The Columbus Blue Jackets will aim to avoid a third straight loss when they begin a four-game homestand against the Utah Hockey Club on Thursday night.
Columbus lost 3-2 on Tuesday in Buffalo, wrapping up a four-game road trip (2-2-0). Ivan Provorov scored a goal and added an assist, while Kent Johnson scored the other goal. Johnson extended his point streak to eight games (four goals, five assists).
“I thought our effort was certainly there,” Columbus coach Dean Evason said. “Maybe there is an element of not playing some games and some juggling a little bit with some different players, but having said that, we’ve still got to get the job done, we’ve still got to play like we play, and we’ve got to stay with how we play the game.”
Elvis Merzlikins made 18 saves for the Blue Jackets, who were missing their top defensive pairing of Zach Werenski and Dante Fabbro due to upper-body injuries.
Werenski is questionable for Thursday, while Fabbro is expected to miss two to three weeks.
Leading scorer Kirill Marchenko missed his first game of the season after breaking his jaw in a 5-3 loss to Dallas on Sunday. The forward was placed on injured reserve and will be out indefinitely.
This injury is especially tough for Columbus as they fight for a playoff spot. Entering Thursday, they were one point out of the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Despite this, the Blue Jackets have been solid at home, with a 17-5-3 record. They are 4-4-1 overall since a six-game winning streak from January 4-16.
Thursday’s game will be the second and final meeting between Columbus and Utah this season. The Blue Jackets won 3-2 in overtime last Friday in Salt Lake City.
Utah enters the game following a 3-2 overtime victory over Philadelphia to close a four-game homestand (1-1-2). Dylan Guenther scored twice, including the overtime winner with one second left, as Utah snapped a five-game losing streak (0-3-2). Guenther returned to the lineup after missing 12 games due to a lower-body injury.
Mikhail Sergachev scored a goal and added two assists, and Karel Vejmelka made 18 saves for Utah. Sergachev tied his career high with 10 goals on Tuesday.
Utah, six points out of a Western Conference wild-card spot entering Wednesday, is 4-4-2 in their last 10 games and 13-10-3 on the road this season.
“We still very much believe,” Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. “We know at this point, we’ll need a little bit of help. We didn’t take the straight line, but we can make it, and we’ll fight for it.”
“And now we need to go on the road and have a (heck) of a road trip.” Clayton Keller leads Utah with 39 assists and 57 points in 52 games this season. He and Guenther are tied for the team lead with 18 goals each.
Vejmelka is 12-14-4 with a .910 save percentage and a 2.46 goals-against average in 30 starts this season. In two career appearances against the Blue Jackets, Vejmelka is 1-0-1 with a .900 save percentage and a 2.48 GAA.
Merzlikins has a 19-13-3 record with an .894 save percentage and a 2.96 goals-against average in 35 starts this season. He is 2-2-1 in six career appearances against the Arizona Coyotes franchise, with an .885 save percentage and a 3.50 GAA.
Daniil Tarasov was in goal for Columbus in the teams’ first meeting and made 32 saves.
