Columbus Blue Jackets News

Detroit will be without Patrick Kane (illness) on Saturday and have a few players banged up which has led to the emergency recall of Zach Aston-Reese. The 29-year-old forward has appeared in only one game for the Red Wings this season and barely saw the ice as he only had 6:29 TOI without any counting stats.

The Blue Jackets have lost five straight, being outscored 26-9, and will turn to Tarasov between the pipes to attempt to stop the bleeding in a match against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Tarasov has allowed four goals in his last two contests (0-2-0), but was solid in his previous outing, saving 43 of 47 shots (.915 SV%) in a 4-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. The Blue Jackets enter action as +194 road underdogs.

The Blue Jackets have lost five straight, being outscored 26-9, and will turn to Tarasov between the pipes to attempt to stop the bleeding in a match against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Tarasov has allowed four goals in his last two contests (0-2-0), but was solid in his previous outing, saving 43 of 47 shots (.915 SV%) in a 4-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. The Blue Jackets enter action as +194 road underdogs.

The Blue Jackets have lost four straight and will turn to Merzlikins for the third time in the last five games. Merzlikins has allowed six goals in each of his last two contests (0-2-0), including a 45-save outing (.882 SV%) in his last contest, a 6-1 losing effort to the Colorado Avalanche. The Blue Jackets enter action as +137 road underdogs against the Arizona Coyotes.

Werenski is battling a lower-body injury but appears to be available for Friday's game against the Colorado Avalanche. Werenski has been effective offensively lately, tallying five points (1G / 4A) in his last four games.

The Blue Jackets have been outscored 10-4 in their past two games (0-1-1) and will turn to Merzlikins to tend the twine on Friday against the Colorado Avalanche. Merzlikins has lost three straight, including a forgettable performance in his last outing, allowing six goals on 27 shots (.778 SV%) in a 6-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets. The Blue Jackets enter action as enormous +329 road underdogs.

Werenski is battling a lower-body injury and might be unavailable for Friday's game against the Colorado Avalanche. Werenski has been effective offensively lately, tallying five points (1G / 4A) in his last four games.

Tarasov has been excellent lately but has served as the backup in two of the last three games. He will return to the crease on Tuesday and look to continue his streak of allowing three or fewer goals in eight straight games, including saving 39 of 41 shots (.951 SV%) in his last outing, a 4-2 win over the San Jose Sharks. The Blue Jackets enter action as +150 road underdogs against a Detroit Red Wings club with only one win in their last nine games (1-8-0).

Christiansen played three games with the Blue Jackets earlier this season but has spent most of the 2023-24 campaign in the AHL. He has 40 points (13G / 27A) in 54 games with the Cleveland Monsters (AHL) and could slot into the Blue Jackets lineup after being recalled due to Adam Boqvist suffering an upper-body injury.

Chinakhov exited Tuesday's 3-0 loss to the Montreal Canadiens after playing only 4:57 time-on-ice due to an upper-body injury. The 23-year-old forward has struggled lately, scoring only one point (1G / 0A) in his last eight games.