should be in goal, with Elvis Merzlikins slated to get the start tonight.
Merzlikins has gotten off to his best start in years, currently boasting a 4-1-0 record with a 2.97 goals against average and .915% save percentage. He has taken on the undesirable role of playing the second half of these back-to-backs, and gone 2-0-0 in these starts.
He has shown impressive maturity, kept his emotions in check, and brought a lot of energy into these games. Hopefully he can keep that up tonight.
The Jackets are also a very balanced scoring team to start this campaign. Kirill Marchenko (5-6-11) leads the way, followed by Dmitri Voronkov (5-5-10), Zach Werenski (4-6-10), Charlie Coyle (2-7-9), Cole Sillinger and Boone Jenner (each at 2-4-6).
Three Keys to Success
1. Do not let the Islanders score first. Over the past several years, the Islanders have not been shy about slogging the game down to a crawl and winning 2-0 or 3-1 after scoring an early goal. Even at home. The Jackets will have much better odds if they can get on the board first.
2. Out-compete the depth. These teams are very similar, relying on their depth to win games. The bottom two lines of the Blue Jackets have to be better than the bottom two lines of the Islanders tonight. That starts with working harder.
3. Welcome Matthew Schaefer to the NHL. Don't let the kid get comfortable on the ice tonight. A lot of the buzz around this team is due to their first overall selection's hot start. Finish every check on him and make him uncomfortable.
This one is an early start, with puck drop scheduled for 5:00. If the Jackets can bring their legs, they should be able to take the Long Island crowd out of this one early, which will better their chance at success.
As always, this one will be on FDSN, ESPN+, or you can listen in to Bobby Mac via NHL radio. Give us a follow on X for live reactions.